Balboa Mist vs Spare White
Where Balboa Mist belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Spare White is a Sherwin-Williams color. Balboa Mist reads as beige-greige, while Spare White reads as greige-white — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Spare White (LRV 77) reflects noticeably more light than Balboa Mist (LRV 66), a difference of 12 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Balboa Mist runs red while Spare White is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. The ΔE 5.2 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Balboa Mist vs Spare White in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Balboa Mist and Spare White 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
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 Spare White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Balboa Mist would.
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. Spare White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Balboa Mist.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Spare White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Balboa Mist.
Color Details
Balboa Mist vs Spare White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Balboa Mist on one side and Spare White 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.
