Earl Blue vs Thimble Case
Both from Dulux's palette. Hue-wise, Earl Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Thimble Case to the greige-grey family. Thimble Case (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Earl Blue (LRV 41), a difference of 27 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Earl Blue runs cool while Thimble Case is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 18.0, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Earl Blue vs Thimble Case in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Earl Blue and Thimble Case 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 Thimble Case will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Earl 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. Thimble Case reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Earl Blue.
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. Thimble Case reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Earl Blue.
Color Details
Earl Blue vs Thimble Case Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Earl Blue on one side and Thimble Case 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.