Aquafir vs French Gray
Where Aquafir belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Aquafir reads as blue, while French Gray reads as beige-greige — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Aquafir (LRV 82) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 39 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 24.0, 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.
Aquafir vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Aquafir 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 Aquafir will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than French Gray 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. Aquafir reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
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. Aquafir 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. Aquafir reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Aquafir vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Aquafir 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 Aquafir comparisons
See how Aquafir stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 83 vs 82), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 82 vs 58, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 27, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 55, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 44, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 84 and 82, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 82 vs 66, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (82 vs 74) makes Aquafir the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 82 vs 12, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 68, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 12, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 82 vs 45, Aquafir is decisively the brighter choice.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Aquafir reflects far more light (LRV 82 vs 57), opening up a space where Guilford Green encloses it.
Aquafir reads slightly lighter (LRV 82 vs 72), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.