Plum Cake vs Hardwick White
Plum Cake (Cloverdale Paint) and Hardwick White (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Plum Cake belongs to the purple family and Hardwick White to the greige-grey family. The 13-point LRV gap — 57 for Plum Cake vs 44 for Hardwick White — means Plum Cake will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 23.0 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Plum Cake vs Hardwick White in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Plum Cake and Hardwick White 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. Plum Cake reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Hardwick White.
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. Plum Cake returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Plum Cake 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 Plum Cake will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Hardwick White 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. Plum Cake returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Plum Cake vs Hardwick White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Plum Cake on one side and Hardwick White 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 Plum Cake comparisons
See how Plum Cake stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 57, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Plum Cake reads slightly lighter (LRV 57 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Plum Cake reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 57), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 57 vs 27, Plum Cake is decisively the brighter choice.
Plum Cake reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 57 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 57), opening up a space where Plum Cake encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (66 vs 57) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 57, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 12, Plum Cake is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 8, Plum Cake is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (68 vs 57) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 12, Plum Cake is decisively the brighter choice.
A 12-point LRV gap (57 vs 45) makes Plum Cake the marginally brighter of the two.
Plum Cake reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Plum Cake reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.