Drop Cloth vs RAL 180-1
Where Drop Cloth belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, RAL 180-1 is a RAL Effect color. Hue-wise, Drop Cloth belongs to the beige-greige family and RAL 180-1 to the blue family. Drop Cloth (LRV 52) reflects noticeably more light than RAL 180-1 (LRV 49), a difference of 3 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 18.1, 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.
Drop Cloth vs RAL 180-1 in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Drop Cloth and RAL 180-1 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 — Drop Cloth 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. Drop Cloth reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Drop Cloth reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Drop Cloth reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Drop Cloth vs RAL 180-1 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Drop Cloth on one side and RAL 180-1 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 Drop Cloth comparisons
See how Drop Cloth stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
