Soot vs Cromarty
Where Soot belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Cromarty is a Farrow & Ball color. Soot reads as blue-grey, while Cromarty reads as greige-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Cromarty (LRV 60) reflects noticeably more light than Soot (LRV 6), a difference of 54 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Soot runs blue while Cromarty is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 58.5, 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 7 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soot vs Cromarty in Real Spaces
7 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soot and Cromarty 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 Cromarty 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. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
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. Cromarty 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. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Cromarty reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soot.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Cromarty will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Soot would.
Color Details
Soot vs Cromarty Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soot on one side and Cromarty 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.
