Smokey Taupe vs Pure White
Where Smokey Taupe belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Pure White is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Pure White (LRV 84) reflects noticeably more light than Smokey Taupe (LRV 55), a difference of 29 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Smokey Taupe runs red while Pure White is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 15.0, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Smokey Taupe vs Pure White in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Smokey Taupe and Pure White 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 Pure White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Smokey Taupe would.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Smokey Taupe.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Smokey Taupe.
Color Details
Smokey Taupe vs Pure White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smokey Taupe on one side and Pure White 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 Smokey Taupe comparisons
See how Smokey Taupe stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 55), opening up a space where Smokey Taupe encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 55, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 55 vs 6, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 55 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 55), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 3-point LRV gap (58 vs 55) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 55 vs 27, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
Smokey Taupe reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 55 vs 13, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (55 vs 44) makes Smokey Taupe the marginally brighter of the two.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (66 vs 55) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 55, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 55, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Smokey Taupe reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 51), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 12, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 55 vs 8, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 55, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 12, Smokey Taupe is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (55 vs 45) makes Smokey Taupe the marginally brighter of the two.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Smokey Taupe reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.