Dix Blue vs Smalt
Where Dix Blue belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Smalt is a Little Greene color. Dix Blue reads as blue-grey, while Smalt reads as blue — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Dix Blue (LRV 41) reflects noticeably more light than Smalt (LRV 6), a difference of 35 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Dix Blue runs cool while Smalt is decidedly blue, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 54.5, 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.
Dix Blue vs Smalt in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Dix Blue and Smalt 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. The LRV gap is large enough that Dix Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Smalt would.
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. Dix Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Smalt.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Dix Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Smalt.
Color Details
Dix Blue vs Smalt Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Dix Blue on one side and Smalt 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 Dix Blue comparisons
See how Dix Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
