Ocean Abyss vs Interesting Aqua
Where Ocean Abyss belongs to Behr's range, Interesting Aqua is a Sherwin-Williams color. Ocean Abyss reads as blue, while Interesting Aqua reads as blue-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Interesting Aqua (LRV 41) reflects noticeably more light than Ocean Abyss (LRV 7), a difference of 34 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Ocean Abyss runs blue while Interesting Aqua is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 37.2, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ocean Abyss vs Interesting Aqua in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Ocean Abyss and Interesting Aqua 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 Interesting Aqua will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Ocean Abyss would.
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. Interesting Aqua 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. Interesting Aqua 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. Interesting Aqua reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Interesting Aqua reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Ocean Abyss.
Color Details
Ocean Abyss vs Interesting Aqua Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ocean Abyss on one side and Interesting Aqua 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.
