Midnight Blue vs Purbeck Stone
Where Midnight Blue belongs to Behr's range, Purbeck Stone is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Midnight Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Purbeck Stone to the greige-grey family. Purbeck Stone (LRV 52) reflects noticeably more light than Midnight Blue (LRV 9), a difference of 43 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Midnight Blue runs blue while Purbeck Stone is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 42.9, 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.
Midnight Blue vs Purbeck Stone in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Midnight Blue and Purbeck Stone 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 Purbeck Stone will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Midnight Blue would.
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. Purbeck Stone returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Midnight Blue.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Midnight Blue.
Color Details
Midnight Blue vs Purbeck Stone Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Midnight Blue on one side and Purbeck Stone 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 Midnight Blue comparisons
See how Midnight Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 9, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (9 vs 6) makes Midnight Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 9, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 9, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 9, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Midnight Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 9 vs 4), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 9, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (13 vs 9) makes Bancha the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 44 vs 9, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Artichoke reflects far more light (LRV 21 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 9, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 9, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 9, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 12 vs 9), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 68 vs 9, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Calamine reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Treron reflects far more light (LRV 25 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 12 vs 9), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 9, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 9 and 7, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cement grey reflects far more light (LRV 24 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 9), opening up a space where Midnight Blue encloses it.