A La Mode vs Concord Buff
A La Mode and Concord Buff come from the same Sherwin-Williams collection. These are both beiges, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within beige to land. The 16-point LRV gap — 85 for A La Mode vs 69 for Concord Buff — means A La Mode will open up a space more effectively. Both share a warm character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of 15.1 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 10 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
A La Mode vs Concord Buff in Real Spaces
10 real rooms side by side. Seeing A La Mode and Concord Buff 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. A La Mode reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Concord Buff.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. A La Mode returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. A La Mode returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The LRV gap is large enough that A La Mode will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Concord Buff would.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. A La Mode returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Home Office
Home office walls matter more than most — you're looking at them all day, and a color that reads fine at first can become tiring over time. A La Mode returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Mudroom
In a hardworking space like a mudroom, the depth and warmth of a color reads differently than in a quieter room. The LRV gap is large enough that A La Mode will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Concord Buff would.
Patio
Exterior colors look different in open light — both tend to read lighter outside than on an interior swatch, and shadows read more strongly. The LRV gap is large enough that A La Mode will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Concord Buff would.
House
A full exterior is the most demanding test for a paint color — scale and outdoor light both amplify differences that seem small on a swatch. A La Mode returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. A La Mode reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Concord Buff.
Color Details
A La Mode vs Concord Buff Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see A La Mode on one side and Concord Buff 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 A La Mode comparisons
See how A La Mode stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
With LRVs of 85 and 83, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 85 vs 52, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 30, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 60, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 58), opening up a space where Accessible Beige encloses it.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 85 vs 43, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 55), opening up a space where Tranquil Dawn encloses it.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 85 vs 84), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 66), opening up a space where Balboa Mist encloses it.
A La Mode reads slightly lighter (LRV 85 vs 74), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 68), opening up a space where Skimming Stone encloses it.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
A La Mode reflects far more light (LRV 85 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 85 vs 31, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 7, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 24, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 85 vs 57, A La Mode is decisively the brighter choice.