Van Deusen Blue vs Calamine
Where Van Deusen Blue belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Calamine is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Van Deusen Blue belongs to the blue family and Calamine to the pink-red family. Calamine (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Van Deusen Blue (LRV 12), a difference of 56 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Van Deusen Blue runs blue while Calamine is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 51.8, 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.
Van Deusen Blue vs Calamine in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Van Deusen Blue and Calamine 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 Calamine will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Van Deusen Blue 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. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Van Deusen Blue.
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. Calamine 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. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Van Deusen Blue.
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 Calamine will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Van Deusen Blue would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Calamine reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Van Deusen Blue.
Color Details
Van Deusen Blue vs Calamine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Van Deusen Blue on one side and Calamine 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 Van Deusen Blue comparisons
See how Van Deusen Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 12, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Van Deusen Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 12, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 12, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 12, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 12, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (12 vs 4) makes Van Deusen Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 13 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 12, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (21 vs 12) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 12, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 25 vs 12, Treron is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 12), opening up a space where Van Deusen Blue encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 12, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (12 vs 7) makes Van Deusen Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 24 vs 12, Cement grey is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 12, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 12, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.