Heavenly White vs Steely Gray
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Heavenly White belongs to the greige-white family and Steely Gray to the blue-grey family. Heavenly White (LRV 81) reflects noticeably more light than Steely Gray (LRV 30), a difference of 51 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Heavenly White runs warm while Steely Gray is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 30.5, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Heavenly White vs Steely Gray in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Heavenly White and Steely 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 Heavenly White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Steely 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. Heavenly White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Steely Gray.
Color Details
Heavenly White vs Steely Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Heavenly White on one side and Steely 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.
More Heavenly White comparisons
See how Heavenly White stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Heavenly White reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 83 vs 81), so neither reads brighter in a room.