Balboa Mist vs Rookwood Medium Brown
Balboa Mist (Benjamin Moore) and Rookwood Medium Brown (Sherwin-Williams) come from different manufacturers. Both sit in the beige-greige family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. The 56-point LRV gap — 66 for Balboa Mist vs 10 for Rookwood Medium Brown — means Balboa Mist will open up a space more effectively. Where Balboa Mist leans red, Rookwood Medium Brown reads warm — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 50.1 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Balboa Mist vs Rookwood Medium Brown in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Balboa Mist and Rookwood Medium Brown in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Balboa Mist returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Balboa Mist returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Color Details
Balboa Mist vs Rookwood Medium Brown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Balboa Mist on one side and Rookwood Medium Brown 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 Balboa Mist comparisons
See how Balboa Mist stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
