Sherwin Williams

Useful Gray

SW 7050

Useful Gray is a light neutral gray with warm beige undertones that prevent it from reading as stark or cold. With an LRV of 59, it reflects a moderate-to-high amount of light, working well in both naturally lit and dimmer rooms. The warm lean keeps it from pulling blue or purple, which is common among cooler grays.

It functions as a whole-house neutral in living areas, hallways, and bedrooms. Useful Gray coordinates with Sherwin-Williams Alabaster and Shoji White as trim colors, while Sea Salt or Agreeable Gray work well in adjacent spaces.

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Brand

Sherwin Williams

Code

SW 7050

Collection

Living Well (Recharge), Gallery Series, Coastal Color Scheme 2, Earth Tones Color Scheme 4, Days Inn by Wyndham Scheme 1

Useful Gray in Real Homes (10 Photos)

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Useful Gray in Different Light

Light temperature is measured in Kelvin: a warm 2700K bulb pulls colors toward yellow, while 5000K daylight reads cooler and truer. Check the color at the time of day you actually use the room.

Artificial Lighting

Bedroom scene to simulate Sherwin Williams Useful Gray under artificial light

Light Temperature: 2700K

Natural Lighting

Living room scene to simulate Sherwin Williams Useful Gray under natural light

Light Temperature: 4500K

Technical Specifications

Undertones

Type

Orange

Strength

Medium

Temperature

warm

Hue Angle

43°

Orange Family

Lightness

78%

Light

Saturation

16%

Muted

LRV

59.0

0%100%

Very Dark

Dark

Medium

Light

Very Light

White

LRV measures how much light a color reflects, from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white). Below about 50 a color needs good lighting to avoid going flat, 60 and up helps brighten a room, and most whites sit above 80.

Color Position

Saturation →

Lightness →

Color Codes

HEX

#CFCABD

RGB Decimal

207, 202, 189

RGB Percent

81.2%, 79.2%, 74.1%

HSL

43.3, 15.8%, 77.6%

HSV

43.3, 8.7%, 81.2%

CMYK

0.0%, 2.4%, 8.7%, 18.8%

YIQ

202.0, 7.2, -3.0

XYZ

56.04, 59.18, 56.61

CIE Lab

81.39, -0.53, 7.09

CIE Luv

81.39, 3.65, 10.54

Hunter Lab

76.93, -0.51, 6.54

Decimal

13617853

Coordinating Colors and Color Palettes

Darker Shades

Monochromatic dark

Useful Gray Kid Gloves Grassy Savannah Pine Peak

Lighter Shades

Monochromatic light

Useful Gray Party Ice Pearly Gates Snow Storm

Complementary

Opposite on color wheel

Useful Gray Lavender Blue Yukon Sky Weeping Wisteria

Analogous

Adjacent colors

Useful Gray Heath Gray Artistic Taupe Desert Green

Warm Shades

Warm spectrum

Useful Gray Artistic Taupe Mauve It Delightful

Closest Paint Matches

Cross-brand matches are close, never exact. Each brand uses different bases and sheens, so sample before you buy gallons.

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Storm's Coming

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Bay Sands

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Gentle Soul

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Wet Concrete

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Dust Bunny

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Metallic Mist

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Farrow & Ball

Shadow Gray

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Hazy Skies

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Stingray

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Villa Grey

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Behr

Shoreline Haze

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Desert Light

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Moth Gray

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Apparition

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Intuitive

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