Ocean Abyss vs Charcoal Slate
Ocean Abyss (Behr) and Charcoal Slate (Benjamin Moore) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Ocean Abyss belongs to the blue family and Charcoal Slate to the grey family. The 7-point LRV gap — 15 for Charcoal Slate vs 7 for Ocean Abyss — means Charcoal Slate will open up a space more effectively. Both share a blue character, which means they'll respond to light and surrounding materials in similar ways. A ΔE of 17.2 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 9 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Charcoal Slate in Real Spaces
9 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Charcoal Slate 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. Charcoal Slate reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The brightness difference is modest but present — Charcoal Slate gives the walls a little more lift.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Home Office
Home office walls matter more than most — you're looking at them all day, and a color that reads fine at first can become tiring over time. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
House
A full exterior is the most demanding test for a paint color — scale and outdoor light both amplify differences that seem small on a swatch. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. Charcoal Slate reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinet color is always seen in context — against countertops, backsplash, and hardware — which amplifies undertone differences that might disappear on a plain wall. Charcoal Slate has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Charcoal Slate Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Charcoal Slate 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 Ocean Abyss comparisons
See how Ocean Abyss stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
