Gray Kitchens Can Feel Cold – but Farrow & Ball Pigeon Shows How the Right Undertones Can Bring Warmth and Quiet Sophistication

Sign up to the Homes & Gardens newsletter Design expertise in your inbox – from inspiring decorating ideas and beautiful celebrity homes to practical gardening advice and shopping round-ups.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Described by the brand as a ‘cozy and nostalgic’ paint, Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon offers the perfect middle ground between lighter coastal tones and more neutral shades. And it’s a kitchen color that should be on everybody’s sample list this year. It taps into the desire for more lived-in, inviting spaces that feel more like a room than a functional space. Here’s why designers love the color and how to introduce it to your own design.

In this charming kitchen, Pigeon pairs with Farrow & Ball’s Blue Gray on the joinery, and Farrow & Ball’s Radicchio on the window trim for a bold statement.

If you look for the common denominator in many of this year’s biggest kitchen color trends, it all comes back to a connection to nature. Earthy palettes that bring depth and interest to a design without straying from timeless principles remain key, and it’s an ethos that Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon taps into seamlessly.

‘Pigeon is a soft, earthy neutral with green, blue, and gray undertones that brings warmth to a space without making the room too dark. It’s also a very calming color yet adds depth and interest – the rich pigment means that it subtly changes color throughout the day,’ says Fiona Parke of Johnston Parke Interiors.

‘Pigeon is a wonderfully versatile color for a kitchen,’ adds Emma Sims Hilditch, Founder and Creative Director of Sims Hilditch. ‘It has a softness to it that makes a space feel welcoming and relaxed, while the gray undertones give it a timeless quality. It works particularly well in kitchens because it feels understated rather than overly colorful and can sit comfortably alongside both traditional and contemporary elements.’

‘Pigeon is an emotionally versatile color,’ Taylor Bates says. ‘It can evoke beachside paradise, add a dash of whimsy, or hold its own in a traditional environment.’

The versatility makes it more appealing. So often, paint shades fall into specific style categories, but a chameleon color like Pigeon grows and evolves with your style, and broadens the opportunities for interesting application and color pairings. ‘We often use it with School House White, and it pairs very well with antique brass hardware and lighting and natural wood and limestone flooring,’ says Fiona.

Paired with white, such as School House White or Off-White, it brings a lighter, crisper feel, while richer wood tones alongside it feel more organic. And then there are the moodier colors, like Picture Gallery Red and Green Smoke, which bring a more alluring quality that feels warm and inviting, yet still filled with depth.

Design expertise in your inbox – from inspiring decorating ideas and beautiful celebrity homes to practical gardening advice and shopping round-ups.

‘Pigeon works beautifully with warm whites, soft creams and earthy neutrals, as well as natural greens and muted blues,’ Emma adds. ‘For finishes, I would pair it with natural stone countertops, aged brass or bronze hardware, and timber. These materials bring out the warmth in the color and help create a kitchen that feels layered and lived-in.’

For a cozier scheme, take inspiration from this design by painting paneled walls in Pigeon and adding a lighter contrast with Old White on the cabinets.

And its versatility doesn’t stop at style; it extends to where you use it. It’s the sort of color that looks just as beautiful drenched across the entire kitchen as it does on the cabinetry alone or an accent island. It depends on the atmosphere you want to create, something classic and subtle or confident and moody.

‘I particularly like using Pigeon on cabinetry, where its muted quality adds depth without overwhelming the room. It works beautifully across a whole run of cabinetry or can be used on an island to create a subtle focal point. In a country kitchen, pairing it with natural timber, stone and aged finishes helps to add warmth and character,’ says Emma.

Using Pigeon as a statement color is a popular approach among designers, adding a charming contrast to more neutral schemes. ‘We love using it as a statement, and letting it have its moment. We used it on lower cabinets and a range hood in a recent project, and it shone,’ says Taylor Bates of Elliott Tate Design. ‘We love using walnut and other earth tones with it. It creates a harmonious palette that promotes calm.’

But just because it makes a striking statement through smaller accents doesn’t mean it can’t be just as impactful when used in larger ways. Used as a wall color, it creates a warm, cozy base that instantly makes your kitchen feel more room-like. ‘We tend to use the color on the walls, with a lighter color on the cabinetry,’ says Fiona, who also notes Pigeon’s appeal in smaller spaces, like pantries. ‘It is also a very practical color for utilities and bootrooms, particularly in country projects.’

Whether you want your kitchen to feel bright and modern or moody and traditional, Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon brings a beautiful warmth and character to kitchens of every style. Consider where you apply it and the colors you pair it with – it’s the sort of color that reads differently depending on the finishes it sits next to.

Love beautiful design ideas, expert advice, and inspiring decor trends? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox.

Molly Malsom Kitchens & Bathrooms Editor I’ve worked in the interiors magazine industry for the past five years and joined Homes & Gardens at the beginning of 2024 as the Kitchens & Bathrooms editor. While I love every part of interior design, kitchens and bathrooms are some of the most exciting to design, conceptualize, and write about. There are so many trends, materials, colors, and playful decor elements to explore and experiment with.