Pigeon
No. 25 · Farrow & Ball
Farrow & Ball
Pigeon
No. 25
Subtle yellow-leaning green, a green color
- Color family
- Green
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Farrow & Ball Pigeon No. 25 is a mid-tone gray-green, the kind that moves between green and gray as the light changes. Its estimated LRV of 34 puts it in the medium band, reflecting about a third of the light that reaches it, so it holds its color on a wall without turning a room dark. Our method reads it as a subtle green with a little yellow in it, on a base that is mostly gray. It is a cabinet color first, then a bedroom, study and front-door color.
Source: Farrow & Ball's color data. LRV is estimated from the published RGB swatch. Undertone labels describe our calculation, not the paint formula or a test in your room. How we assess colors.
Is Pigeon warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans yellow-green
Undertone
Subtle yellow-leaning green
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Pigeon's digital swatch has a restrained yellow-green lean within an otherwise gray-looking color. Farrow & Ball describes it as a blue gray, and the two readings are not a contradiction: the gray is quiet enough that the room decides what you see. In warm daylight and under warm bulbs the green and its touch of yellow come forward, and the color reads as a soft sage. In a cool room, next to warm wood or cream, the yellow drops out and what is left looks cooler and bluer by contrast. Its closest Farrow & Ball neighbor in our swatch comparison, Lichen No. 19, is the same depth with a clearer green; Worsted No. 284 is the same depth with the green taken out.
Pigeon in different lighting
Pigeon changes more with the light than most neutrals, which is the reason people either love it or send the sample back. In a north-facing room the light is cool and steady, the yellow in it goes quiet, and it reads as a gray with a hint of blue; a warm white on the trim and warm bulbs bring the green back. South and west rooms show the sage side through the afternoon, and a sunlit wall can look a clear shade lighter than the wall beside it. East rooms get the green in the morning and the gray by evening. Because it is a mid-tone, the swing is between two versions of the same color, never into something that looks like a different paint.
Watch for
- Reads gray with a hint of blue in a north-facing room under cool bulbs
- Goes clearly sage on a sunlit south or west wall while the shaded walls stay gray
- Looks yellower than expected beside cream tile or orange-toned wood
Best rooms and surfaces for Pigeon
Pigeon is best known on kitchen cabinets, where it is dark enough to give the room a base, light enough that the doors still show their panels in a corner, and green enough to warm a kitchen full of white and steel. On all four walls it suits a bedroom, a study or a dining room with decent daylight; in a small room with one window it can feel gray rather than green, so keep the ceiling and trim light. It works on a wall of built-in shelving and on a bathroom vanity. It pairs with brass, oak, marble and pale gray or warm white trim; against a bright white the contrast is crisp, against a warm white it is softer. Farrow & Ball's own scheme puts it with Dimpse No. 277 on the woodwork and Picture Gallery Red No. 42 as the accent.
Pigeon on an exterior
Farrow & Ball offers Pigeon in exterior finishes; sample it on a front door, window frame or garden joinery in both sun and shade, where its gray-green appearance can differ. On a whole facade it is a settled mid-tone rather than a dark: full sun lifts it toward a pale sage, and shade brings the gray back. An off-white trim gives it definition, and a darker green such as Green Smoke No. 47 on the door keeps the scheme in one family.
Try Pigeon on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Pigeon onto the walls for an illustrative preview beside your floors and furniture. Confirm the color with a physical sample. Your first 3 renders are free.
Pigeon vs Evergreen Fog, Clary Sage and Oyster Bay
Evergreen FogPigeonPigeon vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130
Pigeon is noticeably lighter; both fall in our subtle yellow-leaning green category. Farrow & Ball LRV is estimated from RGB; this is a digital-swatch comparison.
Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is the closest page color to Pigeon and a touch darker, with the same subtle green undertone and a little more yellow in it. On a wall the two are hard to tell apart in daylight; under warm bulbs Evergreen Fog goes slightly more olive. Pick Evergreen Fog for the wider Sherwin-Williams sample and trim range; pick Pigeon for a hair more gray and a hair more light.
