Elephant's Breath (No. 229) is a warm mid grey from Farrow & Ball with a hint of magenta. Farrow & Ball says it "reads as an uplifting mid grey" and "can become almost lilac in the cooler light of west facing rooms". It's a warm grey, and it can look soft and warm on one wall and noticeably pink-lilac on another, so test it in your own room before committing.
What colour is Elephant's Breath?
Farrow & Ball describes it as "a warm mid grey" and "this warm and contemporary grey". It says the name was "originally created by John Fowler, the notable English interior designer" (Farrow & Ball). The magenta is what separates it from a plain grey, and it's why the colour can surprise people in cool light.
| Estate Emulsion | 2% sheen |
|---|---|
| Limewash | 2% sheen |
| Modern Emulsion | 7% sheen |
| Flat Eggshell | 20% sheen |
| Modern Eggshell | 40% sheen |
How light or dark is it? (LRV)
Farrow & Ball's colour page for Elephant's Breath doesn't publish a light reflectance value (LRV), the 0 to 100 measure of how much light a colour reflects. We checked both the UK and US versions of the page. Third-party colour databases give different estimates: PaintDB lists an LRV of 55, and Pontata lists 53.6 (PaintDB, Pontata).
Treat that as a rough guide: around the middle of the scale. Elephant's Breath won't brighten a dark room the way an off-white would, but it isn't a dark colour either. The finish, the light and the colours around it will change how it looks more than a point or two of LRV.
Elephant's Breath in a real Cambridge home
On a Farrow & Ball redecoration in Cambridge, the walls and ceiling were finished in two coats of Skimming Stone. The window and door frames, which were bare pine, were done in Elephant's Breath. The sequence was:
- Deep ceiling cracks repaired and filled, walls prepared and made good.
- Two coats of Skimming Stone on the walls and ceiling.
- Bare pine frames primed with Zinsser.
- A Farrow & Ball mid-tones eggshell undercoat.
- Two coats of Elephant's Breath eggshell.
The photo at the top of this page is from that job. The pale walls are Skimming Stone, and the window frames, architraves and door are Elephant's Breath. Seen this way, it reads as a soft warm grey that frames the windows without the starkness of brilliant white.
Two details match Farrow & Ball's own guidance. Its Skimming Stone page suggests Elephant's Breath as the partner colour in one of its schemes. Its Elephant's Breath page gives "Mid Tones" as the recommended primer and undercoat, the tone we used under the eggshell (Farrow & Ball Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball).
Elephant's Breath in a living room
Living rooms usually have the most mixed light in the house: daylight from one side, then lamps in the evening. That mix is where Elephant's Breath shifts the most. Some points worth weighing, based on general decorating practice:
- Which way the windows face matters. Farrow & Ball only mentions west-facing rooms, where it says the colour "can become almost lilac" (Farrow & Ball). In north-facing rooms, any cool cast will be stronger.
- Warm lamps soften it. In the evening, under warm bulbs, it will usually look more beige than lilac.
- Pairings. Farrow & Ball suggests Strong White as a complementary white, and Charleston Gray and London Clay for a more earthy scheme (Farrow & Ball).
Elephant's Breath in a bedroom
In a bedroom the colour is mostly seen in morning and evening light, often with curtains half-drawn, so test it at those times. For a lighter effect, our Cambridge job shows one approach: pale Skimming Stone walls, which Farrow & Ball says is "particularly suited to soothing bedroom schemes", with Elephant's Breath on the woodwork (Farrow & Ball Skimming Stone).
Which Farrow & Ball finish should you use?
