Neutral Ground vs Soulful Blue
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Hue-wise, Neutral Ground belongs to the beige family and Soulful Blue to the blue-grey family. Neutral Ground (LRV 70) reflects noticeably more light than Soulful Blue (LRV 20), a difference of 50 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Neutral Ground 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 41.0, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Neutral Ground vs Soulful Blue in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Neutral Ground 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.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Neutral Ground reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soulful Blue.
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. Neutral Ground reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soulful Blue.
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. Neutral Ground reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soulful Blue.
Color Details
Neutral Ground vs Soulful Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Neutral Ground 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 Neutral Ground comparisons
See how Neutral Ground stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 70 vs 69), so neither reads brighter in a room.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 70), opening up a space where Neutral Ground encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 52, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 30, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 52), opening up a space where Mizzle encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (70 vs 60) makes Neutral Ground the marginally brighter of the two.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 58), opening up a space where Accessible Beige encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 43, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 4, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 55), opening up a space where Tranquil Dawn encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 13), opening up a space where Bancha encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 44), opening up a space where Hardwick White encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 70, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 70 vs 21, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
Neutral Ground reads slightly lighter (LRV 70 vs 66), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reads slightly lighter (LRV 74 vs 70), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 70), opening up a space where Neutral Ground encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 51, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 8), opening up a space where Duck Green encloses it.
With LRVs of 70 and 68, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 70 vs 41, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Neutral Ground reflects far more light (LRV 70 vs 45), opening up a space where Saybrook Sage encloses it.
At LRV 70 vs 31, Neutral Ground is decisively the brighter choice.