Charcoal Slate vs Retreat
Where Charcoal Slate belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Retreat is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Retreat (LRV 21) reflects noticeably more light than Charcoal Slate (LRV 15), a difference of 6 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Charcoal Slate runs blue while Retreat is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 11.8, 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 9 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Charcoal Slate vs Retreat in Real Spaces
9 real rooms side by side. Seeing Charcoal Slate and Retreat 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Retreat gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Retreat has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The brightness difference is modest but present — Retreat gives the walls a little more lift.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Retreat reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Charcoal Slate vs Retreat Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Charcoal Slate on one side and Retreat 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 Charcoal Slate comparisons
See how Charcoal Slate stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
