Caliente vs Carmine
Where Caliente belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Carmine is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the pink-red family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Caliente (LRV 9) reflects noticeably more light than Carmine (LRV 5), a difference of 4 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Caliente runs red while Carmine is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. The ΔE 5.6 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Caliente vs Carmine in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Caliente and Carmine 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Caliente gives the walls a little more lift.
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. Caliente reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Caliente vs Carmine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Caliente on one side and Carmine 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 Caliente comparisons
See how Caliente stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 9, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 9), opening up a space where Caliente encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 9), opening up a space where Caliente encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 9), opening up a space where Caliente 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 Caliente encloses it.
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 Caliente 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.
A 3-point LRV gap (12 vs 9) makes Pewter Green the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 9 vs 8), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 68 vs 9, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 3-point LRV gap (12 vs 9) makes Vintage Vogue the marginally brighter of the two.
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 Caliente encloses it.