Salamander vs Vandyke Brown
Where Salamander belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Vandyke Brown is a Jotun color. Hue-wise, Salamander belongs to the blue-grey family and Vandyke Brown to the grey family. Vandyke Brown (LRV 18) reflects noticeably more light than Salamander (LRV 6), a difference of 12 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Salamander runs blue while Vandyke Brown is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 25.7, 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.
Salamander vs Vandyke Brown in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Salamander and Vandyke Brown 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 Vandyke Brown will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Salamander 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. Vandyke Brown reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Salamander.
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. Vandyke Brown 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. Vandyke Brown reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Salamander.
Color Details
Salamander vs Vandyke Brown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Salamander on one side and Vandyke Brown 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 Salamander comparisons
See how Salamander stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
