Last Updated on November 6, 2024 by Vannessa Rhoades, Three Bears Home Staging
Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt 6204 is a soft, soothing blend of gray and green that’s consistently a favorite among homeowners. Like many other beach-inspired paint colors, it effortlessly complements a wide range of spaces and styles, from coastal cottage decor to a relaxing, spa-like bathroom. SW Sea Salt definitely adds a sense of tranquility and aesthetic appeal to a room. The tricky thing about this paint color, though, is that it can shift dramatically in appearance depending on the context and lighting. So how can you predict what it will do in your space? Let’s take a look at Sea Salt’s spectral data for a more objective point of view.
Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt bedroom ideas are a favorite among homeowners.
What Is the LRV of Sea Salt Sherwin-Williams?
Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is a measure of how much available light a paint reflects back into a room, with 100% being highly reflective and zero being not reflective at all. Sea Salt has an LRV of 63, which makes it just right for many residential interiors. Paint colors in this range tend to brighten a space yet still hold their color reasonably well in hits of direct light.
What Is the “Undertone” of SW Sea Salt? Is It Blue or Green?
Since everyone perceives color differently, let’s look at something a little more objective – the spectral data. We can actually use tools like colorimeters and spectrophotometers to accurately measure a color’s dominant wavelength, or hue angle, and other characteristics. Sea Salt has a hue angle of 138.223°. This means Sea Salt is officially part of the Green-Yellow hue family. Sea Salt also has a pretty low chroma value (5.709), which means that this Green-Yellow hue is muted by a significant amount of gray.
So Why Do So Many Color Reviews Claim Sea Salt Has a “Blue Undertone?”
The reason SW Sea Salt sometimes looks blue (or green or yellow or gray) has to do with the context of your room and, more importantly, the quality of your light. Remember, your quality of light changes throughout the day so you must view a large sample of this color on all walls in a variety of artificial and natural light before committing to it.
How Sea Salt SW Looks in Rooms With One Exposure
In a space that gets bright, direct sunlight on just one side, Sea Salt will lighten considerably due to its elevated LRV but still hold on to some of its color. The direction the sunlight is coming from (a.k.a. exposure) also affects the way Sea Salt will look on your walls. South-facing or western afternoon light is rather yellow, warmer, and more intense. Sea Salt will reflect this, looking a bit greener. In a north-facing room, however, that warmth becomes more passive. Sea Salt may look a bit grayer with a faint hint of blue.
How SW Sea Salt Looks in Rooms With Multiple Exposures
In a bright open space with big windows on more than one side, SW Sea Salt will shift in color as the sun moves, looking bluer or greener. That heavy dose of gray will help keep it soft and muted, though.
How Dark Rooms and Artificial Light Affect SW Sea Salt
In a dark room or a room that has primarily artificial light, Sea Salt may look a bit grayer or greener.
Using the right color light bulbs will have a tremendous impact on this color. Under soft white bulbs (2700 K), Sea Salt will look a bit warmer, whereas daylight bulbs (4000+ K) will make it look a bit bluer. We recommend always using light bulbs in the 3000 K to 3500 K range for the best, most natural-looking color results. Read our blog post for links to specific bulb recommendations.
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Which White Trim Color Goes With Sea Salt?
When it comes to white trim, we like the clean, low-chroma warmth of Sherwin-Williams Pure White 7005 or for even more contrast, Sherwin-Williams High Reflective White 7757. If you’re looking for a softer, more muted pairing, try Sherwin-Williams Alabaster 7008.
Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt Bathroom with Sherwin-Williams Pure White 7005 trim.
Coordinating Options and Color Schemes: What Colors Go With Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt?
Sea Salt coordinates well with other low chroma neutrals, like greiges, grays, and beiges. It looks especially nice with dark greens and blues. Here’s a sample Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt color palette we put together for you:
Is Sea Salt a Good Exterior Paint Color?
It can be, especially combined with a clean white trim color. Sea Salt’s LRV of 63 means it will reflect a lot of light and look much lighter outdoors than you may expect. Again, view paper samples on the exterior wall before painting.
The vertical siding at the top of this home is painted in Sea Salt SW6204.
The color of the shutters is Sherwin William’s Sea Salt SW6204.
What is Comparable to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in Another Brand?
If you like Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt, be sure to only get it at a Sherwin-Williams store. I never, ever recommend color matching between brands. Differences in pigments, chemical composition, and paint viscosity between brands mean they will be different. You cannot color match between brands and expect to get identical results. But if you’re looking for something similar to Sea Salt and need to use another brand, here are a few dupes that are a pretty close match based on their spectral data:
- Benjamin Moore Night Mist 1569
- Behr Shy Green MQ3-48
- PPG Paints: Falling Star PPG1129-2
- Glidden Soft Meadow 10GY 64/065
Sherwin-Williams Rainwashed vs. Sea Salt
If you like the light, muted vibe of SW Sea Salt but want something that leans a bit cooler, take a look at Sherwin-Williams Rainwashed 6211. Wondering exactly how these two compare? With an LRV of 59, Rainwashed is slightly darker than Sea Salt. Rainwashed also has a higher chroma value, meaning it’s just a smidge more colorful (saturated) than Sea Salt. Most importantly, SW Rainwashed is a cooler hue than Sea Salt in terms of its location on the color wheel. With a hue angle of 159.145°, Rainwashed is technically in the Green hue family, and like Sea Salt, is quite susceptible to the effects of lighting and the context of its environment
Sherwin-Williams Sea Spray vs. Sea Salt
Sherwin-Williams Sea Spray 9651 is probably the most similar paint color to Sea Salt in terms of its spectral data. It has a slightly lower LRV (61) meaning it will reflect a bit less light than Sea Salt. It’s also just a couple of degrees warmer than Sea Salt based on its color wheel location, but this difference is mostly unnoticeable to the untrained eye. The biggest difference between these colors is that SW Sea Spray is part of the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer palette and is only available in the Emerald Designer Edition paint line. Emerald fully cures to a harder and tighter film than Duration and SuperPaint, which protects the overall integrity of the paint long term. It’s also more expensive.
Trying to Choose a Paint Color? Let Three Bears Home Staging Help!
Need help finding the right paint color? Order a Virtual Color Consultation Report from the color professionals at Three Bears Home Staging to get a custom, curated palette and guidance for your next painting project. We also offer ready-made paint color palette guides and swatch sample kits to help you find the perfect match for your project!
Vannessa Rhoades
Vannessa Rhoades is the author of Just Right! Easy DIY Home Staging and the founder of the award-winning firm, Three Bears Home Staging®. She specializes in providing positive, empowering virtual consultations that help homeowners and real estate agents all across the country sell more quickly and for more money.
