Sage vs French Gray
Where Sage belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Sage belongs to the green-grey family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. Sage (LRV 54) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 10.6, 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.
Sage vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Sage 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 Sage 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. Sage 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. Sage 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. Sage reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Sage vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Sage 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 Sage comparisons
See how Sage stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 54), opening up a space where Sage encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 54 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 54 vs 30, Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (60 vs 54) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Accessible Beige reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Sage reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
With LRVs of 55 and 54, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Sage reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 54, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 54), opening up a space where Sage encloses it.
Sage reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Sage reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 54), opening up a space where Sage encloses it.
Sage reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Sage reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 54 vs 31, Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
