Teal Tension vs Hicks' Blue
Where Teal Tension belongs to Dulux's range, Hicks' Blue is a Little Greene color. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Teal Tension has an LRV of 12. Teal Tension runs cool while Hicks' Blue is decidedly blue, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 13.9, 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.
Teal Tension vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Teal Tension 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
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Teal Tension vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Teal Tension 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 Teal Tension comparisons
See how Teal Tension stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 12, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
Teal Tension reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 12, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 12, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 12, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 12, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (12 vs 4) makes Teal Tension the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
With LRVs of 13 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 12, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (21 vs 12) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 12, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Teal Tension reads slightly lighter (LRV 12 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 12, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 12 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 12), opening up a space where Teal Tension encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 12, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (12 vs 7) makes Teal Tension the marginally brighter of the two.