Enlightened Lime vs Intellectual Gray
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Enlightened Lime reads as green-yellow, while Intellectual Gray reads as greige-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Enlightened Lime (LRV 80) reflects noticeably more light than Intellectual Gray (LRV 36), a difference of 44 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Enlightened Lime runs neutral while Intellectual Gray is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 26.3, 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.
Enlightened Lime vs Intellectual Gray in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Enlightened Lime and Intellectual Gray 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 Enlightened Lime will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Intellectual Gray would.
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. Enlightened Lime reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Intellectual Gray.
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. Enlightened Lime reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Intellectual Gray.
Color Details
Enlightened Lime vs Intellectual Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Enlightened Lime on one side and Intellectual Gray 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.