Hay vs Agreeable Gray
Where Hay belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Agreeable Gray is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hay reads as beige, while Agreeable Gray reads as greige-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (58 vs 60), so they'll read as similarly Light in most lighting conditions. Both lean warm, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. With a ΔE of 22.5, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Hay vs Agreeable Gray in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Hay and Agreeable Gray 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. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Hay vs Agreeable Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Hay on one side and Agreeable Gray 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 Hay comparisons
See how Hay stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 58, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Hay reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Hay reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 58), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Hay reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 58), opening up a space where Hay encloses it.
A 8-point LRV gap (66 vs 58) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 58, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (68 vs 58) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
Hay reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Hay reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Hay reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
With LRVs of 58 and 57, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 58), opening up a space where Hay encloses it.