Photo Gray vs Clary Sage
Photo Gray is a PPG color while Clary Sage comes from Sherwin-Williams. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 40 and 41, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 1.0, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 7 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Photo Gray vs Clary Sage in Real Spaces
7 real rooms side by side. Photo Gray and Clary Sage 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Home Office
In a home office, wall color sits in your peripheral vision for hours at a time, so temperature and undertone matter more than you might expect. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
House
At full exterior scale, the difference between these two colors becomes much easier to judge than from a small chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Front Door
Front doors are seen in isolation against the rest of the facade, which makes them a high-stakes surface where even subtle differences matter. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Color Details
Photo Gray vs Clary Sage Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Photo Gray on one side and Clary Sage 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 Photo Gray comparisons
See how Photo Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 40, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
A 12-point LRV gap (52 vs 40) makes Purbeck Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
A 10-point LRV gap (40 vs 30) makes Photo Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Mizzle reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 40), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 60 vs 40, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 3-point LRV gap (43 vs 40) makes French Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 40 vs 4, Photo Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Hardwick White reads slightly lighter (LRV 44 vs 40), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 40, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 40 vs 21, Photo Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (51 vs 40) makes Pigeon the marginally brighter of the two.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 40), opening up a space where Photo Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 41 vs 40), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Photo Gray reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Saybrook Sage reads slightly lighter (LRV 45 vs 40), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 9-point LRV gap (40 vs 31) makes Photo Gray the marginally brighter of the two.