RAL 850-1 vs Austere Gray
Where RAL 850-1 belongs to RAL Effect's range, Austere Gray is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (53 vs 51), so they'll read as similarly Medium in most lighting conditions. At ΔE 2.6, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
RAL 850-1 vs Austere Gray in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. RAL 850-1 and Austere 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
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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
RAL 850-1 vs Austere Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see RAL 850-1 on one side and Austere 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 RAL 850-1 comparisons
See how RAL 850-1 stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
