Soot vs Duck Green
Soot (Benjamin Moore) and Duck Green (Farrow & Ball) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Soot belongs to the blue-grey family and Duck Green to the green-grey family. Their light reflectance values are nearly the same — 6 vs 8 — so neither will read significantly brighter or darker than the other. Where Soot leans blue, Duck Green reads neutral — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 20.5 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 7 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soot vs Duck Green in Real Spaces
7 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soot and Duck Green 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Duck Green brings more warmth to the space, while Soot keeps things cooler and crisper.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Soot reads more restrained here, while Duck Green adds a sense of enclosure and warmth.
Dining Room
Dining rooms often rely on warm incandescent or candlelight, which flatters warm undertones and mutes cool ones. The temperature contrast between Duck Green and Soot is what sets these apart most in this context.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Soot reads more restrained here, while Duck Green adds a sense of enclosure and warmth.
Home Office
Home office walls matter more than most — you're looking at them all day, and a color that reads fine at first can become tiring over time. Soot reads more restrained here, while Duck Green adds a sense of enclosure and warmth.
Front Door
On a front door, the color is both the first and last thing you see — a context where even a modest tonal difference reads clearly. Duck Green brings more warmth to the space, while Soot keeps things cooler and crisper.
Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinet color is always seen in context — against countertops, backsplash, and hardware — which amplifies undertone differences that might disappear on a plain wall. Soot reads more restrained here, while Duck Green adds a sense of enclosure and warmth.
Color Details
Soot vs Duck Green Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soot on one side and Duck Green 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.
At LRV 83 vs 6, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 6, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 6, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 6, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 6, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 6, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 6, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (12 vs 6) makes Pewter Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 6, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 6-point LRV gap (12 vs 6) makes Vintage Vogue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 6, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 6), opening up a space where Soot encloses it.
With LRVs of 7 and 6, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.