Frosted Steel vs Borrowed Light
Where Frosted Steel belongs to Dulux's range, Borrowed Light is a Farrow & Ball color. These are both blue-greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue-grey to land. Frosted Steel (LRV 72) reflects noticeably more light than Borrowed Light (LRV 69), a difference of 3 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean cool, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. At ΔE 2.1, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Frosted Steel vs Borrowed Light in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Frosted Steel and Borrowed Light 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.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Frosted Steel vs Borrowed Light Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Frosted Steel on one side and Borrowed Light 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 Frosted Steel comparisons
See how Frosted Steel stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
