Soft Fern vs Naval
Where Soft Fern belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Naval is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Soft Fern belongs to the beige-greige family and Naval to the blue family. Soft Fern (LRV 57) reflects noticeably more light than Naval (LRV 4), a difference of 52 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Soft Fern runs yellow while Naval is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 60.0, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soft Fern vs Naval in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soft Fern and Naval in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
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. Soft Fern reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Naval.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Soft Fern reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Naval.
Color Details
Soft Fern vs Naval Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soft Fern on one side and Naval 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 Soft Fern comparisons
See how Soft Fern stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 57, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Fern reads slightly lighter (LRV 57 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Soft Fern reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 57), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 57 vs 27, Soft Fern is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Fern reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 57 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 57 vs 44, Soft Fern is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 57), opening up a space where Soft Fern encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (66 vs 57) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 57, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 12, Soft Fern is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (68 vs 57) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 12, Soft Fern is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (57 vs 45) makes Soft Fern the marginally brighter of the two.
Soft Fern reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Soft Fern reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Soft Fern reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
With LRVs of 57 and 57, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 57), opening up a space where Soft Fern encloses it.