Dockside Blue vs Hinting Blue
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. Hinting Blue (LRV 68) reflects noticeably more light than Dockside Blue (LRV 43), a difference of 25 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 14.7, 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 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Dockside Blue vs Hinting Blue in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Dockside Blue and Hinting Blue 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 Hinting Blue will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Dockside Blue 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. Hinting Blue reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Dockside Blue.
Color Details
Dockside Blue vs Hinting Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Dockside Blue on one side and Hinting 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 Dockside Blue comparisons
See how Dockside Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 43, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Dockside Blue reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
A 9-point LRV gap (52 vs 43) makes Purbeck Stone the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 43 vs 30, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 60 vs 43, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
Dockside Blue reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 43 vs 43), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 43 vs 4, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Dockside Blue reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
With LRVs of 44 and 43, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 84 vs 43, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 43 vs 21, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
Dockside Blue reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 43), opening up a space where Dockside Blue encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 43 vs 41), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 68 vs 43, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 43 vs 25, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
Dockside Blue reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
With LRVs of 45 and 43, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
A 12-point LRV gap (43 vs 31) makes Dockside Blue the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 43 vs 7, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 43 vs 24, Dockside Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 57 vs 43, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.