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FARROW & BALL · NO. 281

Farrow & Ball Stiffkey Blue#384757 · LRV 7

Why this color. F&B's deep navy second to Hague Blue; library/study favorite.

Stiffkey Blue reads as a blue / cool — very dark — reads black in most rooms. The notes below cover the spec, what Farrow & Ball No. 281 actually looks like under different light, and the closest matches at competing US brands.

SEE IN A ROOM → CALCULATE PAINT NEEDED →
FARROW & BALL STIFFKEY BLUE
RGB 56, 71, 87 LRV 7

Color spec

Brand Farrow & Ball
Name Stiffkey Blue
SKU No. 281
Hex #384757
RGB 56, 71, 87
HSL 211°, 22%, 28%
LRV 7
Undertone blue / cool
Family Blue

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
Star-Studded
SKU 0620 · #32425A · LRV 5
ΔE 4.17 (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 blue from that brand.

Behr

4,699 colors in deck · best ΔE 2
All blue at Behr →
PPU14-20
#3E4855
Starless Night
ΔE 2 · LRV 6
QE-56
#3D4955
Club Navy
ΔE 2.03 · LRV 6
MQ5-54
#37485E
Compass Blue
ΔE 2.69 · LRV 6
HDC-CL-26A
#3B4354
Indigo Ink
ΔE 3.69 · LRV 6
HDC-CL-28
#334C59
Nocturne Blue
ΔE 4.88 · LRV 7

PPG / Glidden

2,088 colors in deck · best ΔE 2
All blue at PPG / Glidden →
1041-7
#3F4C5A
Cavalry
ΔE 2 · LRV 7
1153-7
#334B58
Sailor's Coat
ΔE 4.52 · LRV 6
1038-7
#3B484F
Midnight Hour
ΔE 4.76 · LRV 6
1164-7
#384A66
Annapolis Blue
ΔE 5.16 · LRV 7
1165-7
#3A405A
Victory Blue
ΔE 7.76 · LRV 5

Dunn-Edwards

1,696 colors in deck · best ΔE 2.37
All blue at Dunn-Edwards →
DEA184
#3F4855
Parisian Night
ΔE 2.37 · LRV 6
DE5825
#444D56
Deepest Sea
ΔE 4.12 · LRV 7
DEA135
#2A4B5F
Deep Ocean
ΔE 4.96 · LRV 6
DE6336
#414549
Stargazing
ΔE 6.43 · LRV 6
DE6343
#45494D
Salem Black
ΔE 6.52 · LRV 7

Benjamin Moore

3,919 colors in deck · best ΔE 2.65
All blue at Benjamin Moore →
2062-20
#314757
Gentleman's
ΔE 2.65 · LRV 6
CW-630
#314757
Washington
ΔE 2.65 · LRV 6
2129-30
#414C55
Blue
ΔE 3.84 · LRV 7
2128-20
#43454C
Abyss
ΔE 6.05 · LRV 6
CC-962
#404251
Blackberry
ΔE 6.33 · LRV 6

Valspar

2,858 colors in deck · best ΔE 2.95
All blue at Valspar →
V111-6
#30495E
Blue Fedora
ΔE 2.95 · LRV 6.2
4008-4C
#39444D
Dutch Licorice
ΔE 3.5 · LRV 5.5
4007-4C
#3D4B54
Night View
ΔE 3.97 · LRV 6.6
8004-38G
#334C57
Cadet Song
ΔE 5.72 · LRV 7
V138-6
#334C57
Cadet Song
ΔE 5.72 · LRV 6.6

Sherwin-Williams

1,526 colors in deck · best ΔE 3.23
All blue at Sherwin-Williams →
SW 2739
#3D4450
Charcoal Blue
ΔE 3.23 · LRV 6
SW 7615
#3E4B54
Sea Serpent
ΔE 3.83 · LRV 7
SW 7605
#35454E
Gale Force
ΔE 4.26 · LRV 6
SW 7625
#3D484C
Mount Etna
ΔE 6.28 · LRV 6
SW 7620
#314D58
Seaworthy
ΔE 6.57 · LRV 7

Magnolia Home

160 colors in deck · best ΔE 3.82
All blue at Magnolia Home →
JG-91
#385063
Signature
ΔE 3.82 · LRV 7
JG-97
#40464B
Arches
ΔE 5.65 · LRV 6
JG-144
#48474C
Fine Black
ΔE 8.04 · LRV 6
JG-145
#4D484C
Aspen Stone
ΔE 10.54 · LRV 7
JG-102
#4B3C49
Plum Suede
ΔE 15.44 · LRV 5

Clare

78 colors in deck · best ΔE 9.01
All blue at Clare →
PNT100-DP-42
#545E66
Goodnight Moon
ΔE 9.01 · LRV 11
PNT100-DP-55
#515052
Blackest
ΔE 9.62 · LRV 8
PNT100-DP-54
#484745
Blackish
ΔE 10.73 · LRV 6
PNT100-MD-40
#41656D
Deep Dive
ΔE 13.27 · LRV 12
PNT100-DP-77
#604B56
Night Groove
ΔE 18.09 · LRV 8

Coordinated palette

Generated by hue-rotating #384757 in HSL space. Pair Stiffkey Blue with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.

COMPLEMENTARY
#384757 + #574838
TRIADIC
#384757 · #573847 · #475738
ANALOGOUS
#385657 · #384757 · #393857

Accessibility (WCAG contrast)

Sample text on white
9.51:1 AAA
Sample text on black
2.21:1 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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