Ink Well vs Agreeable Gray
Ink Well (Dulux) and Agreeable Gray (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Ink Well belongs to the blue family and Agreeable Gray to the greige-grey family. The 51-point LRV gap — 60 for Agreeable Gray vs 9 for Ink Well — means Agreeable Gray will open up a space more effectively. Where Ink Well leans cool, Agreeable Gray reads warm — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 54.0 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ink Well vs Agreeable Gray in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ink Well and Agreeable 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Agreeable Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ink Well.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The LRV gap is large enough that Agreeable Gray will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ink Well would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinet color is always seen in context — against countertops, backsplash, and hardware — which amplifies undertone differences that might disappear on a plain wall. Agreeable Gray returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Ink Well vs Agreeable Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ink Well on one side and Agreeable 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 Ink Well comparisons
See how Ink Well stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 9, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 9, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 9, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 9, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 9, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 9, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 9), opening up a space where Ink Well encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 9, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 9 vs 7), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 24 vs 9, Cement grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 9, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 9, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.