The same colour looks different in each finish, because sheen changes how much light bounces off it. Farrow & Ball publishes these sheen levels for Elephant's Breath:
| Finish | Sheen | Farrow & Ball says it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Estate Emulsion | 2% | Interior walls and ceilings in low-traffic areas; "gently wipeable but not washable" |
| Modern Emulsion | 7% | Every room, and recommended for kitchens and bathrooms; washable |
| Flat Eggshell | 20% | Interior wood, metal and concrete; "scrubbable, stain-resistant and scuff-resistant" |
| Modern Eggshell | 40% | Its "toughest interior finish" for skirting, doors, cabinets and radiators |
| Limewash | 2% | Solid lime render and interior lime plaster |
(Estate Emulsion, Modern Emulsion, Flat Eggshell, Modern Eggshell, Limewash)
For walls in a busy family room or hallway, the washable Modern Emulsion is the practical choice. For doors and frames, choose an eggshell. Bare timber needs priming first, as on our Cambridge job. If your walls are old lime plaster, check the finish suits lime before picking any emulsion; Farrow & Ball lists its Limewash for interior lime plaster.
How to test it properly
Elephant's Breath changes so much with light that a small swatch held up to the wall isn't enough. What works:
- Paint two coats of sample on a large card, or straight onto the wall, at least A4 size.
- Put samples on at least two walls: one facing the window and one beside it.
- Look at them in the morning, in the late afternoon and under your evening lamps.
- Put them next to your floor, curtains and woodwork, because the magenta picks up on warm and red tones nearby.
The Histon job shows why it's worth the effort. On our Victorian bedrooms in Histon, a chosen colour didn't look as the customers expected halfway through. Andrew painted tester pots in different places so they could see them in different light. In their review, "L and J" said:
Graham brought a massive colour chart and Andrew painted tester pots in different places so we could see them in different light.
Doing it yourself, or getting help
Painting a room in Elephant's Breath is a straightforward DIY job if the walls are sound. On bare or patched surfaces, use the Mid Tones primer and undercoat Farrow & Ball recommends; sound painted walls usually just need two top coats. It's worth calling a decorator for:
- woodwork in bare or knotty pine, which needs proper priming to stop the knots bleeding through
- ceilings with cracks, which need repairing before a smooth finish will look right
- whole-house schemes where the same colour runs through rooms with very different light
If you'd like help with Elephant's Breath or a wider Farrow & Ball scheme, Graham will visit, look at the light in your rooms and give you a free written quotation. See our interior decorating work, or get in touch.
Questions people also ask
Is Elephant's Breath grey or beige?
Farrow & Ball calls it a warm mid grey with a hint of magenta. In cool west light, Farrow & Ball says it can look almost lilac.
What white goes with Elephant's Breath?
Farrow & Ball suggests Strong White as its complementary white. On our Cambridge job we did it the other way round: Elephant's Breath on the woodwork, with pale Skimming Stone walls and ceiling.
Can I use Elephant's Breath on woodwork?
Yes. We finished bare pine window and door frames in two coats of Elephant's Breath eggshell, after a Zinsser primer and a Farrow & Ball mid-tones undercoat.
What is the LRV of Elephant's Breath?
Farrow & Ball's colour page doesn't list one. Third-party databases estimate about 54 to 55, which puts it around the middle of the scale.
Which finish should I use in a kitchen or bathroom?
Farrow & Ball recommends its Modern Emulsion, a washable 7% sheen matt, for kitchens and bathrooms. Its Estate Emulsion is only gently wipeable.
Talk to Graham about your interior decorating
Graham visits free of charge, looks at the job with you and sends a detailed written quotation. You don't pay until you're happy with the finished work. We only take on work within 15 miles of Landbeach, which takes in Cambridge and the towns and villages around it: find your area.
Sources
- Elephant's Breath No.229, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Skimming Stone No.241, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath Estate Emulsion, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath Modern Emulsion, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath Flat Eggshell, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath Modern Eggshell, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath Limewash, Farrow & Ball (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath (FB No. 229), PaintDB (checked 23 October 2026)
- Elephant's Breath vs Light Gray, Pontata (checked 23 October 2026)
Written by Graham Halpenny Decorators. Third-party prices, product data and regulations are credited to their source with the date we checked them; they are not our prices. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
