Dark Lead Colour vs RAL 850-5
Where Dark Lead Colour belongs to Little Greene's range, RAL 850-5 is a RAL Effect color. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (15 vs 14), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 1.7, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Dark Lead Colour vs RAL 850-5 in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Dark Lead Colour and RAL 850-5 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
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 two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Dark Lead Colour vs RAL 850-5 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Dark Lead Colour on one side and RAL 850-5 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 Dark Lead Colour comparisons
See how Dark Lead Colour stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 15, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
Dark Lead Colour reads slightly lighter (LRV 15 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 15, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 15, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 15, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 15, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (15 vs 4) makes Dark Lead Colour the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
With LRVs of 15 and 13, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 15, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (21 vs 15) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 15, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 15 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Dark Lead Colour reads slightly lighter (LRV 15 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 15, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 15 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 15), opening up a space where Dark Lead Colour encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 15, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.