Blue Horizon vs Great Falls paint color comparison

Blue Horizon vs Great Falls

Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Blue Horizon (LRV 78) reflects noticeably more light than Great Falls (LRV 15), a difference of 62 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. With a ΔE of 49.0, 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 10 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.

Blue Horizon vs Great Falls in Real Spaces

10 real rooms side by side. Seeing Blue Horizon and Great Falls 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 Blue Horizon will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Great Falls would.

Blue HorizonA hollywood regency living room painted in Blue Horizon

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Great FallsA contemporary living room painted in Great Falls

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Bedroom

The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Blue Horizon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Great Falls.

Blue HorizonA modern luxury bedroom painted in Blue Horizon

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Great FallsA minimalist bedroom painted in Great Falls

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Kitchen

In a kitchen, colors are seen under bright task lighting that amplifies undertones — what reads neutral elsewhere can show its hand here. Blue Horizon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Great Falls.

Blue HorizonBlue Horizon — scandinavian kitchen

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Great FallsGreat Falls — industrial kitchen

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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. Blue Horizon returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.

Blue HorizonBlue Horizon paint in a art deco dining room

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Great FallsGreat Falls paint in a moody dining room

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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. Blue Horizon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Great Falls.

Blue HorizonBlue Horizon — coastal bathroom

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Great FallsGreat Falls — minimalist bathroom

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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. Blue Horizon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Great Falls.

Blue HorizonSherwin-Williams Blue Horizon in a neutral home office

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Great FallsSherwin-Williams Great Falls in a industrial home office

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Mudroom

Mudrooms are seen in passing, often under whatever light comes through the door — a context that favors colors with some depth. Blue Horizon returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.

Blue HorizonBlue Horizon paint in a traditional mudroom

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Great FallsGreat Falls paint in a cottagecore mudroom

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Patio

Outside, paint color competes with sky, landscaping, and direct sun — all of which shift how both of these read compared to an indoor chip. Blue Horizon returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.

Blue Horizonwarm patio featuring Blue Horizon by Sherwin-Williams

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Great Fallsindustrial patio featuring Great Falls by Sherwin-Williams

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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. Blue Horizon reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Great Falls.

Blue HorizonBlue Horizon color — modern luxury house inspiration

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Great FallsGreat Falls color — mediterranean house inspiration

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Front Door

A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The LRV gap is large enough that Blue Horizon will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Great Falls would.

Blue Horizonclassy front door featuring Blue Horizon by Sherwin-Williams

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Great Fallscottagecore front door featuring Great Falls by Sherwin-Williams

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Color Details

Blue Horizon
Sherwin-Williams · 6497
LRV77.7
BrandSherwin-Williams
Number6497
Undertone—
TemperatureCool
BrightnessLight
Great Falls
Sherwin-Williams · 6495
LRV15.3
BrandSherwin-Williams
Number6495
Undertone—
TemperatureCool
BrightnessDark

Blue Horizon vs Great Falls Simulated Comparison

5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Blue Horizon on one side and Great Falls on the other.

Bathroom
Bedroom
House
Kitchen Cabinets
Living Room

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.