Silver grey vs Steely Gray
Where Silver grey belongs to RAL Classic's range, Steely Gray is a Sherwin-Williams color. These are both blue-greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue-grey to land. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (32 vs 30), so they'll read as similarly Medium in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 1.6, 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.
Silver grey vs Steely Gray in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Silver grey and Steely Gray 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.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Silver grey vs Steely Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Silver grey on one side and Steely Gray 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 Silver grey comparisons
See how Silver grey stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 32), opening up a space where Silver grey encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 32, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 32 vs 6, Silver grey is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 32), opening up a space where Silver grey encloses it.
With LRVs of 32 and 30, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 52 vs 32, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 32), opening up a space where Silver grey encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 32, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (32 vs 27) makes Silver grey the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 43 vs 32), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Silver grey reflects far more light (LRV 32 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 32, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 32 vs 13, Silver grey is decisively the brighter choice.
A 12-point LRV gap (44 vs 32) makes Hardwick White the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 32), opening up a space where Silver grey encloses it.
Silver grey reads slightly lighter (LRV 32 vs 21), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 32, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 32, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 32, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 32), opening up a space where Silver grey encloses it.
At LRV 32 vs 12, Silver grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 32 vs 8, Silver grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 32, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 41 vs 32), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 32 vs 12, Silver grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 32, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 32 and 31, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.