Salon Drab vs Stiffkey Blue
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. Hue-wise, Salon Drab belongs to the greige-grey family and Stiffkey Blue to the blue family. Salon Drab (LRV 14) reflects noticeably more light than Stiffkey Blue (LRV 10), a difference of 4 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Salon Drab runs warm while Stiffkey Blue is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 21.8, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Salon Drab vs Stiffkey Blue in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Salon Drab and Stiffkey Blue 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Salon Drab gives the walls a little more lift.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Salon Drab has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Salon Drab reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Salon Drab reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The brightness difference is modest but present — Salon Drab gives the walls a little more lift.
Color Details
Salon Drab vs Stiffkey Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Salon Drab on one side and Stiffkey Blue 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 Salon Drab comparisons
See how Salon Drab stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 14, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
Salon Drab reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 14, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 14, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 14, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 14, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (14 vs 4) makes Salon Drab the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
With LRVs of 14 and 13, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 14, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (21 vs 14) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 14, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 14 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Salon Drab reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 14, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 14 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 14), opening up a space where Salon Drab encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 14, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.