Hopper Head vs Tar
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. These are both greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within grey to land. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (9 vs 9), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. Both lean neutral, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. At ΔE 2.1, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Hopper Head vs Tar in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Hopper Head and Tar 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.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Hopper Head vs Tar Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Hopper Head on one side and Tar 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 Hopper Head comparisons
See how Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head encloses it.
Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 9), opening up a space where Hopper Head encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 9, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (9 vs 4) makes Hopper Head the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 9), opening up a space where Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 9), opening up a space where Hopper Head encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 9), opening up a space where Hopper Head encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 9, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
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 Hopper Head 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 Hopper Head encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 9, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.