Soft Grey vs Ethereal Mood
Soft Grey is a Jotun color while Ethereal Mood comes from Sherwin-Williams. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 40 and 38, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. They share a warm quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. With a ΔE of 2.9, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soft Grey vs Ethereal Mood in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Soft Grey and Ethereal Mood 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Soft Grey vs Ethereal Mood Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soft Grey on one side and Ethereal Mood 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 Soft Grey comparisons
See how Soft Grey stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 40, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 40), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Soft Grey reads slightly lighter (LRV 40 vs 30), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 40), opening up a space where Soft Grey encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 40, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 40 vs 27, Soft Grey is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 43 vs 40), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 40, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (44 vs 40) makes Hardwick White the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 40), opening up a space where Soft Grey encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 40, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 40, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 40 vs 12, Soft Grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 40, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 40 vs 12, Soft Grey is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (45 vs 40) makes Saybrook Sage the marginally brighter of the two.
Soft Grey reads slightly lighter (LRV 40 vs 31), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Soft Grey reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Soft Grey reflects far more light (LRV 40 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 40), opening up a space where Soft Grey encloses it.