Swirling Water vs Naval
Where Swirling Water belongs to Behr's range, Naval is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Swirling Water belongs to the white family and Naval to the blue family. Swirling Water (LRV 81) reflects noticeably more light than Naval (LRV 4), a difference of 76 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Swirling Water runs blue while Naval is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 17.3, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Swirling Water vs Naval in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Swirling Water and Naval in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
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. Swirling Water 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. Swirling Water reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Naval.
Color Details
Swirling Water vs Naval Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Swirling Water on one side and Naval 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 Swirling Water comparisons
See how Swirling Water stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Swirling Water reads slightly lighter (LRV 81 vs 69), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 83 vs 81), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 81 vs 6, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 52, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 58, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 27, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 55, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 13, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 44, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reads slightly lighter (LRV 84 vs 81), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 66, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (81 vs 74) makes Swirling Water the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 83 vs 81), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 51), opening up a space where Pigeon encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 12, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 8, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 68, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 81 vs 12, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 81 vs 45, Swirling Water is decisively the brighter choice.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Swirling Water reflects far more light (LRV 81 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.