Calico Blue vs Bancha
Calico Blue (Benjamin Moore) and Bancha (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Calico Blue belongs to the blue-green family and Bancha to the beige-greige family. The 4-point LRV gap — 13 for Bancha vs 9 for Calico Blue — means Bancha will open up a space more effectively. Where Calico Blue leans green, Bancha reads warm — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 17.8 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.
Calico Blue vs Bancha in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Calico Blue and Bancha 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Bancha reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Bancha has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
Calico Blue vs Bancha Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Calico Blue on one side and Bancha 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 Calico Blue comparisons
See how Calico Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 9, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (9 vs 6) makes Calico Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 9, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 9, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 9, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Calico Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 9 vs 4), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 9, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 9, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Artichoke reflects far more light (LRV 21 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 9, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 9, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 9, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 12 vs 9), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 68 vs 9, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Calamine reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Treron reflects far more light (LRV 25 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 12 vs 9), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 9, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 9 and 7, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Cement grey reflects far more light (LRV 24 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 9), opening up a space where Calico Blue encloses it.