Billowing Smoke vs Skimming Stone
Where Billowing Smoke belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, Skimming Stone is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Billowing Smoke belongs to the grey family and Skimming Stone to the beige-greige family. Skimming Stone (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Billowing Smoke (LRV 18), a difference of 50 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 37.3, 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.
Billowing Smoke vs Skimming Stone in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Billowing Smoke and Skimming Stone 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 Skimming Stone will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Billowing Smoke 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. Skimming Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Billowing Smoke.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Skimming Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Billowing Smoke.
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. Skimming Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Billowing Smoke.
Color Details
Billowing Smoke vs Skimming Stone Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Billowing Smoke on one side and Skimming Stone 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 Billowing Smoke comparisons
See how Billowing Smoke stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
