Wales Gray vs Hicks' Blue
Where Wales Gray belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Hicks' Blue is a Little Greene color. Hue-wise, Wales Gray belongs to the blue-grey family and Hicks' Blue to the blue family. Wales Gray has an LRV of 54. Wales Gray runs green and blue while Hicks' Blue is decidedly blue, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 43.5, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Wales Gray vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Wales Gray 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
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. 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.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Wales Gray vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Wales Gray 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 Wales Gray comparisons
See how Wales Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 54, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 54), opening up a space where Wales Gray encloses it.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 54 vs 52), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 54 vs 30, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 54 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 7-point LRV gap (60 vs 54) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Accessible Beige reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (54 vs 43) makes Wales Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 54 vs 4, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 55 and 54, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Wales Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 54, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 21, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 54), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 54), opening up a space where Wales Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 54), opening up a space where Wales Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 54 vs 51), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 54), opening up a space where Wales Gray encloses it.
At LRV 54 vs 41, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Wales Gray reflects far more light (LRV 54 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Wales Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 54 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 54 vs 31, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 54 vs 7, Wales Gray is decisively the brighter choice.