Thermal vs Balboa Mist
Where Thermal belongs to Behr's range, Balboa Mist is a Benjamin Moore color. Thermal reads as blue-grey, while Balboa Mist reads as beige-greige — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Balboa Mist (LRV 66) reflects noticeably more light than Thermal (LRV 7), a difference of 58 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Thermal runs blue while Balboa Mist is decidedly red, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 54.0, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Thermal vs Balboa Mist in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Thermal and Balboa Mist 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 Balboa Mist will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Thermal 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. Balboa Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Thermal.
Color Details
Thermal vs Balboa Mist Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Thermal on one side and Balboa Mist 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 Thermal comparisons
See how Thermal stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 7, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 7, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 7, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 7, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 7, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
At LRV 74 vs 7, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (12 vs 7) makes Pewter Green the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 8 vs 7), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 68 vs 7, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (12 vs 7) makes Vintage Vogue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 7, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 7), opening up a space where Thermal encloses it.
With LRVs of 7 and 7, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.