Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is a soft gray green that is both soothing and mellow. It works just as well on cabinets as it does on walls (or even a ceiling, as you will see).
Sea Salt has featured in a lot of my palettes because it is so versatile! Honestly though, you can’t go wrong with any of the colors from this strip – from light to dark, they are all beautiful!
What Color is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt (SW 6204)
First the big question: Is Sea Salt blue or green?
From a strictly technical perspective, Sea Salt is a gray green and not blue at all. However in real life, the coolness of the gray can make sea salt look blue green.
LRV of Sherwin Williams Sea Salt
The LRV of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.
In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.
The LRV of Sea Salt is 63.
RGB of Sherwin Williams Sea Salt
Sea Salt is made up of Red 205, Green 210, and Blue 202.
What Are the Undertones of SW Sea Salt
Sea Salt is a complicated color because it is closer to the yellowy side of green, and quite gray.
How it usually looks however, is different!
Sea Salt has definite blue gray undertones. I would say that it most often looks like a verrry muted aqua.
Sometimes it can look more green, but it almost never looks completely gray.
Is Sea Salt Warm or Cool
Sea Salt has me going a little crazy if I’m totally honest. How it looks on paper and swatches is totally different to real life.
From the swatch and the actual formula, Sea Salt should be a little warm because it has a hint of yellow in it.
In general though, I would say that Sea Salt most often reads cool.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Color Strip
Sherwin Williams Spare White (SW 6203)
Spare White is one shade lighter than Sea Salt on the same color strip. It’s a cool toned off-white that looks just a bit gray.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Comfort Gray (SW 6205)
Comfort Gray is one shade darker than Sea Salt on the same color strip. For once it is exactly what you would expect: Sea Salt, but a little darker.
I find that Comfort Gray often does not look very gray, much like Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Oyster Bay (SW 6206)
Oyster Bay is quite a bit darker than Sea Salt. It is also a little more yellow/neutral, and more gray.
I personally think that the swatch for Oyster Bay is pretty deceiving! In real life I would have thought it was a grayish blue green.
(You can see it when I talk about exteriors below!)
The LRV of Oyster Bay is 44.
There is enough contrast here that you could definitely use Sea Salt and Oyster Bay together.
Sherwin Williams Retreat (SW 6207)
Retreat is another favorite of mine! Honestly this whole line is very nice!
Sherwin Williams Pewter Green (SW 6208)
Pewter Green is the last shade in the Sea Salt color strip that still reads sage most of the time:
Sherwin Williams Ripe Olive (SW 6209)
Ripe Olive is the last color on the Sea Salt color strip. I cut it from the graphic to save space, but this is what it looks like:
Because this is the darkest shade on the color strip, Ripe Olive doesn’t really read sage anymore.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in a Color Palette
I made a few palettes here using Sea Salt!
For a color named Sea Salt I had to make a beachy coastal palette.
Sea Salt Coordinating Colors:
Sherwin Williams Snowbound
Snowbound I will cover in just a minute under trim choices!
Sherwin Williams Fleur de Sel
Sherwin Williams Fleur de Sel is sometimes confused with Sea Salt because the name is literally translated to French sea salt.
That’s pretty much where the similarities end, except that both are light paint colors that you could use in your whole home.
Fleur de Sel is a very pale shade of greige. It has an LRV of 72.
Fleur de Sel does look very good with Sea Salt. It’s kind of like a pale sandy beach color.
Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige
Accessible Beige is a classic Sherwin Williams color that is a nice neutral. It works great with Sea Salt, particularly in a coordinated beachy palette.
It also works well with Sea Salt and creamy white in a modern farmhouse color scheme.
Sherwin Williams Drizzle
Drizzle is a pretty teal color that would coordinate perfectly with Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Naval
Navy blue is a classic color to combine with the soft gray green of Sea Salt.
For this palette I chose the shade Naval, but “In the Navy” and Salty Dog are also good Sherwin Williams dark blues.
Here is another variation with Accessible Beige swapped for Repose Gray:
Sea Salt Complementary Color
The “official” complementary color for Sea Salt would be a soft purple color. That is the color directly across the wheel from Sea Salt. If you wanted to go that route, you could try Sherwin Williams Silver Peony.
