Poolside Blue vs French Gray
Where Poolside Blue belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Poolside Blue belongs to the blue family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. French Gray (LRV 43) reflects noticeably more light than Poolside Blue (LRV 40), a difference of 3 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Poolside Blue runs blue while French Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 41.0, 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.
Poolside Blue vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Poolside Blue 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 brightness difference is modest but present — French Gray gives the walls a little more lift.
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 has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. French Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The brightness difference is modest but present — French Gray gives the walls a little more lift.
Color Details
Poolside Blue vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Poolside Blue 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 Poolside Blue comparisons
See how Poolside Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
