Modern Blue vs Calamine
Where Modern Blue belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, Calamine is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Modern Blue belongs to the blue family and Calamine to the pink-red family. Calamine (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Modern Blue (LRV 63), a difference of 5 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 21.6, 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.
Modern Blue vs Calamine in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Modern 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Calamine 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. Calamine reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Calamine 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. Calamine 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. Calamine reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Modern Blue vs Calamine Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Modern 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 Modern Blue comparisons
See how Modern Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
A 6-point LRV gap (69 vs 63) makes Ammonite the marginally brighter of the two.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 63), opening up a space where Modern Blue encloses it.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (63 vs 52) makes Modern Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 63 vs 30, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Modern Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 63 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 63 vs 60), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Modern Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 63 vs 58), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 63 vs 43, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 63 vs 4, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Modern Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 63 vs 55), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 63, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 63 vs 21, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 66 and 63, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Shoji White reads slightly lighter (LRV 74 vs 63), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 63), opening up a space where Modern Blue encloses it.
At LRV 63 vs 51, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 63), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 63 vs 41, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Modern Blue reflects far more light (LRV 63 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 63 vs 31, Modern Blue is decisively the brighter choice.