Bancha vs French Moire
Where Bancha belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, French Moire is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Bancha belongs to the beige-greige family and French Moire to the blue family. French Moire (LRV 47) reflects noticeably more light than Bancha (LRV 13), a difference of 34 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Bancha runs warm while French Moire is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 40.4, 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.
Bancha vs French Moire in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Bancha and French Moire 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 Moire will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Bancha 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 Moire reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. French Moire reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that French Moire will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Bancha would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. French Moire reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Color Details
Bancha vs French Moire Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Bancha on one side and French Moire 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 Bancha comparisons
See how Bancha stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
