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FARROW & BALL · NO. 256

Farrow & Ball Pitch Black#2D2A26 · LRV 5

Why this color. The signature true-black; appears in nearly every F&B editorial spread.

Pitch Black reads as a red-orange / warm — very dark — reads black in most rooms. The notes below cover the spec, what Farrow & Ball No. 256 actually looks like under different light, and the closest matches at competing US brands.

SEE IN A ROOM → CALCULATE PAINT NEEDED →
FARROW & BALL PITCH BLACK
RGB 45, 42, 38 LRV 5

Color spec

Brand Farrow & Ball
Name Pitch Black
SKU No. 256
Hex #2D2A26
RGB 45, 42, 38
HSL 34°, 8%, 16%
LRV 5
Undertone red-orange / warm
Family Black

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.

KOMPOZIT
Silent Sea
SKU 0515 · #2A2B2C · LRV 2
ΔE 3.84 (noticeable)
SHOP KOMPOZIT ON AMAZON →

Closest matches at every US brand

9 brands · top 5 each

5 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 black from that brand.

Valspar

2,858 colors in deck · best ΔE 3.32
All black at Valspar →
8006-12G
#2F2F2F
Tomcat
ΔE 3.32 · LRV 3
V114-3
#2F2F2F
Tomcat
ΔE 3.32 · LRV 2.8
4009-2
#2E2E30
Noir
ΔE 4.35 · LRV 2.8
4011-2
#292A2D
Dark Kettle Black
ΔE 4.94 · LRV 2.3
M250
#252D31
Tempest's Teapot
ΔE 7.4 · LRV 2.5

Benjamin Moore

3,919 colors in deck · best ΔE 4.16
All black at Benjamin Moore →
CW-180
#362E2C
Bucktrout
ΔE 4.16 · LRV 3
2132-10
#323233
Black
ΔE 4.32 · LRV 3
HC-190
#323233
Black
ΔE 4.32 · LRV 3
HC-187
#252F2D
Black
ΔE 7.65 · LRV 3
CSP-480
#392A31
Velvet
ΔE 10.59 · LRV 3

Magnolia Home

160 colors in deck · best ΔE 5.66
All black at Magnolia Home →
JG-150
#3F3632
Moments
ΔE 5.66 · LRV 4
JG-05
#31343A
Blackboard
ΔE 7.43 · LRV 3
JG-97
#40464B
Arches
ΔE 11.1 · LRV 6
JG-144
#48474C
Fine Black
ΔE 11.14 · LRV 6
JG-102
#4B3C49
Plum Suede
ΔE 14.38 · LRV 5

Dunn-Edwards

1,696 colors in deck · best ΔE 5.78
All black at Dunn-Edwards →
DEA187
#3B3A3A
Black
ΔE 5.78 · LRV 4
DE6350
#3E3F41
Dark Engine
ΔE 7.89 · LRV 5
DEA181
#384543
Refined Green
ΔE 11.63 · LRV 6
DEA185
#343B4E
Old Mill
ΔE 14.03 · LRV 4
DEA189
#343E54
Black River Falls
ΔE 15.46 · LRV 5

Behr

4,699 colors in deck · best ΔE 6.87
All black at Behr →
N510-7
#2C3335
Blackout
ΔE 6.87 · LRV 3
770F-7
#273031
Beluga
ΔE 7.28 · LRV 3
S-H-790
#293331
Black Suede
ΔE 7.84 · LRV 3
N520-7
#283235
Carbon
ΔE 8.05 · LRV 3
750F-7
#253136
Deep Space
ΔE 9.04 · LRV 3

PPG / Glidden

2,088 colors in deck · best ΔE 7.57
All black at PPG / Glidden →
1001-7
#414040
Black Magic
ΔE 7.57 · LRV 5
1011-7
#464544
Onyx
ΔE 8.95 · LRV 6
1013-7
#404149
Napoleon
ΔE 10.61 · LRV 5
FLLW36
#404149
Wright Midnight
ΔE 10.61 · LRV 5
14-05
#3D4645
Dark As Night
ΔE 10.8 · LRV 6

Clare

78 colors in deck · best ΔE 9.49
All black at Clare →
PNT100-DP-54
#484745
Blackish
ΔE 9.49 · LRV 6
PNT100-DP-55
#515052
Blackest
ΔE 13.09 · LRV 8
PNT100-DP-77
#604B56
Night Groove
ΔE 18.09 · LRV 8
PNT100-DP-42
#545E66
Goodnight Moon
ΔE 18.9 · LRV 11
PNT100-DP-67
#7C4D4C
Vintage
ΔE 23.51 · LRV 10

Coordinated palette

Generated by hue-rotating #2D2A26 in HSL space. Pair Pitch Black with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.

COMPLEMENTARY
#2D2A26 + #26292D
TRIADIC
#2D2A26 · #262D2A · #2A262D
ANALOGOUS
#2D2726 · #2D2A26 · #2D2D26

Accessibility (WCAG contrast)

Sample text on white
14.28:1 AAA
Sample text on black
1.47:1 fail

WCAG 2.1: AA = 4.5:1 normal text · AA Large = 3:1 large text · AAA = 7:1 normal text.

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