Powder vs French Gray
Where Powder belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Powder belongs to the green-white family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. Powder (LRV 85) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 41 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 24.1, 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.
Powder vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Powder 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 Powder 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. Powder 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. Powder 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. Powder reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Powder vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Powder 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 Powder comparisons
See how Powder stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 85 vs 83), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 85 vs 58, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 27, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 55, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 44, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 85 and 84, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 85 vs 66, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (85 vs 74) makes Powder the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 85 vs 12, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 68, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 12, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 45, Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 57), opening up a space where Guilford Green encloses it.
Powder reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 72), opening up a space where Just Walnut encloses it.