Balboa Mist vs Clean Air
Balboa Mist (Benjamin Moore) and Clean Air (Cloverdale Paint) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Balboa Mist belongs to the beige-greige family and Clean Air to the yellow family. The 5-point LRV gap — 71 for Clean Air vs 66 for Balboa Mist — means Clean Air will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 13.3 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Balboa Mist vs Clean Air in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Balboa Mist and Clean Air in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Living Room
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Clean Air reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Clean Air has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Clean Air has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The brightness difference is modest but present — Clean Air gives the walls a little more lift.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Clean Air has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
Balboa Mist vs Clean Air Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Balboa Mist on one side and Clean Air on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Balboa Mist comparisons
See how Balboa Mist stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
