Only Yesterday vs French Gray
Where Only Yesterday belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Only Yesterday belongs to the beige family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. Only Yesterday (LRV 48) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 5 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 11.9, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Only Yesterday vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Only Yesterday 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
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 brightness difference is modest but present — Only Yesterday gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Only Yesterday reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Only Yesterday has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Only Yesterday reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Only Yesterday vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Only Yesterday 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 Only Yesterday comparisons
See how Only Yesterday stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 48), opening up a space where Only Yesterday encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 48, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 48 vs 6, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 48), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Only Yesterday reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (52 vs 48) makes Mizzle the marginally brighter of the two.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 48), opening up a space where Only Yesterday encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (58 vs 48) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 48 vs 27, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
Only Yesterday reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (55 vs 48) makes Tranquil Dawn the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 48 vs 13, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (48 vs 44) makes Only Yesterday the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 48), opening up a space where Only Yesterday encloses it.
Only Yesterday reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 48, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 48, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 48, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 51 and 48, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 48 vs 12, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 48 vs 8, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 48, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Only Yesterday reads slightly lighter (LRV 48 vs 41), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 48 vs 12, Only Yesterday is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 48 vs 45), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Only Yesterday reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Only Yesterday reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.