Portsmouth vs Thistle

Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Portsmouth belongs to the blue-grey family and Thistle to the grey family. Thistle (LRV 30) reflects noticeably more light than Portsmouth (LRV 22), a difference of 8 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Portsmouth runs neutral while Thistle is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 19.8, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below, 5 simulated room previews show how each color reads at scale — real-room photos will be added as they become available.