Cooking Apple Green vs Iron Ore
Where Cooking Apple Green belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Iron Ore is a Sherwin-Williams color. Cooking Apple Green reads as beige-green, while Iron Ore reads as grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Cooking Apple Green (LRV 54) reflects noticeably more light than Iron Ore (LRV 6), a difference of 48 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Cooking Apple Green runs warm while Iron Ore is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 53.1, 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 8 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Cooking Apple Green vs Iron Ore in Real Spaces
8 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cooking Apple Green and Iron Ore 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 Cooking Apple Green will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore 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. Cooking Apple Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Cooking Apple Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
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. Cooking Apple Green 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. Cooking Apple Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
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. Cooking Apple Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
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 Cooking Apple Green will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Cooking Apple Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Color Details
Cooking Apple Green vs Iron Ore Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cooking Apple Green on one side and Iron Ore 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 Cooking Apple Green comparisons
See how Cooking Apple Green stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 54), opening up a space where Cooking Apple Green encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 54, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 54 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 54 vs 30, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 54 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 7-point LRV gap (60 vs 54) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Accessible Beige reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Cooking Apple Green reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (54 vs 43) makes Cooking Apple Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 54 vs 4, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 55 and 54, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cooking Apple Green reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Cooking Apple Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 54, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 21, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 54), opening up a space where Cooking Apple Green encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 54), opening up a space where Cooking Apple Green encloses it.
Cooking Apple Green reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 54), opening up a space where Cooking Apple Green encloses it.
At LRV 54 vs 41, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 54, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 25, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
Cooking Apple Green reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Cooking Apple Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 54 vs 31, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 7, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 24, Cooking Apple Green is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (57 vs 54) makes Guilford Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 72 vs 54, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.