Blue Refrain vs Dover Surf
Where Blue Refrain belongs to Sherwin-Williams's range, Dover Surf is a Valspar color. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Blue Refrain (LRV 64) reflects noticeably more light than Dover Surf (LRV 53), a difference of 11 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. With a ΔE of 11.2, 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.
Blue Refrain vs Dover Surf in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Blue Refrain and Dover Surf 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 Refrain will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Dover Surf would.
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 Refrain reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dover Surf.
Color Details
Blue Refrain vs Dover Surf Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Blue Refrain on one side and Dover Surf 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 Blue Refrain comparisons
See how Blue Refrain stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 64, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reads slightly lighter (LRV 69 vs 64), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 64 vs 6, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 64 vs 52, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
Blue Refrain reads slightly lighter (LRV 64 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 7-point LRV gap (64 vs 58) makes Blue Refrain the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 64 vs 27, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (64 vs 55) makes Blue Refrain the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 64 vs 13, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 64 vs 44, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 64), opening up a space where Blue Refrain encloses it.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 66 vs 64), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 10-point LRV gap (74 vs 64) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 83 vs 64, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 64 vs 12, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (68 vs 64) makes Skimming Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
Calamine reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 64), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 25), opening up a space where Treron encloses it.
At LRV 64 vs 12, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 64 vs 45, Blue Refrain is decisively the brighter choice.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Blue Refrain reflects far more light (LRV 64 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Blue Refrain reads slightly lighter (LRV 64 vs 57), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.