Green Blue vs Iron Ore
Where Green Blue belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Iron Ore is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Green Blue belongs to the blue-green family and Iron Ore to the grey family. Green Blue (LRV 47) reflects noticeably more light than Iron Ore (LRV 6), a difference of 42 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Green Blue runs cool while Iron Ore is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 47.4, 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 9 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Green Blue vs Iron Ore in Real Spaces
9 real rooms side by side. Seeing Green Blue and Iron Ore 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 Green Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore would.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Green Blue returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
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. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Home Office
The test for a home office color isn't how it looks in a quick glance — it's whether it still feels right after a full day of work. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
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. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Green Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore would.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Green Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Color Details
Green Blue vs Iron Ore Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Green Blue on one side and Iron Ore 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 Green Blue comparisons
See how Green Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 47), opening up a space where Green Blue encloses it.
At LRV 83 vs 47, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 47), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Green Blue reflects far more light (LRV 47 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (52 vs 47) makes Mizzle the marginally brighter of the two.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 47), opening up a space where Green Blue encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (58 vs 47) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 47 vs 27, Green Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Green Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 47 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Green Blue reflects far more light (LRV 47 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 8-point LRV gap (55 vs 47) makes Tranquil Dawn the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 47 vs 13, Green Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (47 vs 44) makes Green Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 47), opening up a space where Green Blue encloses it.
Green Blue reflects far more light (LRV 47 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 47, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 47, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 47, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
Pigeon reads slightly lighter (LRV 51 vs 47), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 47 vs 12, Green Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 47 vs 8, Green Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 47, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Green Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 47 vs 41), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 47 vs 12, Green Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 47 vs 45), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Green Blue reflects far more light (LRV 47 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Green Blue reflects far more light (LRV 47 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.