Meditative vs Refuge
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Meditative belongs to the blue-grey family and Refuge to the blue family. Meditative (LRV 38) reflects noticeably more light than Refuge (LRV 19), a difference of 20 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean cool, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. With a ΔE of 18.1, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Meditative vs Refuge in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Meditative and Refuge in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Meditative reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Refuge.
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. Meditative returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Meditative will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Refuge would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Meditative reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Refuge.
Color Details
Meditative vs Refuge Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Meditative on one side and Refuge 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 Meditative comparisons
See how Meditative stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 38), opening up a space where Meditative encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 38, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 6, Meditative is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 38), opening up a space where Meditative encloses it.
Meditative reads slightly lighter (LRV 38 vs 30), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 38, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 38), opening up a space where Meditative encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 38, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (38 vs 27) makes Meditative the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 43 vs 38), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Meditative reflects far more light (LRV 38 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 38, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 13, Meditative is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (44 vs 38) makes Hardwick White the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 38), opening up a space where Meditative encloses it.
Meditative reflects far more light (LRV 38 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 38, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 38, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 38, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 38), opening up a space where Meditative encloses it.
At LRV 38 vs 12, Meditative is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 38 vs 8, Meditative is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 38, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 41 and 38, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 38 vs 12, Meditative is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (45 vs 38) makes Saybrook Sage the marginally brighter of the two.
Meditative reads slightly lighter (LRV 38 vs 31), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.