Riverway vs Temperate Taupe
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Riverway belongs to the blue-grey family and Temperate Taupe to the greige-grey family. Temperate Taupe (LRV 45) reflects noticeably more light than Riverway (LRV 16), a difference of 30 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Riverway runs cool while Temperate Taupe is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 30.3, 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.
Riverway vs Temperate Taupe in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Riverway and Temperate Taupe 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 Temperate Taupe will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Riverway would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Temperate Taupe reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Riverway.
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. Temperate Taupe reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Riverway.
Color Details
Riverway vs Temperate Taupe Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Riverway on one side and Temperate Taupe 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.