Cromarty vs Clary Sage
Where Cromarty belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Clary Sage is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Cromarty (LRV 60) reflects noticeably more light than Clary Sage (LRV 41), a difference of 19 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Cromarty runs warm while Clary Sage is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 13.2, 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 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Cromarty vs Clary Sage in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cromarty and Clary Sage 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 Cromarty will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Clary Sage 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. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Clary Sage.
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. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Clary Sage.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Clary Sage.
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 Cromarty will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Clary Sage would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Clary Sage.
Color Details
Cromarty vs Clary Sage Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cromarty on one side and Clary Sage 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 Cromarty comparisons
See how Cromarty stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
