Soft Blue vs Bancha
Where Soft Blue belongs to Cloverdale Paint's range, Bancha is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Soft Blue belongs to the blue family and Bancha to the beige-greige family. Soft Blue (LRV 59) reflects noticeably more light than Bancha (LRV 13), a difference of 46 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 47.8, 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 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soft Blue vs Bancha in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Soft Blue and Bancha 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 Soft Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Bancha 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. Soft Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Soft Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
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. Soft Blue 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. Soft Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Bancha.
Color Details
Soft Blue vs Bancha Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soft Blue on one side and Bancha 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 Soft Blue comparisons
See how Soft Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 59, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 59 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Soft Blue reflects far more light (LRV 59 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
With LRVs of 60 and 59, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 59 vs 58), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 59 vs 27, Soft Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Blue reflects far more light (LRV 59 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (59 vs 55) makes Soft Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 59 vs 44, Soft Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 59), opening up a space where Soft Blue encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (66 vs 59) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 59, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 59 vs 12, Soft Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (68 vs 59) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 59 vs 12, Soft Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 59 vs 45, Soft Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Blue reflects far more light (LRV 59 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Soft Blue reflects far more light (LRV 59 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Soft Blue reflects far more light (LRV 59 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
With LRVs of 59 and 57, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 59), opening up a space where Soft Blue encloses it.