Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams is a gorgeous green gray with blue undertones. It’s so popular right now, and for good reason.
While greiges and neutral colors are still the most popular paint colors on the market, Sea Salt (SW 6204) offers a coastal vibe in a calming and peaceful attitude. It is described as a neutral, but it is very much a color.
Let’s dig into why Sea Salt could be the perfect muted and soft green color in your home.
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How Do We Categorize Sea Salt SW by Color?
Sea Salt is a light greenish color with blue and gray undertones. It is aptly named because is reminds me of a mint green sea or sea foam green sea glass.
Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams can take on different hues depending on the lighting in any room painted with it. The color takes on a blue hue when the room is North Facing and the light diffuses a bit.
In some lights it can look like a pale soft green and others it reads almost completely gray! Such a chameleon color.
What Undertones does SW Sea Salt Have?
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt almost certainly has green, gray and slight blue undertones. Depending on how the light hits it, it can show the different undertones in pictures and to the naked eye.
The other paint colors on the color strip are a lot of similarly toned colors, but most of these colors are rather green. This is the strongest of the undertones and shines through the most.
Sea Salt LRV
A quick reminder about LRV: It stands for Light Reflectance Value. It follows a scale of 0-100, 0 being True Black and 100 Being Pure White. The higher the number, the lighter it is, the lower the number, the darker it is.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt has an LRV of 63. This means it will make any room look lighter and brighter with a calming and serene feel.
Is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Cool or Warm Toned?
Because of how bright and light the color is, Sea Salt is classified a cool color. It is one of those colors that you can use in a large space on the walls and the ceiling without making it feel overwhelming and would make a smaller room feel much larger.
Its nature is serene and relaxing which makes it popular for bedrooms, living rooms, and bathrooms.
Sea Salt in Real Homes
Here are some examples of Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams in Real Homes, including my own:
Bedroom
Bathroom
Laundry Room
Living Room
Exterior
Coordinating Colors for SW Sea Salt
Sea Salt perfectly pairs with other light neutral colors like grays, beiges, other blue toned greens and whites. Here are a few examples:
Neutral Coordinating Colors
- Mindful Gray SW 7016
- Pure White SW 7004
- Sand Dollar SW 6099
- Accessible Beige SW 7036
- Heron Plume SW 6070
Similar Toned and Bold Coordinating Colors
- Trade Wind SW 6218
- Comfort Gray SW 6205
- Top Sail SW 6217
- City Scape SW 7067
- Hale Navy SW 6244
What Color Does Sea Salt Look Like?
Check out these similar colors to Sea Salt if you want something just a bit brighter and more blue or just a touch darker green.
Sea Salt vs Rainwashed
Sea Salt SW is really close to a color called Rainwashed SW 6211. Rainwashed leans a lot more blue with green undertones and Sea Salt is the opposite. Rainwashed is a little bolder and brighter while Sea Salt is more subtle. Both are stunning choices for blue-green green-blue paint colors.
Sea Salt vs Sea Spray
These two colors are almost identical. Sea Salt is more muted and soft color and Sea Spray is a bit more gray. Its LRV is 61, so it is a little brighter.
If you compare them side by side, Sea Salt looks a green gray with green undertones and Sea Spray looks like a darker green with gray undertones.
Similar Colors to Sea Salt in Other Brands
I always like to include “dupes” or similar colors by other brands. Here are some similar colors to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt by other brands.
Benjamin Moore Equivalent
Healing Aloe is another gorgeous green gray color by Benjamin Moore. It makes Sea Salt look gray with blue undertones and gives a lot of the green back to Healing Aloe.
Behr Equivalent
Brook Green is a beautiful sagey green color by Behr with gray undertones. When put side by side with Sea Salt, Brook Green is more green with gray and blue undertones and again Sea Salt is more gray with green undertones.
Valspar Equivalent
Sage Morsel has an LRV of 31, and therefore is twice as dark as Sea Salt. However, compare these two side by side and somehow it is hard to see where Sage Morsel ends and Sea Salt begins, just look for the more blue hue of Sea Salt SW.
Trim Colors That Go With SW Sea Salt
For trim colors, a white is always a good way to go with any color. White with Sea Salt gives a home that coastal, beachy feel. I really like it paired with bright white like Pure White and clean whites like Extra White or High Reflective White.
It also pairs really well with a crispy white like Chantilly Lace BM or off whites like Alabaster or Creamy.
Order a Sample of Sea Salt SW
Don’t forget you can order samples of SW Sea Salt to test the color on the walls in your home.
Final Thoughts
I knew I liked Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams when I picked it out for an accent wall in our living room. It’s not hard to see why it is one of Sherwin Williams’ most popular color choices over the last few years.
You can’t go wrong with this gorgeous and serene green gray color with blue undertones. It is a true chameleon and can look blue, green, and even gray in different lighting, so keep that in mind.
That being said, this color is absolutely gorgeous, perfect for a lake or beach house because of the coastal feel it brings. When it’s on the walls of any room, it provides an incredibly calm and serene space that is very alluring.
It really helps when you can see the color in different times of day and different kinds of light before committing to paint.
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