Wine Dark vs Soulful Blue
Where Wine Dark belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Soulful Blue is a Sherwin-Williams color. Both sit in the blue-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Soulful Blue (LRV 20) reflects noticeably more light than Wine Dark (LRV 13), a difference of 7 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Both lean cool, so they'll behave similarly in mixed or changing light conditions. The ΔE 9.8 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Wine Dark vs Soulful Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Wine Dark and Soulful Blue are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Soulful Blue reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Soulful Blue reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Soulful Blue reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Wine Dark vs Soulful Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Wine Dark on one side and Soulful 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 Wine Dark comparisons
See how Wine Dark stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 13, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 13, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 27 vs 13, Denim Drift is decisively the brighter choice.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 13, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 13, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 13, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 13, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 13 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 5-point LRV gap (13 vs 8) makes Wine Dark the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 13, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 13 vs 12), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 45 vs 13, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 13), opening up a space where Wine Dark encloses it.