FARROW & BALL PAINT COLOUR
Farrow & Ball Stiffkey Blue No. 281
A dark, inky blue with a little grey. On screen it is a touch lighter and brighter than Hague Blue. See it at room scale before you buy a tester: try Stiffkey Blue on the walls of your own room in the free 3D planner.
Stiffkey Blue at a glance
| Brand | Farrow & Ball |
| Colour name | Stiffkey Blue |
| Code | No. 281 |
| Hex (on screen) | #4A5B6B |
| RGB | 74, 91, 107 |
| Light reflectance (est.) | About 10 |
| Looks like | Deep blue-grey |
| Undertone | Cool, with a blue cast |
| Popularity | The 51st most searched Farrow & Ball colour in the planner’s library: about 1,700 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 Stiffkey Blue behaves in a room
With an estimated light reflectance of about 10, it absorbs most of the light that reaches it. That makes a room feel enclosed and cosy, which is usually the point; plan lighting for the evening.
Its undertone is cool. In north-facing rooms, where daylight is cooler and bluer, cool colours can look colder and greyer than the swatch; in south-facing rooms they tend to look fresh and clean.
Where it tends to be used
Inky blues like this are often used in bathrooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and on kitchen units and front doors.
Try Stiffkey Blue in your room. Draw your room to size or open a furnished kitchen, then paint the walls in 3D. Free, with no sign-up.
Open the planner →Colours that pair with Stiffkey Blue
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 Stiffkey Blue 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 Stiffkey Blue 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 “Stiffkey Blue”, 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 Stiffkey Blue in your room for free, and Plus keeps brand colours in your saved plan.
More Farrow & Ball colours
Questions
Is Farrow & Ball Stiffkey Blue warm or cool?
On screen it reads as cool: its undertone is cool, with a blue cast. 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 Stiffkey Blue?
Estimated from the on-screen colour, its light reflectance value is about 10 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 Stiffkey Blue from another brand?
In the planner’s library, the nearest on screen is Little Greene Hicks' Blue (No. 208). On-screen matches are a starting point only: compare real samples side by side before switching.