Cheating Heart vs Sea Serpent
Where Cheating Heart belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Sea Serpent is a Sherwin-Williams color. Cheating Heart reads as grey, while Sea Serpent reads as blue — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (9 vs 7), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. Cheating Heart runs blue while Sea Serpent is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. The ΔE 6.3 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 8 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Cheating Heart vs Sea Serpent in Real Spaces
8 real rooms side by side. Cheating Heart and Sea Serpent 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 temperature contrast between Sea Serpent and Cheating Heart is what sets these apart most in this context.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Sea Serpent brings more warmth to the space, while Cheating Heart keeps things cooler and crisper.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Cheating Heart reads more restrained here, while Sea Serpent adds a sense of enclosure and warmth.
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. Sea Serpent brings more warmth to the space, while Cheating Heart keeps things cooler and crisper.
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. Sea Serpent brings more warmth to the space, while Cheating Heart keeps things cooler and crisper.
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. Sea Serpent brings more warmth to the space, while Cheating Heart keeps things cooler and crisper.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The temperature contrast between Sea Serpent and Cheating Heart is what sets these apart most in this context.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Sea Serpent brings more warmth to the space, while Cheating Heart keeps things cooler and crisper.
Color Details
Cheating Heart vs Sea Serpent Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cheating Heart on one side and Sea Serpent 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 Cheating Heart comparisons
See how Cheating Heart stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
