Pitch Blue vs Shaded White
Both from Farrow & Ball's palette. Hue-wise, Pitch Blue belongs to the blue family and Shaded White to the beige-greige family. Shaded White (LRV 64) reflects noticeably more light than Pitch Blue (LRV 15), a difference of 49 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Pitch Blue runs cool while Shaded White is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 48.4, 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 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Pitch Blue vs Shaded White in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Seeing Pitch Blue and Shaded White 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 Shaded White will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Pitch 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. Shaded White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pitch Blue.
Kitchen
In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Shaded White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pitch Blue.
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. Shaded White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pitch Blue.
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. Shaded White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pitch Blue.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Shaded White reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pitch Blue.
Color Details
Pitch Blue vs Shaded White Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Pitch Blue on one side and Shaded White 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 Pitch Blue comparisons
See how Pitch Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 43 vs 15, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 51 vs 15, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.