Malt Chocolate vs Calamine
Where Malt Chocolate belongs to Dulux's range, Calamine is a Farrow & Ball color. Malt Chocolate reads as beige-greige, while Calamine reads as pink-red — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Calamine (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Malt Chocolate (LRV 57), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean warm, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. The ΔE 6.5 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Malt Chocolate vs Calamine in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Malt Chocolate and Calamine 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
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 Malt Chocolate 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 Malt Chocolate.
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.
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. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Malt Chocolate.
Color Details
Malt Chocolate vs Calamine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Malt Chocolate 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 Malt Chocolate comparisons
See how Malt Chocolate stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
