Cheating Heart vs Mopboard Black paint color comparison

Cheating Heart vs Mopboard Black

Both from Benjamin Moore's palette. Both sit in the grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Cheating Heart (LRV 9) reflects noticeably more light than Mopboard Black (LRV 6), a difference of 3 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean blue, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. The ΔE 9.2 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.

Cheating Heart vs Mopboard Black in Real Spaces

5 real rooms side by side. Cheating Heart and Mopboard Black 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. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.

Cheating HeartCheating Heart living room color review

@thepdxvictorian

Mopboard BlackBenjamin Moore Mopboard Black Living Room Fireplace

@amberthecolor

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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.

Cheating HeartBenjamin Moore Cheating Heart bathroom paint

@harmonyhaus

Mopboard BlackBm Mopboard Black Bathroom

@roandesign

Home Office

The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.

Cheating HeartCheating Heart home office color

@yesterdaisy

Mopboard BlackBm Mopboard Black Home Office

@agirlcalleddante

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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.

Cheating HeartCheating Heart exterior paint

@threelittledogs

Mopboard BlackCw-680 Shop Exterior

@ciao_barharbor

Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.

Cheating HeartCheating Heart kitchen cabinets paint review

@dianegordondesign

Mopboard BlackKitchen Cabinets

@t.oakshome

Color Details

Cheating Heart
Benjamin Moore · 1617
LRV8.8
BrandBenjamin Moore
Number1617
UndertoneBlue
TemperatureNeutral
BrightnessDark
Mopboard Black
Benjamin Moore · CW-680
LRV6.2
BrandBenjamin Moore
NumberCW-680
UndertoneBlue
TemperatureNeutral
BrightnessDark

Cheating Heart vs Mopboard Black Simulated Comparison

5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cheating Heart on one side and Mopboard Black on the other.

Bathroom
Bedroom
House
Kitchen Cabinets
Living Room

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.