De Nimes vs Shade-Grown
Where De Nimes belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Shade-Grown is a Sherwin-Williams color. De Nimes reads as blue-grey, while Shade-Grown reads as grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. De Nimes (LRV 19) reflects noticeably more light than Shade-Grown (LRV 8), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. De Nimes runs cool while Shade-Grown is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 19.6, 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.
De Nimes vs Shade-Grown in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing De Nimes and Shade-Grown 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 De Nimes will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Shade-Grown 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. De Nimes reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Shade-Grown.
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. De Nimes reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Shade-Grown.
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. De Nimes reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Shade-Grown.
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 De Nimes will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Shade-Grown would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. De Nimes reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Shade-Grown.
Color Details
De Nimes vs Shade-Grown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see De Nimes on one side and Shade-Grown 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.
