Breton Blue vs French Gray
Where Breton Blue belongs to Dulux's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Breton Blue belongs to the blue family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. French Gray (LRV 43) reflects noticeably more light than Breton Blue (LRV 10), a difference of 33 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Breton Blue runs cool while French Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 44.4, 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.
Breton Blue vs French Gray in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Breton Blue 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 French Gray will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Breton Blue 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. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Breton Blue.
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. French Gray 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. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Breton Blue.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. French Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Breton Blue.
Color Details
Breton Blue vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Breton Blue 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 Breton Blue comparisons
See how Breton Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 10, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Breton Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 10 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 10, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 10, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 10, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
A 6-point LRV gap (10 vs 4) makes Breton Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
Bancha reads slightly lighter (LRV 13 vs 10), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 10, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (21 vs 10) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 10, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 10, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 10, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 25 vs 10, Treron is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 10, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 10), opening up a space where Breton Blue encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 10, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
A 3-point LRV gap (10 vs 7) makes Breton Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 24 vs 10, Cement grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 10, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 10, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.