Cord vs Hicks' Blue
Where Cord belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Hicks' Blue is a Little Greene color. Cord reads as beige, while Hicks' Blue reads as blue — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Cord has an LRV of 55. Cord 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 54.3, 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.
Cord vs Hicks' Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Cord 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.
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
Cord vs Hicks' Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Cord 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 Cord comparisons
See how Cord stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 55, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Cord reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 52), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Cord reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 55), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 58 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Cord reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 12-point LRV gap (55 vs 44) makes Cord the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 55), opening up a space where Cord encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (66 vs 55) makes Balboa Mist the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 74 vs 55, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 55, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (55 vs 45) makes Cord the marginally brighter of the two.
Cord reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Cord reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.