Cargo Pants vs High Tea
Cargo Pants and High Tea come from the same Sherwin-Williams collection. These are both beige-greiges, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within beige-greige to land. The 39-point LRV gap — 56 for Cargo Pants vs 17 for High Tea — means Cargo Pants 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 31.9 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.
Cargo Pants vs High Tea in Real Spaces
10 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cargo Pants and High Tea 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. Cargo Pants reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than High Tea.
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. Cargo Pants 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. Cargo Pants 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 Cargo Pants will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than High Tea 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. Cargo Pants 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. Cargo Pants 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 Cargo Pants will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than High Tea 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 Cargo Pants will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than High Tea 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. Cargo Pants 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. Cargo Pants reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than High Tea.
Color Details
Cargo Pants vs High Tea Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cargo Pants on one side and High Tea 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 Cargo Pants comparisons
See how Cargo Pants stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 56), opening up a space where Cargo Pants encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 56, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (56 vs 52) makes Cargo Pants the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 56 vs 30, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
Cargo Pants reads slightly lighter (LRV 56 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 5-point LRV gap (60 vs 56) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
With LRVs of 58 and 56, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 56 vs 43, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 56 vs 4, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 56 and 55, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 56, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 56 vs 21, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 56), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 56), opening up a space where Cargo Pants encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 56), opening up a space where Cargo Pants encloses it.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 56), opening up a space where Cargo Pants encloses it.
At LRV 56 vs 41, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
A 12-point LRV gap (68 vs 56) makes Calamine the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 56 vs 25, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
Cargo Pants reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Cargo Pants reads slightly lighter (LRV 56 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 56 vs 31, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 56 vs 7, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 56 vs 24, Cargo Pants is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 57 vs 56), so neither reads brighter in a room.