Mined Coal vs Iron Ore
Where Mined Coal belongs to Behr's range, Iron Ore is a Sherwin-Williams color. These are both greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within grey to land. Mined Coal (LRV 15) reflects noticeably more light than Iron Ore (LRV 6), a difference of 9 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Mined Coal runs yellow while Iron Ore is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 16.9, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Mined Coal vs Iron Ore in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Mined Coal and Iron Ore 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 Mined Coal will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore 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. Mined Coal reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
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. Mined Coal reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Mined Coal reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Color Details
Mined Coal vs Iron Ore Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Mined Coal on one side and Iron Ore 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 Mined Coal comparisons
See how Mined Coal stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
