Naval vs Relentless Olive
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Naval belongs to the blue family and Relentless Olive to the beige-yellow family. Relentless Olive (LRV 16) reflects noticeably more light than Naval (LRV 4), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Naval runs cool while Relentless Olive is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 45.1, 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.
Naval vs Relentless Olive in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Naval and Relentless Olive 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 Relentless Olive will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Naval would.
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. Relentless Olive reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Naval.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Relentless Olive reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Naval.
Color Details
Naval vs Relentless Olive Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Naval on one side and Relentless Olive 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 Naval comparisons
See how Naval stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 4, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 4, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 4, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 4, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 4, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 4, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 4, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (12 vs 4) makes Pewter Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 4, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (12 vs 4) makes Vintage Vogue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 4, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
With LRVs of 7 and 4, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cement grey reflects far more light (LRV 24 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.