Lamp Black vs Vanillin
Where Lamp Black belongs to Little Greene's range, Vanillin is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Lamp Black belongs to the grey family and Vanillin to the beige family. Vanillin (LRV 78) reflects noticeably more light than Lamp Black (LRV 3), a difference of 75 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Lamp Black runs purple while Vanillin is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 73.7, 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 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Lamp Black vs Vanillin in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Lamp Black and Vanillin in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Vanillin returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Lamp Black vs Vanillin Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Lamp Black on one side and Vanillin 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 Lamp Black comparisons
See how Lamp Black stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
