Santa Monica Blue vs Thames Fog
Where Santa Monica Blue belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Thames Fog is a Valspar color. Hue-wise, Santa Monica Blue belongs to the blue family and Thames Fog to the grey family. Thames Fog (LRV 27) reflects noticeably more light than Santa Monica Blue (LRV 16), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 33.2, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Santa Monica Blue vs Thames Fog in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Santa Monica Blue and Thames Fog 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 Thames Fog will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Santa Monica Blue would.
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. Thames Fog returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Thames Fog reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Santa Monica Blue.
Color Details
Santa Monica Blue vs Thames Fog Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Santa Monica Blue on one side and Thames Fog 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 Santa Monica Blue comparisons
See how Santa Monica Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
