Black Emerald vs Dark Night
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Black Emerald reads as blue-green, while Dark Night reads as blue — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (1 vs 4), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. Both lean cool, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. With a ΔE of 13.4, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Black Emerald vs Dark Night in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Black Emerald and Dark Night in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
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. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Black Emerald vs Dark Night Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Black Emerald on one side and Dark Night 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 Black Emerald comparisons
See how Black Emerald stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
