Settled, side by side

Extra White is a bright, slightly cool white — the closest Sherwin-Williams gets to a gallery wall. At LRV 86 it is crisp and reflective, with a faint blue-grey lean that keeps it clean rather than creamy. It is the white for architecture: plaster reliefs, coffered ceilings, a bank of steel windows.

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.