Balboa vs Dix Blue
Where Balboa belongs to Behr's range, Dix Blue is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Balboa belongs to the blue family and Dix Blue to the blue-grey family. Balboa (LRV 58) reflects noticeably more light than Dix Blue (LRV 41), a difference of 17 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Balboa runs blue while Dix Blue is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 14.3, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Balboa vs Dix Blue in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Balboa and Dix 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 LRV gap is large enough that Balboa will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Dix Blue 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. Balboa reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dix Blue.
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. Balboa reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dix Blue.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Balboa reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dix Blue.
Color Details
Balboa vs Dix Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Balboa on one side and Dix 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 Balboa comparisons
See how Balboa stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
