Gardenia vs Pale Green
Where Gardenia belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Pale Green is a RAL Classic color. Gardenia reads as beige, while Pale Green reads as green — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Gardenia (LRV 85) reflects noticeably more light than Pale Green (LRV 31), a difference of 54 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 35.4, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Gardenia vs Pale Green in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Gardenia and Pale Green 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 Gardenia will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Pale Green would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Gardenia reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pale Green.
Color Details
Gardenia vs Pale Green Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Gardenia on one side and Pale Green 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 Gardenia comparisons
See how Gardenia stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 85 vs 83), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 85 vs 58, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 27, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
At LRV 85 vs 55, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 44, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 85 and 84, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 85 vs 66, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (85 vs 74) makes Gardenia the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 85 vs 12, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 68, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 12, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 45, Gardenia is decisively the brighter choice.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 57), opening up a space where Guilford Green encloses it.
Gardenia reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 72), opening up a space where Just Walnut encloses it.