Dolphin Blue vs Hicks' Blue
Dolphin Blue (Behr) and Hicks' Blue (Little Greene) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Dolphin Blue has an LRV of 30. Both share a blue character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of 26.6 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Dolphin Blue vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Dolphin Blue and Hicks' 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. At this scale, the choice between them becomes clear in a way that a swatch alone can't communicate.
Color Details
Dolphin Blue vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Dolphin Blue on one side and Hicks' 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 Dolphin Blue comparisons
See how Dolphin Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 30, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 6, Dolphin Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 30 and 30, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 52 vs 30, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 30, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 3-point LRV gap (30 vs 27) makes Dolphin Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
Dolphin Blue reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 30, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 13, Dolphin Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 30, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
Dolphin Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 21), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 30, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 30, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 30, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 30), opening up a space where Dolphin Blue encloses it.
At LRV 30 vs 12, Dolphin Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 8, Dolphin Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 30, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 41 vs 30), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 30 vs 12, Dolphin Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 30, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 31 and 30, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Dolphin Blue reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.