Settled, side by side

Aegean Olive is a deep, greyed olive that sits closer to bronze and khaki than to anything leafy. With an LRV just under 12 it behaves like a dark neutral: it wraps a room, dissolves corners and makes cane, rattan and aged brass look expensive. It is the green you choose when you do not want the room to read as green.

Le Cygne — the swan — is a warm, matte ivory from the French house Ressource. It has the chalky, light-absorbing quality of old lime plaster, which is why it looks so at home on Haussmann panelling and ceiling roses: it softens the light rather than bouncing it around. Cream is present, yellow is not.