Ares Shadow vs Smoked Oak
Ares Shadow (Cloverdale Paint) and Smoked Oak (Jotun) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Their light reflectance values are nearly the same — 12 vs 13 — so neither will read significantly brighter or darker than the other. A ΔE of 2.2 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ares Shadow vs Smoked Oak in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Ares Shadow and Smoked Oak 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.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
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.
Color Details
Ares Shadow vs Smoked Oak Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ares Shadow on one side and Smoked Oak 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 Ares Shadow comparisons
See how Ares Shadow stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 12, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
Ares Shadow reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 12, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 12, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 12, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 12, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (12 vs 4) makes Ares Shadow the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
With LRVs of 13 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 12, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (21 vs 12) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 12, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Ares Shadow reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 12, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 12), opening up a space where Ares Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 12, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.