Opal Waters vs Honest Blue
Opal Waters (Behr) and Honest Blue (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Their light reflectance values are nearly the same — 53 vs 55 — so neither will read significantly brighter or darker than the other. Where Opal Waters leans blue, Honest Blue reads cool — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 0.7 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Opal Waters vs Honest Blue in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Opal Waters and Honest Blue are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
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. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Color Details
Opal Waters vs Honest Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Opal Waters on one side and Honest 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 Opal Waters comparisons
See how Opal Waters stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 53), opening up a space where Opal Waters encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 53, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 53 vs 6, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 53 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Opal Waters reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 53 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 53), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 4-point LRV gap (58 vs 53) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 53 vs 27, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
Opal Waters reads slightly lighter (LRV 53 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Opal Waters reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 53), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 53 vs 13, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (53 vs 44) makes Opal Waters the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 53), opening up a space where Opal Waters encloses it.
Opal Waters reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 53, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 53, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 53, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 53 and 51, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 53 vs 8, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 53, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Opal Waters reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Opal Waters is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (53 vs 45) makes Opal Waters the marginally brighter of the two.
Opal Waters reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.