Ancona Blue vs Hicks' Blue
Where Ancona Blue belongs to Farrow & Ball'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. Ancona Blue has an LRV of 48. Ancona Blue 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 40.4, 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 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Ancona Blue vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Ancona Blue 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.
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
Ancona Blue vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Ancona Blue 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 Ancona Blue comparisons
See how Ancona Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 48, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 48), opening up a space where Ancona Blue encloses it.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (52 vs 48) makes Purbeck Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 48 vs 30, Ancona Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 48), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 60 vs 48, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reads slightly lighter (LRV 58 vs 48), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 5-point LRV gap (48 vs 43) makes Ancona Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 48 vs 4, Ancona Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 48), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Ancona Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 48 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 48, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 48 vs 21, Ancona Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 48), opening up a space where Ancona Blue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 48), opening up a space where Ancona Blue encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 48), opening up a space where Ancona Blue encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 51 vs 48), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 48), opening up a space where Ancona Blue encloses it.
A 7-point LRV gap (48 vs 41) makes Ancona Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Ancona Blue reflects far more light (LRV 48 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
With LRVs of 48 and 45, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 48 vs 31, Ancona Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 48 vs 7, Ancona Blue is decisively the brighter choice.