Grout vs French Gray
Grout (Cloverdale Paint) and French Gray (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 23-point LRV gap — 67 for Grout vs 43 for French Gray — means Grout will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 14.5 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Grout vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Grout 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Grout reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Grout returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The LRV gap is large enough that Grout will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than French Gray would.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Grout returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Grout vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Grout 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 Grout comparisons
See how Grout stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 67, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Grout reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Grout reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Grout reads slightly lighter (LRV 67 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 9-point LRV gap (67 vs 58) makes Grout the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 67 vs 27, Grout is decisively the brighter choice.
A 12-point LRV gap (67 vs 55) makes Grout the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 67 vs 44, Grout is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 67), opening up a space where Grout encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 67 vs 66), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 8-point LRV gap (74 vs 67) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 67 vs 12, Grout is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 68 vs 67), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 67 vs 12, Grout is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 67 vs 45, Grout is decisively the brighter choice.
Grout reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Grout reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.