Brainstorm Bronze vs Smokehouse
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. These are both greige-greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within greige-grey to land. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (14 vs 13), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. Both lean warm, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. At ΔE 2.2, 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.
Brainstorm Bronze vs Smokehouse in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Brainstorm Bronze and Smokehouse 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.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Brainstorm Bronze vs Smokehouse Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Brainstorm Bronze on one side and Smokehouse 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 Brainstorm Bronze comparisons
See how Brainstorm Bronze stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 14, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (14 vs 6) makes Brainstorm Bronze the marginally brighter of the two.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 14, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 14, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 14, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
Brainstorm Bronze reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 4), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 14, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 13), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 44 vs 14, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
Artichoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 14), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 14, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 14, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 14, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 6-point LRV gap (14 vs 8) makes Brainstorm Bronze the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 14, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 14, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 14), opening up a space where Brainstorm Bronze encloses it.