Gray Owl vs Dix Blue
Where Gray Owl belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Dix Blue is a Farrow & Ball color. Gray Owl reads as grey, while Dix Blue reads as blue-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Gray Owl (LRV 65) reflects noticeably more light than Dix Blue (LRV 41), a difference of 24 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Gray Owl runs yellow while Dix Blue is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 16.8, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Gray Owl vs Dix Blue in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Gray Owl and Dix Blue 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
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 Gray Owl will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Dix Blue would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Gray Owl reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dix Blue.
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. Gray Owl returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Gray Owl reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dix Blue.
Color Details
Gray Owl vs Dix Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Gray Owl on one side and Dix Blue 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 Gray Owl comparisons
See how Gray Owl stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 65, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Gray Owl reads slightly lighter (LRV 65 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 7-point LRV gap (65 vs 58) makes Gray Owl the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 65 vs 27, Gray Owl is decisively the brighter choice.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (65 vs 55) makes Gray Owl the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 65 vs 44, Gray Owl is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 65), opening up a space where Gray Owl encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 66 vs 65), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 10-point LRV gap (74 vs 65) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 65 vs 12, Gray Owl is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (68 vs 65) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 65 vs 12, Gray Owl is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 65 vs 45, Gray Owl is decisively the brighter choice.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Gray Owl reflects far more light (LRV 65 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Gray Owl reads slightly lighter (LRV 65 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Just Walnut reads slightly lighter (LRV 72 vs 65), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.