Bancha vs Rookwood Medium Brown
Bancha (Farrow & Ball) and Rookwood Medium Brown (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 4-point LRV gap — 13 for Bancha vs 10 for Rookwood Medium Brown — means Bancha will open up a space more effectively. Both share a warm character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of 18.1 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.
Bancha vs Rookwood Medium Brown in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Bancha and Rookwood Medium Brown in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Bancha has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Bancha has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. Bancha reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Bancha vs Rookwood Medium Brown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Bancha on one side and Rookwood Medium Brown 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.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 13, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 13, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 60 vs 13, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 13, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 13, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
With LRVs of 13 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
With LRVs of 13 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 13, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (13 vs 7) makes Bancha the marginally brighter of the two.
A 11-point LRV gap (24 vs 13) makes Cement grey the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 13, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 13, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.