Charcoal Blue vs Cotton
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Charcoal Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Cotton to the beige-greige family. Cotton (LRV 83) reflects noticeably more light than Charcoal Blue (LRV 6), a difference of 77 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Charcoal Blue runs cool while Cotton is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 65.7, 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.
Charcoal Blue vs Cotton in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Charcoal Blue and Cotton 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. The LRV gap is large enough that Cotton will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Charcoal Blue would.
Color Details
Charcoal Blue vs Cotton Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Charcoal Blue on one side and Cotton 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 Charcoal Blue comparisons
See how Charcoal Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
With LRVs of 6 and 4, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 6), opening up a space where Charcoal Blue encloses it.