Expressive Plum vs Passageway
Where Expressive Plum belongs to Sherwin-Williams's range, Passageway is a Valspar color. Hue-wise, Expressive Plum belongs to the grey family and Passageway to the blue-grey family. Passageway (LRV 14) reflects noticeably more light than Expressive Plum (LRV 12), a difference of 3 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 13.5, 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.
Expressive Plum vs Passageway in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Expressive Plum and Passageway 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. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Expressive Plum vs Passageway Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Expressive Plum on one side and Passageway 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 Expressive Plum comparisons
See how Expressive Plum stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
