FARROW & BALL PAINT COLOUR
Farrow & Ball French Gray No. 18
French Gray is a light-to-mid green-grey, with an undertone that is green, leaning olive. See it at room scale before you buy a tester: try French Gray on the walls of your own room in the free 3D planner.
French Gray at a glance
| Brand | Farrow & Ball |
| Colour name | French Gray |
| Code | No. 18 |
| Hex (on screen) | #B0AF9B |
| RGB | 176, 175, 155 |
| Light reflectance (est.) | About 42 |
| Looks like | Light-to-mid green-grey |
| Undertone | Green, leaning olive |
| Popularity | The 8th most searched Farrow & Ball colour in the planner’s library: about 5,200 searches a month in the UK |
The hex value is the planner’s on-screen approximation, not a paint formula, and the light reflectance is estimated from it. Screens, daylight, bulbs and sheen all change how a paint looks, so check a physical sample or tester pot on your wall before you order. The official Farrow & Ball colour page has the manufacturer’s own details.
How French Gray behaves in a room
With an estimated light reflectance of about 42, it absorbs a fair amount of light. Expect it to look noticeably deeper on a wall that faces away from the window than on the swatch.
Its undertone is warm. Warm colours hold up well in north-facing rooms, where daylight is cooler, and can look richer or more yellow in strong south-facing light.
Where it tends to be used
Light colours like this are often used as a whole-room colour in living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and landings, usually with a white on ceilings and trim.
Try French Gray in your room. Draw your room to size or open a furnished bedroom, then paint the walls in 3D. Free, with no sign-up.
Open the planner →Colours that pair with French Gray
Suggestions from the same Farrow & Ball range in the planner, chosen for contrast or a tonal match. Try them side by side on different walls before deciding.
Closest matches from other brands
The colours from other brands in the planner that look nearest to French Gray on screen, measured by colour difference (ΔE: under 2.5 is hard to tell apart on screen, over 9 is clearly different). Useful if you like the look but want a different brand or price.
Try French Gray on your own walls in 3D
- Open the planner and draw your room to its real size, or start from a furnished layout such as the living room or bedroom examples.
- Switch to 3D and open the Design panel, then choose Walls.
- Search for “French Gray”, or filter by brand. Paint the whole room or select a single wall for a feature wall.
The planner is free with no sign-up. Brand paint colours are premium finishes: you can preview French Gray in your room for free, and Plus keeps brand colours in your saved plan.
More Farrow & Ball colours
Questions
Is Farrow & Ball French Gray warm or cool?
On screen it reads as warm: its undertone is green, leaning olive. Check a sample in your own light, as the direction a room faces changes how warm or cool a colour looks.
What is the LRV of French Gray?
Estimated from the on-screen colour, its light reflectance value is about 42 on a scale where 0 is black and 100 is pure white. The manufacturer’s published LRV is measured from real paint and may differ slightly.
What is the closest match to French Gray from another brand?
In the planner’s library, the nearest on screen is Sherwin-Williams Clary Sage (SW 6178). On-screen matches are a starting point only: compare real samples side by side before switching.