Overcast vs French Gray
Where Overcast belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Overcast belongs to the greige-grey family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. Overcast (LRV 73) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 29 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 18.6, 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.
Overcast vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Overcast 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 LRV gap is large enough that Overcast will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than French Gray would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Overcast reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
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. Overcast returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Overcast reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Overcast vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Overcast 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 Overcast comparisons
See how Overcast stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
A 10-point LRV gap (83 vs 73) makes White Dove the marginally brighter of the two.
Overcast reflects far more light (LRV 73 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Overcast reflects far more light (LRV 73 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Overcast reflects far more light (LRV 73 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 73 vs 58, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 73 vs 27, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 73 vs 55, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 73 vs 44, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reads slightly lighter (LRV 84 vs 73), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 7-point LRV gap (73 vs 66) makes Overcast the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 74 vs 73), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 73 vs 12, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 73 vs 8, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (73 vs 68) makes Overcast the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 73 vs 12, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 73 vs 45, Overcast is decisively the brighter choice.
Overcast reflects far more light (LRV 73 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Overcast reflects far more light (LRV 73 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.