Hicks' Blue vs Dormer Brown
Where Hicks' Blue belongs to Little Greene's range, Dormer Brown is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hicks' Blue reads as blue, while Dormer Brown reads as beige-greige — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Dormer Brown has an LRV of 32. Hicks' Blue runs blue while Dormer Brown is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 39.7, 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.
Hicks' Blue vs Dormer Brown in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Hicks' Blue and Dormer Brown in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
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. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. Side by side like this, the difference is easy to read — which is exactly why seeing them in a real space is more useful than comparing chips.
Color Details
Hicks' Blue vs Dormer Brown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Hicks' Blue on one side and Dormer Brown 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 Hicks' Blue comparisons
See how Hicks' Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
