Sanctuary vs Soulful Blue
Both from Sherwin-Williams's palette. Sanctuary reads as beige-greige, while Soulful Blue reads as blue-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Sanctuary (LRV 76) reflects noticeably more light than Soulful Blue (LRV 20), a difference of 56 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Sanctuary 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 41.6, 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.
Sanctuary vs Soulful Blue in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Seeing Sanctuary 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.
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. Sanctuary 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. Sanctuary reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Soulful Blue.
Color Details
Sanctuary vs Soulful Blue Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Sanctuary 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 Sanctuary comparisons
See how Sanctuary stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
A 7-point LRV gap (83 vs 76) makes White Dove the marginally brighter of the two.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 60), opening up a space where Agreeable Gray encloses it.
At LRV 76 vs 58, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 27, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
At LRV 76 vs 55, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 44, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reads slightly lighter (LRV 84 vs 76), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 11-point LRV gap (76 vs 66) makes Sanctuary the marginally brighter of the two.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 76 vs 74), so neither reads brighter in a room.
At LRV 76 vs 12, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (76 vs 68) makes Sanctuary the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 76 vs 12, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 76 vs 45, Sanctuary is decisively the brighter choice.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 24), opening up a space where Cement grey encloses it.
Sanctuary reflects far more light (LRV 76 vs 57), opening up a space where Guilford Green encloses it.