Smoky Quartz vs Stepping Stone
Smoky Quartz is a Cloverdale Paint color while Stepping Stone comes from PPG. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 38 and 39, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 1.2, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Smoky Quartz vs Stepping Stone in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Smoky Quartz and Stepping Stone are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Dining Room
Dining room light is typically the warmest in the house, which shifts both colors toward the red end of the spectrum compared to daylight. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Smoky Quartz vs Stepping Stone Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smoky Quartz on one side and Stepping Stone 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 Smoky Quartz comparisons
See how Smoky Quartz stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 38), opening up a space where Smoky Quartz encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 38, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 6, Smoky Quartz is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 38), opening up a space where Smoky Quartz encloses it.
Smoky Quartz reads slightly lighter (LRV 38 vs 30), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 38, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 38), opening up a space where Smoky Quartz encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 38, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (38 vs 27) makes Smoky Quartz the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 43 vs 38), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Smoky Quartz reflects far more light (LRV 38 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 38, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 13, Smoky Quartz is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (44 vs 38) makes Hardwick White the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 38), opening up a space where Smoky Quartz encloses it.
Smoky Quartz reflects far more light (LRV 38 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 38, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 38, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 38, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 38), opening up a space where Smoky Quartz encloses it.
At LRV 38 vs 12, Smoky Quartz is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 8, Smoky Quartz is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 38, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 41 vs 38), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 38 vs 12, Smoky Quartz is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (45 vs 38) makes Saybrook Sage the marginally brighter of the two.
Smoky Quartz reads slightly lighter (LRV 38 vs 31), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.