Ocean Abyss vs Ethereal Mood
Where Ocean Abyss belongs to Behr's range, Ethereal Mood is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Ocean Abyss belongs to the blue family and Ethereal Mood to the greige-grey family. Ethereal Mood (LRV 38) reflects noticeably more light than Ocean Abyss (LRV 7), a difference of 31 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Ocean Abyss runs blue while Ethereal Mood is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 41.0, 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 7 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Ethereal Mood in Real Spaces
7 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Ethereal Mood 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 Ethereal Mood 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. Ethereal Mood 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. Ethereal Mood reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
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. Ethereal Mood 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. Ethereal Mood 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. Ethereal Mood 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 Ethereal Mood will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ocean Abyss would.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Ethereal Mood Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Ethereal Mood 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.
