Steel vs Calamine
Where Steel belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, Calamine is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Steel belongs to the grey family and Calamine to the pink-red family. Calamine (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Steel (LRV 26), a difference of 41 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 29.5, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Steel vs Calamine in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Steel and Calamine 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 Calamine will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Steel 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. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Steel.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Steel.
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. Calamine returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Steel vs Calamine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Steel on one side and Calamine 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 Steel comparisons
See how Steel stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 26, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 26), opening up a space where Steel encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 26), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 26), opening up a space where Steel encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 26, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 27 vs 26), so neither reads brighter in a room.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 26), opening up a space where Steel encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 26, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 26, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 26), opening up a space where Steel encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 26, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 26, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 26 vs 12, Steel is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 26, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 26 vs 12, Steel is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 26, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 31 vs 26), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.