Here are a few more super popular Sea Salt color combinations:
Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
Iron Ore is a deep charcoal color that coordinates beautifully with Sea Salt, it provides a contrast like black would, but softer.
Sherwin Williams Smoky Salmon
Corals and pinks look really great with any sort of oceany blue or green color.
(I have a few good examples in my Aegean Teal post.)
Benjamin Moore Hale Navy
Hale Navy is another navy blue option and a cult classic from Benjamin Moore.
What Trim Colors Go With Sherwin Williams Sea Salt?
White Trim for Sea Salt
Here is Sea Salt with a variety of different white trim colors by Sherwin Williams:
Sea Salt and Pure White
Sherwin Williams Pure White is one of their whites with no obvious undertone. It does have a slight gray tone compared to truly bright whites or creamy whites.
Sea Salt and High Reflective White
Sherwin Williams High Reflective White is just what it sounds like: Their brightest and most reflective white!
High Reflective White is a good trim color if you want a super crisp look.
Sea Salt and Snowbound
Compared to the other whites, it’s hard to tell that Sherwin Williams Snowbound is actually a pretty true white. It does have a hint of warmth without looking yellow or creamy.
Snowbound is a good choice if you are torn between a creamy white or a stark white. It splits the difference by being white with just a bit of softness.
Sea Salt and Alabaster
Sherwin Williams Alabaster is one of their fan favorite whites. Is it pretty? Yes.
Is it overused? Also yes.
I wouldn’t personally use Alabaster for trim unless I was also using it on the walls, but if you want a really cozy, low-contrast look, you will probably really like it!
Sea Salt with Dark Trim
I know that there are a lot of people with historical homes out there who do not want to paint their dark wood trim, and I totally hear you!
I am always cruising the internet for example photos, but I didn’t find any of Sea Salt and dark trim in time for finishing up this post.
Here is a picture of a soft sage green with dark wood trim, just to give you some idea:
The LRV of Valspar Sea Sage is only 31, so Sea Salt will be at least twice as bright. I do think it would work!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Whole House
Sea Salt is light enough and subtle enough to use in your whole home. Here are a few great examples of Sea Salt in action:
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Bathroom
First up is this elegant spa bathroom in the home of Vanessa from @rustic.charm.in.the.valley!
These are probably the best photos that I have in terms of showing off Sea Salt’s gray qualities.
On to the home of Lacy (@lacyleeann1), who also used SW Sea Salt in her bathroom.
I think Lacy is the only person that I have seen using brass with Sea Salt, and I love the antique quality the combination has. Here you can see Sea Salt looking its most blue.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Bedroom
I hope you’re ready for bedroom goals!
Bonnie went all out with the main bedroom at Follie Farm. It is the definition of light and airy!
Even the ceiling is Sea Salt!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Laundry Room
My own “laundry room” is a stackable washer and dryer in a hall closet, but let’s do some lusting shall we?
Tara from the Joy Filled Farmhouse used Sea Salt on her laundry room cabinets, and finished them off with gold hardware.
I can’t help but feel like the real story here is the brick herringbone floor!
The white in this laundry room is Sherwin Williams Pure White.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Cabinets
Remember the first bathroom we looked at?
Vanessa has actually use Sea Salt in a lot of different rooms in her house! In the kitchen she used it on her island.
You might have noticed by now that Sea Salt seems to look great with any shade of wood!
Vanessa chose black hardware for her cabinets.
If you want to see similar shades in the kitchen, check out my Trend-Setting Green Kitchen Cabinets post. I go through more than 20 shades of green, plus hardware and countertop options!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Exterior
As far as a whole Sea Salt exterior paint job goes, I was not able to find a single person who used Sea Salt on their entire house.
I suspect this is because Sea Salt in bright outdoor lighting would look very washed out and minty.
Here are a couple of alternatives for a soft gray green like Sea Salt:
Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay
Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay makes for a really pretty exterior paint color, and if you remember, it is on the same strip as Sea Salt!
Out in the bright outdoor light, it looks similar to how you might expect Sea Salt to look.
Benjamin Moore Saybrook Sage
Saybrook Sage also looks similar to how you might be picturing Sea Salt on an exterior. It is a perfect gray green and still nice and light.
One more because I love this photo:
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Front Door
Luckily there are plenty of people who have used Sea Salt on their front door!
