Olive
No. 13 · #8E8D6F · LRV 26 — warm yellow tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Roycroft Brass15
- 2Anonymous20
- 3Olive26
- 4Mindful Gray48
- 5Revere Pewter55
What Color Is Olive, Really?
Olive reads as a warm yellow tone — mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light. The notes below cover how Farrow & Ball No. 13 behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Best Rooms and Uses for Olive
Olive is versatile enough for full rooms but has enough depth to anchor a space, so it suits living rooms, bedrooms and cabinetry alike. Greige-leaning neutrals like this are the safe whole-home choice when you want warmth without committing to a color.
How Lighting Changes Olive
Olive sits in the mid-range at LRV 26, so it shifts visibly through the day — lighter and more open in morning light, deeper and moodier after dark. Its yellow undertone is the part to watch: it gets picked up by whatever sits next to it, so test it against your trim, floor and the room's main light before committing. South-facing rooms will pull it lighter and warmer, while north light cools it down.
Most complaints about Olive are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Farrow & Ball No. 13 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behr | Urban SafariPPU8-04 · Behr | 5.0 | 26 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Wethersfield MossHC-110 · Benjamin Moore | 0.8 | 26 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Blanched Thyme6001-4A · Valspar | 1.3 | 26.9 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Playing HookyPPG1123-6 · PPG / Glidden | 1.6 | 26 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Hedgerow Olive90YY 26/189 · Glidden | 1.7 | 26 | Color page → |
| Dunn-Edwards | Cattail MarshDEBN59 · Dunn-Edwards | 4.3 | 25 | Color page → |
Similar Farrow & Ball Colors
The nearest shades to Olive within Farrow & Ball's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #8E8D6F in HSL space. Pair Olive with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
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