Mermaid Sea vs Balboa Mist
Where Mermaid Sea belongs to Behr's range, Balboa Mist is a Benjamin Moore color. Hue-wise, Mermaid Sea belongs to the blue family and Balboa Mist to the beige-greige family. Balboa Mist (LRV 66) reflects noticeably more light than Mermaid Sea (LRV 13), a difference of 53 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Mermaid Sea runs green and blue while Balboa Mist is decidedly red, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 48.1, 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 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Mermaid Sea vs Balboa Mist in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Mermaid Sea and Balboa Mist 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 Mist will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Mermaid Sea 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 Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mermaid Sea.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Balboa Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mermaid Sea.
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 Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mermaid Sea.
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 Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mermaid Sea.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Balboa Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mermaid Sea.
Color Details
Mermaid Sea vs Balboa Mist Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Mermaid Sea on one side and Balboa Mist 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 Mermaid Sea comparisons
See how Mermaid Sea stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
