Soot vs Trout Gray
Both from Benjamin Moore's palette. Hue-wise, Soot belongs to the blue-grey family and Trout Gray to the grey family. Trout Gray (LRV 16) reflects noticeably more light than Soot (LRV 6), a difference of 10 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean blue, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. With a ΔE of 20.8, 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 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soot vs Trout Gray in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soot and Trout Gray 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 Trout Gray will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Soot 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. Trout Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
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. Trout Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
Mudroom
Mudrooms are seen in passing, often under whatever light comes through the door — a context that favors colors with some depth. Trout Gray returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Trout Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Trout Gray reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
Color Details
Soot vs Trout Gray Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soot on one side and Trout Gray 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 Soot comparisons
See how Soot stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
