Oats vs Softer Tan
Oats is a Cloverdale Paint color while Softer Tan comes from Sherwin-Williams. These are both beiges, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within beige to land. With LRVs of 62 and 60, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 1.9, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Oats vs Softer Tan in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Oats and Softer Tan 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.
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
Oats vs Softer Tan Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Oats on one side and Softer Tan 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 Oats comparisons
See how Oats stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 62, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Oats reads slightly lighter (LRV 62 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Oats reflects far more light (LRV 62 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
With LRVs of 62 and 60, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 4-point LRV gap (62 vs 58) makes Oats the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 62 vs 27, Oats is decisively the brighter choice.
Oats reflects far more light (LRV 62 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (62 vs 55) makes Oats the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 62 vs 44, Oats is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 62), opening up a space where Oats encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (66 vs 62) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 62, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 62 vs 12, Oats is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (68 vs 62) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 62 vs 12, Oats is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 62 vs 45, Oats is decisively the brighter choice.
Oats reflects far more light (LRV 62 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Oats reflects far more light (LRV 62 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Oats reflects far more light (LRV 62 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Oats reads slightly lighter (LRV 62 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.