Oval Room Blue vs Purbeck Stone
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. Hue-wise, Oval Room Blue belongs to the blue-grey family and Purbeck Stone to the greige-grey family. Purbeck Stone (LRV 52) reflects noticeably more light than Oval Room Blue (LRV 32), a difference of 20 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Oval Room Blue runs cool while Purbeck Stone is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 17.0, 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 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Oval Room Blue vs Purbeck Stone in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Oval Room Blue and Purbeck Stone 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 Purbeck Stone will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Oval Room Blue 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. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Oval Room Blue.
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. Purbeck Stone 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. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Oval Room Blue.
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. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Oval Room Blue.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Purbeck Stone reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Oval Room Blue.
Color Details
Oval Room Blue vs Purbeck Stone Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Oval Room Blue on one side and Purbeck Stone 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 Oval Room Blue comparisons
See how Oval Room Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 32, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Oval Room Blue reflects far more light (LRV 32 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 32 vs 30), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 32, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Oval Room Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 32 vs 27), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 11-point LRV gap (43 vs 32) makes French Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 32 vs 4, Oval Room Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Oval Room Blue reflects far more light (LRV 32 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Hardwick White reads slightly lighter (LRV 44 vs 32), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 32, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 11-point LRV gap (32 vs 21) makes Oval Room Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Oval Room Blue reflects far more light (LRV 32 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (41 vs 32) makes Dix Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 32, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
A 7-point LRV gap (32 vs 25) makes Oval Room Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
Oval Room Blue reflects far more light (LRV 32 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 32), opening up a space where Oval Room Blue encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 32 vs 31), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 32 vs 7, Oval Room Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (32 vs 24) makes Oval Room Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 32, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 72 vs 32, Just Walnut is decisively the brighter choice.