Smoky vs French Gray
Where Smoky belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Smoky belongs to the beige-greige family and French Gray to the beige-green family. Smoky (LRV 63) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 20 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 13.2, 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.
Smoky vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Smoky 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 Smoky 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. Smoky 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. Smoky 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. Smoky reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Smoky vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smoky 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 Smoky comparisons
See how Smoky stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 63, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Smoky reads slightly lighter (LRV 63 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Smoky reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
With LRVs of 63 and 60, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 5-point LRV gap (63 vs 58) makes Smoky the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 63 vs 27, Smoky is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (63 vs 55) makes Smoky the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 63 vs 44, Smoky is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 63), opening up a space where Smoky encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 66 vs 63), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 12-point LRV gap (74 vs 63) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 63 vs 12, Smoky is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (68 vs 63) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 63 vs 12, Smoky is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 63 vs 45, Smoky is decisively the brighter choice.
Smoky reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Smoky reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Smoky reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Smoky reads slightly lighter (LRV 63 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Just Walnut reads slightly lighter (LRV 72 vs 63), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.