Buttermilk vs Buff
Buttermilk is a Dulux color while Buff comes from Sherwin-Williams. Both sit in the beige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. With LRVs of 77 and 75, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. They share a warm quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. With a ΔE of 2.6, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Buttermilk vs Buff in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Buttermilk and Buff 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
House
At full exterior scale, the difference between these two colors becomes much easier to judge than from a small chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Buttermilk vs Buff Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Buttermilk on one side and Buff 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 Buttermilk comparisons
See how Buttermilk stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
A 8-point LRV gap (77 vs 69) makes Buttermilk the marginally brighter of the two.
White Dove reads slightly lighter (LRV 83 vs 77), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
At LRV 77 vs 52, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 77 vs 30, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 52), opening up a space where Mizzle encloses it.
At LRV 77 vs 60, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 58), opening up a space where Accessible Beige encloses it.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 77 vs 43, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 55), opening up a space where Tranquil Dawn encloses it.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (84 vs 77) makes Pure White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 77 vs 21, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
Buttermilk reads slightly lighter (LRV 77 vs 66), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
With LRVs of 77 and 74, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Snowbound reads slightly lighter (LRV 83 vs 77), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Buttermilk reads slightly lighter (LRV 77 vs 68), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 77 vs 41, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Buttermilk reflects far more light (LRV 77 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 77 vs 31, Buttermilk is decisively the brighter choice.