Bitter Chocolate vs Mountain Air
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Bitter Chocolate belongs to the grey family and Mountain Air to the blue-grey family. Mountain Air (LRV 73) reflects noticeably more light than Bitter Chocolate (LRV 5), a difference of 68 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Bitter Chocolate runs warm while Mountain Air is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 62.4, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below you'll find 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Bitter Chocolate vs Mountain Air in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Bitter Chocolate and Mountain Air in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Mountain Air returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Bitter Chocolate vs Mountain Air Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Bitter Chocolate on one side and Mountain Air 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.