Faded Indigo vs Functional Gray
Where Faded Indigo belongs to Dulux's range, Functional Gray is a Sherwin-Williams color. Faded Indigo reads as blue-grey, while Functional Gray reads as greige-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Functional Gray (LRV 37) reflects noticeably more light than Faded Indigo (LRV 17), a difference of 20 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Faded Indigo runs cool while Functional Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 25.6, 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.
Faded Indigo vs Functional Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Faded Indigo and Functional Gray 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 Functional Gray will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Faded Indigo would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Functional Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Faded Indigo.
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. Functional Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Faded Indigo.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Functional Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Faded Indigo.
Color Details
Faded Indigo vs Functional Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Faded Indigo on one side and Functional Gray 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 Faded Indigo comparisons
See how Faded Indigo stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
