Pearl Gray vs Sea Salt
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Both sit in the green-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (61 vs 63), so they'll read as similarly Light in most lighting conditions. Both lean neutral, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. At ΔE 1.6, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Pearl Gray vs Sea Salt in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Pearl Gray and Sea Salt 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.
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 two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Pearl Gray vs Sea Salt Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Pearl Gray on one side and Sea Salt 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 Pearl Gray comparisons
See how Pearl Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 61, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reads slightly lighter (LRV 69 vs 61), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 61 vs 6, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Pearl Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 61 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (61 vs 52) makes Pearl Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
With LRVs of 61 and 60, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 3-point LRV gap (61 vs 58) makes Pearl Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 61 vs 27, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 6-point LRV gap (61 vs 55) makes Pearl Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 61 vs 13, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 61 vs 44, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 61), opening up a space where Pearl Gray encloses it.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
A 5-point LRV gap (66 vs 61) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 61, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 61, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 61 vs 12, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (68 vs 61) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
Calamine reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 61), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 25), opening up a space where Treron encloses it.
At LRV 61 vs 12, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 61 vs 45, Pearl Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Pearl Gray reflects far more light (LRV 61 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Pearl Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 61 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.