Why I’m Not Impressed with Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki as the 2026 Color of the Year

So feel free to scroll through those photos and pop back over here!

Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki on Kitchen Cabinets

First up, let’s see a Universal Khaki lookalike on kitchen cabinets!

Let’s try to ignore the warm filter here and picture everything a little more true to tone. The color here is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, but in real life it is lighter and cooler than this, so these cabinets are not too far off from Universal Khaki.

I would say that beige is still “in” for cabinets, but it always tends to be a lighter and more greigey beige. The next best thing that I could find for an example was Sherwin Williams Jogging Path:

This is not the right tone, as Jogging Path is quite a lot cooler and more gray:

…So let’s warm it up:

This gets us pretty close to how Universal Khaki will look!

Finally I have adjusted the color on this island to be a color match for Universal Khaki:

The color is warmer here, as it would be in the warmer lighting of this kitchen. The original color was Sherwin Williams Shiitake, which is fairly similar to Universal Khaki to begin with.

Universal Khaki vs Shiitake

Shiitake is lighter than Universal Khaki, but the overall tone is pretty close. It is just a tiny bit cooler and more gray.

Here is another Shiitake example where I made it a little richer and darker to look like Universal Khaki:

Universal Khaki in the Dining Room

This next dining room is a dead ringer for Universal Khaki, particularly in the top half of the photo:

The color here is Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige, but it looks darker than usual.

Universal Khaki vs Accessible Beige

You can see that in reality, Accessible Beige is quite a bit lighter than Universal Khaki, with an LRV of 58 (compared to 40). It also has a cooler, more mushroom, undertone.

I adjusted this next photo of Accessible Beige to look more like Universal Khaki:

We actually don’t know the color in this next dining room, because it was already in the home when Christina (@ourbouldlife) moved in, but it looks a LOT like Universal Khaki.

Universal Khaki on Walls and Trim

Here is another great example of how Universal Khaki looks in real life, using the similar color Benjamin Moore Sag Harbor Gray:

Sag Harbor Gray does typically look more green than this, so this look is closer to Universal Khaki. (You can see more from this color in my post: Fabulous Sage Green Trim Colors to Uplevel Your Aesthetic)

In this same home we have another shade that reminds me of Universal Khaki – Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan. On paper, Manchester Tan is much lighter than Universal Khaki, but on the wall in low light, I find it to be a good example.

Here it is in a hallway where I color adjusted to make it a little bit deeper:

Same thing in this Manchester Tan stairwell, but I changed the color only a very little bit:

This next photo is Sherwin Williams Simplify Beige in a living room, where it looks like Universal Khaki:

The color on the walls is a little bit light, but the ceiling looks pretty accurate.

Universal Khaki for Your Home’s Exterior

Finally for some real deal Universal Khaki, let’s head outside!

That was the color on a stucco exterior.

For an example using siding, this home is quite close:

This is maybe just a hair lighter and more yellow, but you should expect the color to look lighter outside.

Dupes for Universal Khaki from Other Brands

Now that we have seen a few examples from other beige colors, let’s see some colors that are actually dupes for Universal Khaki.

Universal Khaki in Benjamin Moore

I had a MUCH harder time than anticipated trying to color match Universal Khaki into Bnejamin Moore. In the end I picked three shades that are good dupes in different ways.

The best overall color match in my opinion, is Kangaroo.

Kangaroo is lighter than Universal Khaki, but the difference is small enough to be negligible on the wall. In terms of actual color, I feel like it’s less of a compromise than the other two alternatives.

Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki vs Benjamin Moore Greenbrier Beige

One of my other dupes from Benjamin Moore is the shade Greenbrier Beige. This is the closest color in terms of LRV, but you can see that the tone is a little warmer and more orange.

Universal Khaki looks a little more gray in comparison.

Finally we have Pensive.

Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki vs Benjamin Moore Pensive

Pensive is a little bit more taupe leaning than Universal Khaki. It is still a great overall color match:

Basically that means that Pensive is slightly more likely to have a taupey purple undertone than Universal Khaki.

I still wouldn’t say that it’s likely because the colors are very very close.

The Best Behr (Home Depot) Color Match for Universal Khaki

The closest dupe we have from Behr for Universal Khaki, is their shade Safari Chic:

It is just a tiny bit more gray than Universal Khaki.

Universal Khaki Valspar Equivalent

The best dupe for Universal Khaki over at Lowe’s is Valspar Sandy Trail.

This is actually the best dupe overall for Universal Khaki. Sandy Trail is a little bit more gray, but not as much so, as the Behr dupe Safari Chic. It does also look a teeny tiny bit cooler.

Here is another look at the best dupes:

Before we finish up, I just really quickly want to compare some very similar Sherwin Williams colors with Universal Khaki:

Universal Khaki vs Sherwin Williams Avenue Tan

Avenue Tan is a little bit lighter, cooler, and more gray, than Universal Khaki. While each difference is slight, the resulting undertone of Avenue Tan is much more likely to flash green than Universal Khaki.

Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki vs Khaki Shade

Khaki Shade is a little bit of a cleaner and brighter beige than Universal Khaki. It’s not quite as muted. Despite Sherwin Williams describing this color as “yellow, green and gray,” I personally find it to look like quite a warm, creamy beige, and rarely ever a true khaki with a green undertone.

Thanks so much for reading until the end! That really helps my blog. I hope this post helped you decide if this beige is the one for you. Not sure if Universal Khaki is the one? I’ve got more!