Dix Blue vs Smoke Screen
Where Dix Blue belongs to Farrow & Ball's range, Smoke Screen is a PPG color. Both sit in the blue-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. Smoke Screen (LRV 47) reflects noticeably more light than Dix Blue (LRV 41), a difference of 6 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. The ΔE 7.7 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 6 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Dix Blue vs Smoke Screen in Real Spaces
6 real rooms side by side. Dix Blue and Smoke Screen 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
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 brightness difference is modest but present — Smoke Screen gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Smoke Screen reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Smoke Screen has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
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. Smoke Screen reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Smoke Screen reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Front Door
A front door is a focal point — small color differences read clearly at this concentrated scale. The brightness difference is modest but present — Smoke Screen gives the walls a little more lift.
Color Details
Dix Blue vs Smoke Screen Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Dix Blue on one side and Smoke Screen 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 Dix Blue comparisons
See how Dix Blue stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 41, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Purbeck Stone reads slightly lighter (LRV 52 vs 41), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Dix Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 41 vs 30), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 41, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 41 vs 27, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 43 and 41, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 55 vs 41, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 44 vs 41), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 41, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 41, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 41 vs 12, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 41 vs 8, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 41, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 41 vs 12, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (45 vs 41) makes Saybrook Sage the marginally brighter of the two.
Dix Blue reads slightly lighter (LRV 41 vs 31), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 7), opening up a space where Pine Needle encloses it.