Charcoal Blue vs Griffin
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Charcoal Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Griffin to the greige-grey family. Griffin (LRV 13) reflects noticeably more light than Charcoal Blue (LRV 6), a difference of 7 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Charcoal Blue runs cool while Griffin is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 21.6, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Charcoal Blue vs Griffin in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Charcoal Blue and Griffin 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Griffin gives the walls a little more lift.
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. Griffin reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Griffin reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Charcoal Blue vs Griffin Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Charcoal Blue on one side and Griffin 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.