Coffee vs Cracked Pepper
Coffee is a Cloverdale Paint color while Cracked Pepper comes from Sherwin-Williams. Hue-wise, Coffee belongs to the greige-grey family and Cracked Pepper to the grey family. With LRVs of 5 and 5, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 0.8, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Coffee vs Cracked Pepper in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Coffee and Cracked Pepper 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Dining Room
Dining room light is typically the warmest in the house, which shifts both colors toward the red end of the spectrum compared to daylight. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Coffee vs Cracked Pepper Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Coffee on one side and Cracked Pepper 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 Coffee comparisons
See how Coffee stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 5, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 5, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 60 vs 5, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 5, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 5, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
Pewter Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 5), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
Vintage Vogue reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 5), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 5), opening up a space where Coffee encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 5, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 7 vs 5), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 24 vs 5, Cement grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 5, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.