Smalt vs Izmir Purple
Where Smalt belongs to Little Greene's range, Izmir Purple is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Smalt belongs to the blue family and Izmir Purple to the blue-purple family. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (6 vs 7), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. Smalt runs blue while Izmir Purple is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 12.4, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Smalt vs Izmir Purple in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Smalt and Izmir Purple in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
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. 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.
Color Details
Smalt vs Izmir Purple Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smalt on one side and Izmir Purple 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 Smalt comparisons
See how Smalt stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
