Buffed Plum vs Cystern
Both from Cloverdale Paint's palette. Both sit in the blue-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (45 vs 45), so they'll read as similarly Medium in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 2.8, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Buffed Plum vs Cystern in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Buffed Plum and Cystern are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
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 two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Buffed Plum vs Cystern Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Buffed Plum on one side and Cystern 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 Buffed Plum comparisons
See how Buffed Plum stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 45), opening up a space where Buffed Plum encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 45, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 6, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Buffed Plum reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (52 vs 45) makes Mizzle the marginally brighter of the two.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 45), opening up a space where Buffed Plum encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 45, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 27, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 45 and 43, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Buffed Plum reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (55 vs 45) makes Tranquil Dawn the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 13, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 45 vs 44), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 45), opening up a space where Buffed Plum encloses it.
Buffed Plum reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 45, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 45, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 45, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reads slightly lighter (LRV 51 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 45 vs 12, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 8, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 45, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Buffed Plum reads slightly lighter (LRV 45 vs 41), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 45 vs 12, Buffed Plum is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 45 vs 45), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Buffed Plum reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.