Carmine vs Retiring Blue

Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Carmine belongs to the pink-red family and Retiring Blue to the blue family. Retiring Blue (LRV 79) reflects noticeably more light than Carmine (LRV 5), a difference of 74 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Carmine runs warm while Retiring Blue is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 85.4, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below, 5 simulated room previews show how each color reads at scale — real-room photos will be added as they become available.