Cotton vs Agreeable Gray
Where Cotton belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, Agreeable Gray is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Cotton belongs to the beige-greige family and Agreeable Gray to the greige-grey family. Cotton (LRV 81) reflects noticeably more light than Agreeable Gray (LRV 60), a difference of 20 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 10.2, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Cotton vs Agreeable Gray in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cotton and Agreeable 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 Cotton will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Agreeable 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. Cotton reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Agreeable Gray.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Cotton reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Agreeable 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. Cotton 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. Cotton reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Agreeable Gray.
Color Details
Cotton vs Agreeable Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cotton on one side and Agreeable 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 Cotton comparisons
See how Cotton stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 83 vs 81), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Cotton reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Cotton reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 58, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 27, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
Cotton reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 55, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 44, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reads slightly lighter (LRV 84 vs 81), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 81 vs 66, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (81 vs 74) makes Cotton the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 81 vs 12, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 8, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 68, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 12, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 45, Cotton is decisively the brighter choice.
Cotton reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Cotton reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.