Clay vs Artichoke
Where Clay belongs to Little Greene's range, Artichoke is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Clay belongs to the beige family and Artichoke to the grey family. Clay (LRV 56) reflects noticeably more light than Artichoke (LRV 21), a difference of 35 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Clay runs yellow and red while Artichoke is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 28.0, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Clay vs Artichoke in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Clay 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 Clay 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. Clay 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. Clay reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Artichoke.
Color Details
Clay vs Artichoke Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Clay 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 Clay comparisons
See how Clay stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 56, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Clay reads slightly lighter (LRV 56 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Clay reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 56), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 56), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Clay reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 56 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 56 vs 44, Clay is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 56), opening up a space where Clay encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (66 vs 56) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 56, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 12-point LRV gap (68 vs 56) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
A 11-point LRV gap (56 vs 45) makes Clay the marginally brighter of the two.
Clay reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Clay reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Clay reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
With LRVs of 57 and 56, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 56), opening up a space where Clay encloses it.