Olive grey vs Black blue
Both from RAL Classic's palette. Olive grey (LRV 22) reflects noticeably more light than Black blue (LRV 5), a difference of 18 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 44.4, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question.
Olive grey vs Black blue Color Comparison
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.
Color Details
Olive grey vs Black blue in Real Spaces
Seeing Olive grey and Black blue in actual rooms makes the difference concrete. Browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall. Showing 3 room types where both colors have photos.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Olive grey reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Black blue.
@peterzsalu
@rijckx_schilderwerken
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Olive grey will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Black blue would.
@les.arducs
@schildersbedrijfkromme
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Olive grey reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Black blue.
@keukenstudio_kitchen4u
@lma.paris
More Olive grey comparisons
See how Olive grey stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
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Light vs dark contrast
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Light vs dark contrast
RAL Classic vs Jotun
RAL Classic vs Little Greene
RAL Classic vs Little Greene
Olive grey reads lighter
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RAL Classic vs RAL Effect
Light vs dark contrast
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Light vs dark contrast
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Light vs dark contrast
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