Old Gold
What Old Gold Actually Looks Like
Old Gold is a rich amber honey, sitting squarely in the middle of the value range, neither pale nor dark. In good natural light it reads as a warm, saturated gold with obvious orange warmth. In lower light or on north-facing walls it deepens toward a burnished copper tone, losing some of its brightness but gaining moodiness. It is a confident, committed color, not a neutral that flirts with gold.
Old Gold Undertones
The dominant undertone is orange, wrapped in honey warmth. There is no green or pink here. That orange base is what makes the color feel enveloping and cozy in smaller spaces, but it also means cool-toned furnishings in blue, gray, or crisp white will contrast sharply rather than blend. Warm whites, tawny browns, and terracotta tones sit comfortably alongside it.
Where Old Gold Works Best
Old Gold works well in spaces where you want warmth and a sense of enclosure: dining rooms, home libraries, studies, and hallways all suit it. It is less successful in rooms where you want the space to feel airy or expansive, because its saturation and orange warmth tend to advance the walls visually. In rooms with generous south or west light it glows. In a north-facing room, plan for it to read darker and more amber-brown than it appears on the chip.
Where to put Old Gold
A dining room is probably the strongest use case for Old Gold. Candlelight and warm artificial light intensify its honey tones in exactly the right direction, and the saturated color makes the room feel intimate at dinner. Keep trim in a warm off-white rather than a bright cool white to avoid a jarring contrast.
In a room lined with wood shelving and leather or linen-covered books, Old Gold reads as a natural extension of those warm materials. It wraps the space without competing with the contents of the room. A matte or eggshell finish keeps it from feeling shiny or overwhelming.
Hallways often lack strong natural light, and Old Gold handles that situation reasonably well because its warmth reads as intentional rather than dingy. Keep the ceiling a light warm white so the space does not close in entirely.
Old Gold in a bedroom is a committed choice. It creates a cocooning, warm atmosphere that some people find deeply comfortable and others find too energizing. If your bedroom gets strong morning east light, the color will be quite vivid at sunrise, which works well if you want to wake up to warmth.
What to Pair With Old Gold
Because no Benjamin Moore coordinating colors are listed in our database for Old Gold 167, the pairings below draw on established color principles for a warm amber gold at this depth and saturation.
You Might Also Like
Colors that clash with Old Gold
If Old Gold appears in a room that opens to a hallway or adjacent space painted in a cool gray or blue-gray, the two colors will fight. The orange warmth of Old Gold and the blue undertone of a cool gray pull hard against each other at every doorway.
Pairing Old Gold with a crisp, cool bright white on trim creates a high-contrast edge that tends to make the gold look more orange and the white look almost bluish by comparison.
Orange-based golds sit almost directly opposite violet on the color wheel, so purple accent pillows, rugs, or art will create a vibrating contrast that reads as unintentional rather than bold.
Common questions
The LRV is 42.78, which places it in the middle of the value scale. It is neither a light color nor a dark one, so it will not dramatically shrink or expand a space the way a very deep or very pale color would. That said, its warm saturation makes walls feel closer than a cool mid-tone at the same LRV would.
Eggshell is the most versatile choice for walls. It is washable, has just enough sheen to let the warmth of the color come through, and does not amplify surface imperfections the way a satin or semi-gloss would. In a dining room with no direct natural light, a matte finish gives a rich, flat depth that suits the color well.
It can, but expect it to read darker and more amber-brown than it appears in the store or on a south-facing sample. In low north light it can lose the bright gold quality and settle into a deeper, more burnished tone. If you want the true gold read, this color really needs natural warm light to perform at its best.
Yes, Benjamin Moore offers it in both interior and exterior formulations.