Intrigue vs French Gray
Where Intrigue belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Intrigue belongs to the grey family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. French Gray (LRV 43) reflects noticeably more light than Intrigue (LRV 24), a difference of 19 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Intrigue runs green while French Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 18.2, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Intrigue vs French Gray in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Intrigue and French Gray 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 French Gray will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Intrigue would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Intrigue.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. French Gray returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Intrigue.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Intrigue.
Color Details
Intrigue vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Intrigue on one side and French Gray 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 Intrigue comparisons
See how Intrigue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 24, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (30 vs 24) makes Evergreen Fog the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 60 vs 24, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
With LRVs of 27 and 24, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 24, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
Intrigue reflects far more light (LRV 24 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
Intrigue reflects far more light (LRV 24 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 24), opening up a space where Intrigue encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (31 vs 24) makes Pale Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 24 vs 7, Intrigue is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 24 vs 24), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 57 vs 24, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 24, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.