Chic Shadow vs French Gray
Where Chic Shadow belongs to Dulux's range, French Gray is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Chic Shadow belongs to the grey family and French Gray to the beige-greige family. Chic Shadow (LRV 53) reflects noticeably more light than French Gray (LRV 43), a difference of 10 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Chic Shadow runs neutral while French Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 12.5, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Chic Shadow vs French Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Chic Shadow 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 Chic Shadow 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. Chic Shadow 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. Chic Shadow 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. Chic Shadow reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Gray.
Color Details
Chic Shadow vs French Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Chic Shadow 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 Chic Shadow comparisons
See how Chic Shadow stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 53, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 53), opening up a space where Chic Shadow encloses it.
At LRV 53 vs 6, Chic Shadow is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 53 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 53 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 53), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 5-point LRV gap (58 vs 53) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 53 vs 27, Chic Shadow is decisively the brighter choice.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 53), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 53 vs 13, Chic Shadow is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (53 vs 44) makes Chic Shadow the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 53), opening up a space where Chic Shadow encloses it.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 53, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 53, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 53, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Chic Shadow is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 53, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
Calamine reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 53), opening up a space where Chic Shadow encloses it.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 25), opening up a space where Treron encloses it.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Chic Shadow is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (53 vs 45) makes Chic Shadow the marginally brighter of the two.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Chic Shadow reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Guilford Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 57 vs 53), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 53), opening up a space where Chic Shadow encloses it.