Old White vs School House White
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. These are both beige-greiges, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within beige-greige to land. School House White (LRV 73) reflects noticeably more light than Old White (LRV 55), a difference of 18 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean warm, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. With a ΔE of 10.7, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Old White vs School House White in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Old White and School House White 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 School House White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Old White 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. School House White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Old White.
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. School House White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Old White.
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. School House White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Old White.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. School House White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Old White.
Color Details
Old White vs School House White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Old White on one side and School House White 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 Old White comparisons
See how Old White stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
