Boulder Creek vs Pussywillow
Boulder Creek (PPG) and Pussywillow (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Their light reflectance values are nearly the same — 42 vs 42 — so neither will read significantly brighter or darker than the other. A ΔE of 1.2 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 8 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Boulder Creek vs Pussywillow in Real Spaces
8 real rooms side by side. Boulder Creek and Pussywillow 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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Boulder Creek vs Pussywillow Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Boulder Creek on one side and Pussywillow 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 Boulder Creek comparisons
See how Boulder Creek stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
