Ashes vs Calamine
Ashes (Cloverdale Paint) and Calamine (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Ashes belongs to the greige-grey family and Calamine to the pink-red family. The 38-point LRV gap — 68 for Calamine vs 29 for Ashes — means Calamine will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 24.9 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ashes vs Calamine in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ashes and Calamine 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
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. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ashes.
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. Calamine returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Calamine returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The LRV gap is large enough that Calamine will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ashes would.
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. Calamine returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Ashes vs Calamine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ashes on one side and Calamine 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 Ashes comparisons
See how Ashes stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 29, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 30 vs 29), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 60 vs 29, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
With LRVs of 29 and 27, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 43 vs 29, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 29, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
Ashes reflects far more light (LRV 29 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
Ashes reflects far more light (LRV 29 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 29), opening up a space where Ashes encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 31 vs 29), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 29 vs 7, Ashes is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (29 vs 24) makes Ashes the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 29, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 29, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.