Celestial vs Colonial Yellow
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Celestial belongs to the blue family and Colonial Yellow to the beige-yellow family. Colonial Yellow (LRV 60) reflects noticeably more light than Celestial (LRV 44), a difference of 16 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Celestial runs cool while Colonial Yellow is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 55.5, 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.
Celestial vs Colonial Yellow in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Celestial and Colonial Yellow in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Colonial Yellow will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Celestial would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Colonial Yellow reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Celestial.
Color Details
Celestial vs Colonial Yellow Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Celestial on one side and Colonial Yellow 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.