Ocean Abyss vs Dakota Shadow
Where Ocean Abyss belongs to Behr's range, Dakota Shadow is a Benjamin Moore color. Hue-wise, Ocean Abyss belongs to the blue family and Dakota Shadow to the green-grey family. Dakota Shadow (LRV 12) reflects noticeably more light than Ocean Abyss (LRV 7), a difference of 4 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Ocean Abyss runs blue while Dakota Shadow is decidedly green, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 15.1, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Dakota Shadow in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Dakota Shadow 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Dakota Shadow gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Dakota Shadow reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Dakota Shadow has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Dakota Shadow reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Dakota Shadow Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Dakota Shadow 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.
