Blue Gray vs Hicks' Blue
Where Blue Gray belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Hicks' Blue is a Little Greene color. Hue-wise, Blue Gray belongs to the blue-greige family and Hicks' Blue to the blue family. Blue Gray has an LRV of 45. Blue Gray runs warm while Hicks' Blue is decidedly blue, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 41.7, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Blue Gray vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Blue Gray 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.
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
Blue Gray vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Blue Gray 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 Blue Gray comparisons
See how Blue Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 45, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Blue Gray reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 45), opening up a space where Blue Gray encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 45, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 27, Blue Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 45 and 43, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 10-point LRV gap (55 vs 45) makes Tranquil Dawn the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 45 vs 44), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 45), opening up a space where Blue Gray encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 45, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 45, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 12, Blue Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 8, Blue Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 45, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 45 vs 12, Blue Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 45 vs 45), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Blue Gray reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Blue Gray reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.