Cheating Heart vs Clary Sage
Where Cheating Heart belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Clary Sage is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Cheating Heart belongs to the grey family and Clary Sage to the greige-grey family. Clary Sage (LRV 41) reflects noticeably more light than Cheating Heart (LRV 9), a difference of 32 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Cheating Heart runs blue while Clary Sage is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 39.7, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below you'll find 7 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Cheating Heart vs Clary Sage in Real Spaces
7 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cheating Heart and Clary Sage 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
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. The LRV gap is large enough that Clary Sage will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Cheating Heart would.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Clary Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Cheating Heart.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. Clary Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Cheating Heart.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Clary Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Cheating Heart.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Clary Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Cheating Heart.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Clary Sage will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Cheating Heart would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Clary Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Cheating Heart.
Color Details
Cheating Heart vs Clary Sage Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cheating Heart on one side and Clary Sage 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 Cheating Heart comparisons
See how Cheating Heart stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
