Soft Maplewood 5 vs Hicks' Blue
Soft Maplewood 5 (Dulux) and Hicks' Blue (Little Greene) come from different manufacturers. Hue-wise, Soft Maplewood 5 belongs to the beige family and Hicks' Blue to the blue family. Soft Maplewood 5 has an LRV of 67. Where Soft Maplewood 5 leans warm, Hicks' Blue reads blue — a distinction that shifts noticeably depending on the light source and surrounding finishes. A ΔE of 52.5 puts these firmly in different territory — two distinct design choices rather than close alternatives. Below you'll find 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Soft Maplewood 5 vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Soft Maplewood 5 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
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Soft Maplewood 5 vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Soft Maplewood 5 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 Soft Maplewood 5 comparisons
See how Soft Maplewood 5 stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 69 vs 67), so neither reads brighter in a room.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 67), opening up a space where Soft Maplewood 5 encloses it.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
At LRV 67 vs 52, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 67 vs 30, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 52), opening up a space where Mizzle encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (67 vs 60) makes Soft Maplewood 5 the marginally brighter of the two.
Soft Maplewood 5 reads slightly lighter (LRV 67 vs 58), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 67 vs 43, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 67 vs 4, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 55), opening up a space where Tranquil Dawn encloses it.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 67, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 67 vs 21, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 67 and 66, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Shoji White reads slightly lighter (LRV 74 vs 67), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 67), opening up a space where Soft Maplewood 5 encloses it.
At LRV 67 vs 51, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
With LRVs of 68 and 67, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 67 vs 41, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Soft Maplewood 5 reflects far more light (LRV 67 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 67 vs 31, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 67 vs 7, Soft Maplewood 5 is decisively the brighter choice.