Pale Smoke vs Bancha
Where Pale Smoke belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Bancha is a Farrow & Ball color. Pale Smoke reads as blue-green, while Bancha reads as beige-greige — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Pale Smoke (LRV 64) reflects noticeably more light than Bancha (LRV 13), a difference of 50 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Pale Smoke runs green while Bancha is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 44.4, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Pale Smoke vs Bancha in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Pale Smoke and Bancha 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 Pale Smoke will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Bancha 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. Pale Smoke reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
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. Pale Smoke reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pale Smoke reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Color Details
Pale Smoke vs Bancha Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Pale Smoke on one side and Bancha 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 Pale Smoke comparisons
See how Pale Smoke stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 64, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reads slightly lighter (LRV 69 vs 64), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 64 vs 6, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Smoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 64 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 64 vs 52, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Smoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 64 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 6-point LRV gap (64 vs 58) makes Pale Smoke the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 64 vs 27, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (64 vs 55) makes Pale Smoke the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 64 vs 44, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 64), opening up a space where Pale Smoke encloses it.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 66 vs 64), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 11-point LRV gap (74 vs 64) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 83 vs 64, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 64 vs 12, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (68 vs 64) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
Calamine reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 64), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 25), opening up a space where Treron encloses it.
At LRV 64 vs 12, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 64 vs 45, Pale Smoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Pale Smoke reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Pale Smoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 64 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Just Walnut reads slightly lighter (LRV 72 vs 64), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.