Sweet Basil vs Pigeon
Where Sweet Basil belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Pigeon is a Farrow & Ball color. Sweet Basil reads as green-grey, while Pigeon reads as grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Pigeon (LRV 51) reflects noticeably more light than Sweet Basil (LRV 14), a difference of 37 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Sweet Basil runs green while Pigeon is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 26.4, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Sweet Basil vs Pigeon in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Sweet Basil and Pigeon 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 Pigeon will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Sweet Basil would.
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. Pigeon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Sweet Basil.
Color Details
Sweet Basil vs Pigeon Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Sweet Basil on one side and Pigeon 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 Sweet Basil comparisons
See how Sweet Basil stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 14, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (14 vs 6) makes Sweet Basil the marginally brighter of the two.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 14, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 14, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 14, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
Sweet Basil reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 4), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 14, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 13), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 44 vs 14, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
Artichoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 14), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 14, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 14, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 14, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 5-point LRV gap (14 vs 8) makes Sweet Basil the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 14, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 14 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 14, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 14), opening up a space where Sweet Basil encloses it.
Sweet Basil reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 7), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.