Downing Earth vs Virtual Taupe
Both are Sherwin-Williams colors. Both sit in the greige-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 20 and 20, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. They share a warm quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. With a ΔE of 2.5, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Downing Earth vs Virtual Taupe in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Downing Earth and Virtual Taupe are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
House
At full exterior scale, the difference between these two colors becomes much easier to judge than from a small chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Downing Earth vs Virtual Taupe Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Downing Earth on one side and Virtual Taupe 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.