Polished vs French Gray
Where Polished belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Polished (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 25 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 16.0, 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.
Polished vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Polished 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 Polished 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. Polished 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. Polished 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. Polished reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Polished vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Polished 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 Polished comparisons
See how Polished stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 68), opening up a space where Polished encloses it.
At LRV 68 vs 52, Polished is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 30, Polished is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (68 vs 60) makes Polished the marginally brighter of the two.
Polished reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 58), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 55), opening up a space where Tranquil Dawn encloses it.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 68, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 68 and 66, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Shoji White reads slightly lighter (LRV 74 vs 68), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
With LRVs of 68 and 68, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Polished reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 68 vs 31, Polished is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 7, Polished is decisively the brighter choice.