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Beautiful Robin’s Egg Blue!

Posted by Cobi on Monday August 10, 2009 at 06:00 AM
colour • decorating • nature • spring • Comments (7)

I had a lucky find on one of my morning dog walks this spring. A perfect (empty) robin’s egg was lying in a ditch - the colour is truly glorious! I gingerly carried it home admiring the colour and telling Hito how unusual and exciting it was to find one. (If anyone knows why robin’s eggs are coloured this way, please e-mail and tell us - I’m curious).

Anyway, as I lay it in a lovely little bird’s nest I found on a previous walk I had an idea… Many of us have a romantic notion to paint something ‘robins egg blue’ at some point - but who has an egg laying around when you need one? So why not use this egg as a sample to match paint colours so that we can all have a list tucked away for the time when we need it, and so that’s what I’ve done. Keep this list in your ‘decorating’ folder on your computer (you do have one, right?) for when you need it in future.

I took the delicate egg with me to Home Depot, Canadian Tire, independent paint stores and did an initial gathering of colour samples - unfortunately it got crushed a little at a stop light (long story). Anyway, I then weeded out the colours in better light at home and came up with a list of matches. Two lists really - light versions of the colour, and intense, deeper versions. When it’s time to do your project, think about how you envision it: light and airy or rich and saturated. This colour looks amazing either way, it just depends on what look you’re trying to achieve.

I suppose different robin’s eggs would be different colours, this egg is an intense, deep colour that’s more green than blue and very complex (trust mother nature to make something too beautiful to duplicate). It’s almost ‘dirty’ in its complexity and no, it isn’t the mud from the ditch but at least this will give us a guide in future for the gorgeous blue/green colour that’s so perfect in many applications: baby’s rooms, children’s rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, porch ceilings, cottage floors, country furniture…I even have it on my kitchen ceiling and love it.

Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Light and Airy:

Sico

Saltspring Grey 6161-31 (pretty, soft, light green)
Movie Star 6148-31 (clear, light, bright, quite green)

Sherwin Williams

Aquatint SW 6936 (nice, light blue with hint of green)
Waterfall SW 6750 (lovely fresh, light colour)
Refresh SW 6751 (medium, green version, nice)
Aquaduct SW 6758 (medium, more blue version, also nice)

CIL/ICI/Glidden
Vivid Lake 70GG 74/120 (nice and light, a bit minty)
Island Aqua 70GG 67/184 (medium tone, clear, maybe too bright)

Behr
Balmy Seas 490C-3 (pretty, light soft, version)

Para
It’s a Steal P5021-24 (clear, very light, nice tone)
Splurged Again P5021-34 (a very close match to egg but more clear)
Tea Cups P5108-24 (gorgeous, light colour, love this one)
Drop Zone P5108-34 (seriously gorgeous medium colour, bright but not too)

Benjamin Moore
Soft mint 2041-60 (pretty, soft and light, but yes, minty)
Sea mist green 2041-50 (beautiful soft medium tone)

Cobi’s True Robin’s Egg Blue - Rich and Intense:

Sico
Baffin Island Grey 6161-52 (beautiful, dark, greyed out shade)
Antibes Blue 6148-42 (clear, dark, nice green)

CIL/ICI/Glidden
Duck Egg Blue 70GG 59/225 (very clear, bright colour but nice)

Behr
Jamaica Bay 500D-4 (very nice colour, soft medium blue)

Sherwin Williams
Cooled Blue SW 6759 (clear, rich, more green than blue)

Para
Splash Mountain P5108-52 (dark, gorgeous colour)

Ralph Lauren
Island Brights Aged Mint IB77 (beautiful deep bluey grey)
Sunwashed Blue IB82 (intense bright green/blue)

Benjamin Moore
Historical colours Covington blue HC-138 (Stunning greyed blue)

Winner of the ‘Overall Best Match’ to this little Egg of Wonder:

Sico
Anticosti Grey 6161-41 (Perfect!!)