De Nimes vs Elephant's Breath
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. Hue-wise, De Nimes belongs to the blue-grey family and Elephant's Breath to the beige-greige family. Elephant's Breath (LRV 54) reflects noticeably more light than De Nimes (LRV 19), a difference of 35 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. De Nimes runs cool while Elephant's Breath is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 31.0, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
De Nimes vs Elephant's Breath in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing De Nimes and Elephant's Breath 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 Elephant's Breath will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than De Nimes 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. Elephant's Breath reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than De Nimes.
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. Elephant's Breath reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than De Nimes.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Elephant's Breath reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than De Nimes.
Color Details
De Nimes vs Elephant's Breath Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see De Nimes on one side and Elephant's Breath 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 De Nimes comparisons
See how De Nimes stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 19, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 19), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 19, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (27 vs 19) makes Denim Drift the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 19, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 19, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 19, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 19, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (19 vs 12) makes De Nimes the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 19, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (19 vs 12) makes De Nimes the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 19, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.
De Nimes reads slightly lighter (LRV 19 vs 7), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Cement grey reads slightly lighter (LRV 24 vs 19), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 19), opening up a space where De Nimes encloses it.