Clary SagePigeonPigeon vs Clary Sage SW 6178
Pigeon is noticeably darker; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs noticeable yellow-leaning green. Farrow & Ball LRV is estimated from RGB; this is a digital-swatch comparison.
Clary Sage SW 6178 is noticeably lighter than Pigeon and a clearer, yellower sage, a wall color where Pigeon is a cabinet color. In a room that wants to read green, Clary Sage does it at first glance; Pigeon needs sun to show the same green. The two work together as walls and cabinets in one kitchen.
Oyster BayPigeonPigeon vs Oyster Bay SW 6206
Pigeon is much darker; both fall in our subtle yellow-leaning green category. Farrow & Ball LRV is estimated from RGB; this is a digital-swatch comparison.
Oyster Bay SW 6206 is noticeably lighter and grayer, the same quiet green lean with less of it. It is the pick for a bedroom that Pigeon would make feel enclosed; Pigeon is the pick where the color should stand up to white counters and pale floors. Side by side, Oyster Bay looks like Pigeon seen through mist.
Questions about Pigeon
Is there a Sherwin-Williams match for Farrow & Ball Pigeon?
In our swatch calculation, Acacia Haze SW 9132 is a near twin, close enough to be a useful candidate for side-by-side sampling. Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is next and has its own page here, a touch darker with a little more yellow. Unusual Gray SW 7059, Rare Gray SW 6199 and Coastal Plain SW 6192 follow, all within a shade of it.
Is Pigeon a good kitchen cabinet color?
Yes, it is the room it is best known for. The mid-tone depth means the cabinet doors keep their panels and shadows instead of going flat, and the green warms a kitchen of white tile and steel. Keep the walls and ceiling light, and choose the trim white before the doors are painted so the contrast is decided rather than accidental.
Does Pigeon work in a bedroom?
It does, in a bedroom with a decent window. On four walls it reads calm and gray-green in daylight and settles toward gray at night under warm lamps. In a small bedroom with a north window it can feel gray rather than green; a warm white ceiling and trim and a lighter partner such as Cromarty No. 285 on one wall keep it soft.
Can Pigeon go on a front door or outside?
Yes. Farrow & Ball rates it for exterior use, and a front door is where many people first meet it. Outdoors it may look lighter or greener than indoors, but shaded elevations can read cooler and grayer. Pair it with an off-white frame; a black door furniture and brass both suit it.
What colors go with Pigeon?
Farrow & Ball's own schemes pair it with Dimpse No. 277 on the woodwork and Picture Gallery Red No. 42 as an accent, or with the warm whites Shaded White No. 201 and Slipper Satin No. 2004. Among Sherwin-Williams whites, Pure White SW 7005 keeps it gray and Alabaster SW 7008 keeps it green. Brass, oak and marble all sit well beside it.
Does Pigeon look blue or green?
Pigeon may read gray-green or blue-green as the light and surrounding finishes change. Its digital swatch falls in our green category, which does not rule out a blue-looking wall. Sample it with the intended trim white and check the coolest part of the room.
Get a sample before you paint
Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Pigeon, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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Trim, ceiling and coordinating colors for Pigeon
School House White No. 291 is Farrow & Ball's complementary white for Pigeon. It is a useful first sample when you want a pale trim against the gray-green walls. Dimpse No. 277, Slipper Satin No. 2004 and Blue Gray No. 91 are separate scheme trim choices, with different levels of contrast. Place your preferred white beside Pigeon and the flooring before repeating it on doors and ceilings.
Colors lighter and darker than Pigeon
Colors similar to Pigeon
Closest matches for Pigeon in other brands
These are the closest digital colors in our catalog, not equivalent paint formulas or touch-up substitutes. Compare physical samples in the same finish before choosing. See the comparison method.