Parma Gray vs Pure White
Where Parma Gray belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Pure White is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Parma Gray belongs to the blue-grey family and Pure White to the beige-greige family. Pure White (LRV 84) reflects noticeably more light than Parma Gray (LRV 50), a difference of 34 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Parma Gray runs cool while Pure White is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 18.6, 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.
Parma Gray vs Pure White in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Parma Gray and Pure 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 Pure White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Parma Gray 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. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Parma Gray.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Parma Gray.
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. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Parma Gray.
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 Pure White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Parma Gray would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pure White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Parma Gray.
Color Details
Parma Gray vs Pure White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Parma Gray on one side and Pure 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 Parma Gray comparisons
See how Parma Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 50, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 50), opening up a space where Parma Gray encloses it.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 52 vs 50), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 50 vs 30, Parma Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 52 and 50, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 10-point LRV gap (60 vs 50) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Accessible Beige reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 50), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (50 vs 43) makes Parma Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 50 vs 4, Parma Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 50), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Parma Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 50 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 50 vs 21, Parma Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 50), opening up a space where Parma Gray encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 50), opening up a space where Parma Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 50), opening up a space where Parma Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 51 vs 50), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 50), opening up a space where Parma Gray encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (50 vs 41) makes Parma Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Parma Gray reflects far more light (LRV 50 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Parma Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 50 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 50 vs 31, Parma Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 50 vs 7, Parma Gray is decisively the brighter choice.