Smokestack Gray vs Garrison Gray
Smokestack Gray (Benjamin Moore) and Garrison Gray (PPG) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the blue-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Their light reflectance values are nearly the same — 23 vs 23 — so neither will read significantly brighter or darker than the other. A ΔE of 2.9 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Smokestack Gray vs Garrison Gray in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Smokestack Gray and Garrison Gray are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Mudroom
In a hardworking space like a mudroom, the depth and warmth of a color reads differently than in a quieter room. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
House
A full exterior is the most demanding test for a paint color — scale and outdoor light both amplify differences that seem small on a swatch. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Smokestack Gray vs Garrison Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smokestack Gray on one side and Garrison 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 Smokestack Gray comparisons
See how Smokestack Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 23, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Smokestack Gray reflects far more light (LRV 23 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 23, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (30 vs 23) makes Evergreen Fog the marginally brighter of the two.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 23, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
Denim Drift reads slightly lighter (LRV 27 vs 23), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 43 vs 23, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 23 vs 4, Smokestack Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
Smokestack Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 23 vs 13), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 23, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 23 vs 21), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
Smokestack Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 23 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 23, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 23, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 25 vs 23), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Smokestack Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 23 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 23), opening up a space where Smokestack Gray encloses it.
A 8-point LRV gap (31 vs 23) makes Pale Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 23 vs 7, Smokestack Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 24 vs 23), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 57 vs 23, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.