Oatmeal vs RAL 840-1
Oatmeal is a PPG color while RAL 840-1 comes from RAL Effect. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 76 and 77, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 1.0, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Oatmeal vs RAL 840-1 in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Oatmeal and RAL 840-1 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.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. 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
Oatmeal vs RAL 840-1 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Oatmeal on one side and RAL 840-1 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 Oatmeal comparisons
See how Oatmeal stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
A 7-point LRV gap (83 vs 76) makes White Dove the marginally brighter of the two.
Oatmeal reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Oatmeal reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Oatmeal reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 76 vs 58, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 27, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
Oatmeal reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
At LRV 76 vs 55, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 44, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reads slightly lighter (LRV 84 vs 76), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 10-point LRV gap (76 vs 66) makes Oatmeal the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 76 vs 74), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 76 vs 12, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 8, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (76 vs 68) makes Oatmeal the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 76 vs 12, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 45, Oatmeal is decisively the brighter choice.
Oatmeal reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.