Malarca vs Green Smoke
Malarca (Cloverdale Paint) and Green Smoke (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the green-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 3-point LRV gap — 22 for Malarca vs 19 for Green Smoke — means Malarca will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 2.4 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Malarca vs Green Smoke in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Malarca and Green Smoke 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
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. Malarca reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Malarca has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Malarca has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The brightness difference is modest but present — Malarca gives the walls a little more lift.
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. Malarca has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
Malarca vs Green Smoke Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Malarca on one side and Green Smoke 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 Malarca comparisons
See how Malarca stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 22, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 22), opening up a space where Malarca encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 22), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 22), opening up a space where Malarca encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 22, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (27 vs 22) makes Denim Drift the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 22), opening up a space where Malarca encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 22, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 22, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 22), opening up a space where Malarca encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 22, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 22, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (22 vs 12) makes Malarca the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 22, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (22 vs 12) makes Malarca the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 22, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 31 vs 22), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Malarca reflects far more light (LRV 22 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
With LRVs of 24 and 22, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 22), opening up a space where Malarca encloses it.