Ocean Abyss vs Santa Monica Blue
Ocean Abyss (Behr) and Santa Monica Blue (Benjamin Moore) come from different manufacturers. These are both blues, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue to land. The 9-point LRV gap — 16 for Santa Monica Blue vs 7 for Ocean Abyss — means Santa Monica Blue 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 18.4 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Santa Monica Blue in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Santa Monica 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. Santa Monica Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The LRV gap is large enough that Santa Monica Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ocean Abyss would.
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. Santa Monica Blue returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Santa Monica Blue returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Santa Monica Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
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. Santa Monica Blue returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Santa Monica Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Santa Monica 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 Ocean Abyss comparisons
See how Ocean Abyss stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
