Pale Powder vs Artichoke
Where Pale Powder belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Artichoke is a Sherwin-Williams color. These are both greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within grey to land. Pale Powder (LRV 70) reflects noticeably more light than Artichoke (LRV 21), a difference of 49 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Pale Powder runs warm while Artichoke is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 35.6, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Pale Powder vs Artichoke in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Pale Powder and Artichoke 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 Pale Powder will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Artichoke 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. Pale Powder reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Artichoke.
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. Pale Powder reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Artichoke.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pale Powder reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Artichoke.
Color Details
Pale Powder vs Artichoke Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Pale Powder on one side and Artichoke 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 Pale Powder comparisons
See how Pale Powder stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 70, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 70 and 69, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 70 vs 6, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 52, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Powder reads slightly lighter (LRV 70 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 70 vs 58, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 27, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 55, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 13, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 44, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 70), opening up a space where Pale Powder encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (70 vs 66) makes Pale Powder the marginally brighter of the two.
A 4-point LRV gap (74 vs 70) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 83 vs 70, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 12, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 70 vs 68), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 70 and 68, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 25), opening up a space where Treron encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 12, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 45, Pale Powder is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Pale Powder reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 57), opening up a space where Guilford Green encloses it.
With LRVs of 72 and 70, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.