Picture Gallery Red vs Decorous Amber
Picture Gallery Red (Farrow & Ball) and Decorous Amber (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Picture Gallery Red belongs to the pink-red family and Decorous Amber to the beige family. The 7-point LRV gap — 22 for Decorous Amber vs 16 for Picture Gallery Red — means Decorous Amber will open up a space more effectively. Both share a warm character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of 13.0 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Picture Gallery Red vs Decorous Amber in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Picture Gallery Red and Decorous Amber 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. Decorous Amber reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Decorous Amber has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Decorous Amber has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Home Office
Home office walls matter more than most — you're looking at them all day, and a color that reads fine at first can become tiring over time. Decorous Amber has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
House
A full exterior is the most demanding test for a paint color — scale and outdoor light both amplify differences that seem small on a swatch. Decorous Amber has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. Decorous Amber reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Picture Gallery Red vs Decorous Amber Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Picture Gallery Red on one side and Decorous Amber 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 Picture Gallery Red comparisons
See how Picture Gallery Red stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 16, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
Picture Gallery Red reads slightly lighter (LRV 16 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 16, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 16, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 16, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
Denim Drift reads slightly lighter (LRV 27 vs 16), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 43 vs 16, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (16 vs 4) makes Picture Gallery Red the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
With LRVs of 16 and 13, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 16, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (21 vs 16) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 16, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
Picture Gallery Red reads slightly lighter (LRV 16 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Picture Gallery Red reads slightly lighter (LRV 16 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 16, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Picture Gallery Red reads slightly lighter (LRV 16 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 16), opening up a space where Picture Gallery Red encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 16, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.