Farrow & Ball Down Pipe#525659 · LRV 11
Why this color. The cult charcoal-gray that made F&B famous in US design press.
Down Pipe reads as a true neutral (no measurable hue) — dark — high drama, needs strong daylight or warm bulbs. The notes below cover the spec, what Farrow & Ball No. 26 actually looks like under different light, and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Color spec
| Brand | Farrow & Ball |
| Name | Down Pipe |
| SKU | No. 26 |
| Hex | #525659 |
| RGB | 82, 86, 89 |
| HSL | 206°, 4%, 34% |
| LRV | 11 |
| Undertone | true neutral (no measurable hue) |
| Family | Gray |
Kompozit alternative
The closest hex in the Kompozit deck, ranked by ΔE2000 (perceptual color difference). ΔE under 2 is indistinguishable to most eyes; under 5 is a very close visual match.
Closest matches at every US brand
9 brands · top 5 each5 closest matches per brand by ΔE2000, computed against each brand's full deck. Tap any swatch for its full single-color spec; tap the brand title to browse all gray from that brand.
Benjamin Moore
Behr
Valspar
Dunn-Edwards
Magnolia Home
PPG / Glidden
Sherwin-Williams
Clare
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #525659 in HSL space. Pair Down Pipe with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Accessibility (WCAG contrast)
WCAG 2.1: AA = 4.5:1 normal text · AA Large = 3:1 large text · AAA = 7:1 normal text.