Soot vs Hicks' Blue
Soot is a Benjamin Moore color while Hicks' Blue comes from Little Greene. Hue-wise, Soot belongs to the blue-grey family and Hicks' Blue to the blue family. Soot has an LRV of 6. They share a blue quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. At ΔE 14.4, these are genuinely distinct colors — a strong contrast if used together, or a meaningful choice between two different directions. Below you'll find 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soot vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soot and Hicks' Blue 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
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. At this scale, the choice between them becomes clear in a way that a swatch alone can't communicate.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Bathroom
Bathrooms amplify color — the enclosed space and reflective surfaces make what reads subtle elsewhere feel more present here. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
House
At full exterior scale, the difference between these two colors becomes much easier to judge than from a small chip. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Front Door
Front doors are seen in isolation against the rest of the facade, which makes them a high-stakes surface where even subtle differences matter. At this scale, the choice between them becomes clear in a way that a swatch alone can't communicate.
Kitchen Cabinets
On cabinetry, undertone and temperature become more pronounced against countertops and hardware. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Color Details
Soot vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soot on one side and Hicks' Blue 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.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 8 vs 6), so neither reads brighter in a room.
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.