Flax Seed vs Rutherford
Both are Cloverdale Paint colors. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 21 and 20, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 1.8, 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.
Flax Seed vs Rutherford in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Flax Seed and Rutherford 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
Flax Seed vs Rutherford Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Flax Seed on one side and Rutherford 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 Flax Seed comparisons
See how Flax Seed stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 21, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 21), opening up a space where Flax Seed encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 21), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 21), opening up a space where Flax Seed encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 21, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (27 vs 21) makes Denim Drift the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 21), opening up a space where Flax Seed encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 21, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 21, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 21), opening up a space where Flax Seed encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 21, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 21, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (21 vs 12) makes Flax Seed the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 21 vs 8, Flax Seed is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 21, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (21 vs 12) makes Flax Seed the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 21, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 31 vs 21), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.