Tar vs Pale Green
Where Tar belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Pale Green is a RAL Classic color. Hue-wise, Tar belongs to the grey family and Pale Green to the green family. Pale Green (LRV 31) reflects noticeably more light than Tar (LRV 9), a difference of 22 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 34.9, 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.
Tar vs Pale Green in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Tar and Pale Green 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 Green will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Tar would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pale Green reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Tar.
Color Details
Tar vs Pale Green Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Tar on one side and Pale Green 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 Tar comparisons
See how Tar stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 9, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 9, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 60 vs 9, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 9, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 9, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 9, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 9, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 9), opening up a space where Tar encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 9 vs 7), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 24 vs 9, Cement grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 9, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 9, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.