Soot vs Succulent
Where Soot belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Succulent is a Sherwin-Williams color. Soot reads as blue-grey, while Succulent reads as green-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Succulent (LRV 14) reflects noticeably more light than Soot (LRV 6), a difference of 8 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Soot runs blue while Succulent is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 21.2, 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 Succulent in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soot and Succulent 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Succulent gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Succulent reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Succulent has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Succulent reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Succulent reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Soot vs Succulent Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soot on one side and Succulent 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.
