Placid Sea vs Hicks' Blue
Placid Sea is a Behr color while Hicks' Blue comes from Little Greene. These are both blues, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue to land. Placid Sea has an LRV of 23. They share a blue quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. At ΔE 38.5, these are genuinely distinct colors — a strong contrast if used together, or a meaningful choice between two different directions. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Placid Sea vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Placid Sea and Hicks' 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. At this scale, the choice between them becomes clear in a way that a swatch alone can't communicate.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Front Door
Front doors are seen in isolation against the rest of the facade, which makes them a high-stakes surface where even subtle differences matter. At this scale, the choice between them becomes clear in a way that a swatch alone can't communicate.
Color Details
Placid Sea vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Placid Sea on one side and Hicks' 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 Placid Sea comparisons
See how Placid Sea stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 23, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 23 vs 6, Placid Sea is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reads slightly lighter (LRV 30 vs 23), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 23, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 23, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (27 vs 23) makes Denim Drift the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
Placid Sea reflects far more light (LRV 23 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 23, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (23 vs 13) makes Placid Sea the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 44 vs 23, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
With LRVs of 23 and 21, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 66 vs 23, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 23, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 23, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reflects far more light (LRV 51 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (23 vs 12) makes Placid Sea the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 23 vs 8, Placid Sea is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 23, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 23), opening up a space where Placid Sea encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (23 vs 12) makes Placid Sea the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 23, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 31 vs 23), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Placid Sea reflects far more light (LRV 23 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.