Icy vs Windy Blue
Both are Sherwin-Williams colors. Both sit in the blue family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. At LRV 56 vs 48, Icy will read as the brighter of the two — a 8-point gap that matters most in north-facing or low-light rooms. They share a cool quality — useful to know if you're layering them in the same space. At ΔE 5.2, the difference is perceptible but not dramatic — the two can work harmoniously in the same space. Below you'll find 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Icy vs Windy Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Icy and Windy Blue are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
Living rooms test a color across a full range of conditions — morning sun, afternoon shade, and evening lamp light all shift how both of these read. Icy returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Bedroom
Bedroom walls are often seen under warm artificial light, a context that shifts both colors from how they look on a chip. The LRV gap is large enough that Icy will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Windy Blue would.
House
At full exterior scale, the difference between these two colors becomes much easier to judge than from a small chip. The LRV gap is large enough that Icy will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Windy Blue would.
Color Details
Icy vs Windy Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Icy on one side and Windy 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 Icy comparisons
See how Icy stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 56), opening up a space where Icy encloses it.
A 4-point LRV gap (56 vs 52) makes Icy the marginally brighter of the two.
A 4-point LRV gap (60 vs 56) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
With LRVs of 58 and 56, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Icy reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
With LRVs of 56 and 55, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Icy reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 56, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 56), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 56), opening up a space where Icy encloses it.
Icy reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 68 vs 56), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Icy reflects far more light (LRV 56 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Icy reads slightly lighter (LRV 56 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 56 vs 31, Icy is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 56 vs 24, Icy is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 57 vs 56), so neither reads brighter in a room.