Preferenced Red vs Thames Fog
Where Preferenced Red belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Thames Fog is a Valspar color. Hue-wise, Preferenced Red belongs to the pink-red family and Thames Fog to the grey family. Thames Fog (LRV 27) reflects noticeably more light than Preferenced Red (LRV 8), a difference of 19 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 34.5, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Preferenced Red vs Thames Fog in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Preferenced Red and Thames Fog 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 Thames Fog will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Preferenced Red 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. Thames Fog reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Preferenced Red.
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. Thames Fog reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Preferenced Red.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Thames Fog reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Preferenced Red.
Color Details
Preferenced Red vs Thames Fog Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Preferenced Red on one side and Thames Fog 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 Preferenced Red comparisons
See how Preferenced Red stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
