Backwater vs Elegant Blue
Backwater is a Cloverdale Paint color while Elegant Blue comes from Jotun. These are both blue-greys, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue-grey to land. With LRVs of 18 and 16, they'll behave almost identically in terms of how much light they reflect back into a room. With a ΔE of 2.9, the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side to reliably tell them apart. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Backwater vs Elegant Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Backwater and Elegant Blue are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
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. In photos like these you're seeing the difference at its most direct. In a finished room, the distinction is there but not dramatic.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Kitchen
Kitchen lighting tends to be bright and directional, which sharpens contrast and makes undertone differences more apparent. The two are close enough that the choice comes down to finer qualities — undertone, texture, what the color sits next to.
Color Details
Backwater vs Elegant Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Backwater on one side and Elegant 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 Backwater comparisons
See how Backwater stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 18, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 18, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 60 vs 18, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
Denim Drift reads slightly lighter (LRV 27 vs 18), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 43 vs 18, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 18, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
Backwater reads slightly lighter (LRV 18 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Backwater reads slightly lighter (LRV 18 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
Backwater reads slightly lighter (LRV 18 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 18), opening up a space where Backwater encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 18, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.