Plummet vs African Gray
Plummet (Farrow & Ball) and African Gray (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 4-point LRV gap — 31 for African Gray vs 27 for Plummet — means African Gray will open up a space more effectively. Both share a neutral character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. ΔE 4.6 means they're clearly different, but not dramatically so — they'd pair well in the same room. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Plummet vs African Gray in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Plummet and African Gray 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
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. African Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The brightness difference is modest but present — African Gray gives the walls a little more lift.
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. African Gray has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. African Gray has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
Plummet vs African Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Plummet on one side and African 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 Plummet comparisons
See how Plummet stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 27, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 27), opening up a space where Plummet encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 27), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 27), opening up a space where Plummet encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 27, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 27 vs 27), so neither reads brighter in a room.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 27), opening up a space where Plummet encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 27, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 27, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 27), opening up a space where Plummet encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 27, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 27, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 12, Plummet is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 8, Plummet is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 27, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 12, Plummet is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 27, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 31 vs 27), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.