Malabar vs Soulful Blue
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Malabar belongs to the beige family and Soulful Blue to the blue-grey family. Malabar (LRV 53) reflects noticeably more light than Soulful Blue (LRV 20), a difference of 33 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Malabar runs warm while Soulful Blue is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 35.9, 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 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Malabar vs Soulful Blue in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Malabar and Soulful Blue in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
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. Malabar reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soulful Blue.
Color Details
Malabar vs Soulful Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Malabar on one side and Soulful 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 Malabar comparisons
See how Malabar stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 53, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 53 and 52, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Malabar reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Agreeable Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 60 vs 53), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 5-point LRV gap (58 vs 53) makes Accessible Beige the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 53 vs 27, Malabar is decisively the brighter choice.
Malabar reads slightly lighter (LRV 53 vs 43), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 55 vs 53), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 9-point LRV gap (53 vs 44) makes Malabar the marginally brighter of the two.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 53), opening up a space where Malabar encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 53, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 53, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Malabar is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 53, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 53 vs 12, Malabar is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (53 vs 45) makes Malabar the marginally brighter of the two.
Malabar reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Malabar reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Malabar reflects far more light (LRV 53 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Guilford Green reads slightly lighter (LRV 57 vs 53), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.