October Harvest

Mid-range in both light and color, which is the most forgiving place to be. Vista Paint's designation for it is 0266.

53.0 on the light-reflectance scale puts it in the middle third, which is the part of the scale with the fewest surprises. Chroma 19.6 keeps the yellow present without letting it run the room.

A dining room or study suits this kind of mid-depth color, where the room is used at different times of day under different light. It holds up in a north-facing room, which is where warmth is usually missing. Dunn-Edwards Lighthouse pairs well as a second surface - close enough in feel to belong in the same room, far enough in lightness to read as two distinct walls (about 37.3 points apart on the reflectance scale).

If the room already has blues and cool greys in the floor, a rug, or the furniture, this color will fight it rather than sit well beside it - the two sit at opposite ends of the color spectrum, which is exactly why they clash instead of blend.

Warm metals - brass, aged gold, unlacquered fixtures - gain a contrast against this that they do not have against a lighter wall; it is a common reason people choose a color this deep in the first place. A natural scheme here moves in three clear steps: this color on the main wall, a noticeably lighter mid-tone for a second wall or built-in, and a near-white on the ceiling. Each jump should be obvious at a glance, not something you have to squint to tell apart (roughly 53.0, 69 and 85 on the light-reflectance scale, for reference).

PPG Pony Tail (1086-4) matches it closely enough that no one will tell them apart on a wall. This is not a rare shade: 5 colors from other brands sit within delta-E 2 of it. Matte holds the color truest; a subtle sheen will lift it half a shade under lamps.

It is lighter than 56 percent of the Vista Paint range. Vista Paint lists it in the C codes, alongside 1,421 other colors.