French Beret vs Pigeon
Where French Beret belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Pigeon is a Farrow & Ball color. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Pigeon (LRV 51) reflects noticeably more light than French Beret (LRV 9), a difference of 42 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. French Beret runs blue while Pigeon is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 33.5, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
French Beret vs Pigeon in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing French Beret and Pigeon 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 Pigeon will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than French Beret would.
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. Pigeon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Beret.
Mudroom
Mudrooms are seen in passing, often under whatever light comes through the door — a context that favors colors with some depth. Pigeon returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Pigeon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Beret.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Pigeon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than French Beret.
Color Details
French Beret vs Pigeon Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see French Beret on one side and Pigeon 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 French Beret comparisons
See how French Beret stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 9, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
French Beret reads slightly lighter (LRV 9 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 9, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 9, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
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 French Beret encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 9, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (9 vs 4) makes French Beret the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
Bancha reads slightly lighter (LRV 13 vs 9), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 9, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 21 vs 9, Artichoke is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 9, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
With LRVs of 9 and 8, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 9), opening up a space where French Beret encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 9, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
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 French Beret encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 9, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 9 vs 7), so neither reads brighter in a room.