Ocean Abyss vs Dovetail
Where Ocean Abyss belongs to Behr's range, Dovetail is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Ocean Abyss belongs to the blue family and Dovetail to the grey family. Dovetail (LRV 26) reflects noticeably more light than Ocean Abyss (LRV 7), a difference of 19 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Ocean Abyss runs blue while Dovetail is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 30.6, 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 9 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Dovetail in Real Spaces
9 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Dovetail 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 Dovetail will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ocean Abyss 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. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
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. Dovetail 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. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
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. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Dovetail will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ocean Abyss would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Dovetail reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Dovetail Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Dovetail 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.
