Charcoal Blue vs Thunderous
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Charcoal Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Thunderous to the grey family. Thunderous (LRV 15) reflects noticeably more light than Charcoal Blue (LRV 6), a difference of 9 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Charcoal Blue runs cool while Thunderous is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 21.9, 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 8 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Charcoal Blue vs Thunderous in Real Spaces
8 real rooms side by side. Seeing Charcoal Blue and Thunderous 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 Thunderous will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Charcoal Blue would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
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. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
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 Thunderous will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Charcoal Blue would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Thunderous reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Charcoal Blue.
Color Details
Charcoal Blue vs Thunderous Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Charcoal Blue on one side and Thunderous 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.