Arsenic vs Active Green
Arsenic (Farrow & Ball) and Active Green (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the green family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 12-point LRV gap — 49 for Active Green vs 37 for Arsenic — means Active Green will open up a space more effectively. Both share a cool character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of NaN puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Arsenic vs Active Green in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Arsenic and Active Green 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Active Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Arsenic.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Active Green returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
House
A full exterior is the most demanding test for a paint color — scale and outdoor light both amplify differences that seem small on a swatch. Active Green returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Arsenic vs Active Green Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Arsenic on one side and Active Green 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 Arsenic comparisons
See how Arsenic stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
