Awakening vs French Gray
Where Awakening belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. These are both beige-greiges, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within beige-greige to land. Awakening (LRV 61) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 18 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 11.7, 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.
Awakening vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Awakening 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 Awakening 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. Awakening 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. Awakening 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. Awakening reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Awakening vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Awakening 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 Awakening comparisons
See how Awakening stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 61, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Awakening reads slightly lighter (LRV 61 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Awakening reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
With LRVs of 61 and 60, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 3-point LRV gap (61 vs 58) makes Awakening the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 61 vs 27, Awakening is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (61 vs 55) makes Awakening the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 61 vs 44, Awakening is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 61), opening up a space where Awakening encloses it.
A 5-point LRV gap (66 vs 61) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 61, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 61 vs 12, Awakening is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (68 vs 61) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 61 vs 12, Awakening is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 61 vs 45, Awakening is decisively the brighter choice.
Awakening reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Awakening reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Awakening reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Awakening reads slightly lighter (LRV 61 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Just Walnut reads slightly lighter (LRV 72 vs 61), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.