Here is my favorite front door, on a house with cedar shakes:
Even in the shade, the door color is pretty subtle!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Color Comparisons
I hope you are living for these comparisons, because I feel like my life is spent making them!
(And I’m not even mad about it!)
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Sea Spray (SW 9641)
Sea Spray is ever so slightly darker than Sea Salt, and a little bit further into green.
Sea Salt has a bit more yellow/neutral to it than Sea Spray.
The LRV of Sea Spray is 61.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Window Pane (SW 6210)
If you were to look at Sherwin Willams Window Pane in one room and then Sea Salt in another, it might be hard to tell the difference.
Side by side, you can see that Window Pane is loads more green than Sea Salt, and just a smidgen lighter.
The LRV of Window Pane is 72.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Rainwashed (SW 6211)
Rainwashed is one color down from Window Pane on the same color strip. It is greener and a little darker than Sea Salt.
Rainwashed has an LRV of 59.
Sherwin Williams Quietude vs Sea Salt (SW 6212)
Sherwin Williams Quietude is another line down from Window Pane and Rainwashed, so it is even darker than Rainwashed.
The LRV of Quietude is 48.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Topsail (SW 6217)
These next few colors are also on the same color strip!
The Sherwin Williams color strip that contains Topsail and Tradewind is waaaay on the opposite side of green compared to Sea Salt.
Sea Salt is closer to the green, transitioning to yellow, part of the color wheel, and Topsail is almost blue.
The LRV of Topsail is 75.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Tradewind (SW 6218)
Tradewind is just a darker version of Topsail, so it is also a blue green.
The LRV of Tradewind is 61, so it is like the bluer version of Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Ancient Marble (SW 6162)
I was very confused when I read that Sea Salt and Ancient Marble were being compared, because they are absolutely nothing alike.
Maybe you would be torn if you were looking for a beachy neutral paint color for your whole home? Or maybe people meant to compare it with Fleur de Sel?
At any rate, SW Ancient Marble is a sandy beige color, with really no gray at all in it.
The LRV of Ancient Marble is 60, so it is in the same lightness range as Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Glimmer (SW 6476)
The Sherwin Williams 6470 strip that starts with Glimmer is an aqua blue range that has no real gray in it.
Glimmer has an LRV of 78, and can sometimes even look like a blue white.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Tidewater (SW 6477)
Next in this range is the Sherwin Williams color Tidewater.
Tidewater is a baby blue and really nothing like Sea Salt, but it has an LRV of 65, so it is this color strip’s version of it.
You can see that next to Tidewater, Sea Salt looks completely gray.
Tidewater is similar to Tiffany Blue.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Watery (SW 6478)
Watery is one shade darker than Tidewater. It has an LRV of 57.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Silver Strand (SW 7057)
I was not expecting Silver Strand and Sea Salt to be as similar as they are!
Silver Strand is closer to a true neutral/gray than Sea Salt, because not only is it more gray, it also has more yellow in it.
The LRV of SW Silver Strand is 59, so it is also a little darker than Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Silvermist (SW 7621)
Besides being darker, the difference between Silvermist and Sea Salt can be a little hard to put your finger on.
Turns out that Silvermist is a lot less yellow, and more gray than Sea Salt. While Silvermist is technically in a much greener area of the color wheel, it is so gray that it hardly shows.
Essentially Silvermist is a darker and cooler alternative to Sea Salt.
The LRV of Silvermist is 47, so it is around the same level as Oyster Bay.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Filmy Green (SW 6190)
Filmy Green is actually pretty similar to Sea Salt! It has an LRV of 64 so it’s the same general lightness.
Filmy Green looks even more neutral than Sea Salt thanks to a good amount of additional yellow/beige, but it is less gray.
Sherwin Williams Opaline (SW 6189) and Contented (SW 6191) are on this same color strip as Filmy Green, so they are a bit lighter and darker (respectively) than Sea Salt, and more yellow.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Misty (SW 6232)
Sherwin Williams Misty is a cool silvery gray. It can look blue on the wall, but it has none of the warmth of Sea Salt.
The LRV of Misty is 64.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Mountain Air (SW 6224)
Mountain Air is another very light color, but this one sits in the cyan range, almost perfect between blue and green.
Because Mountain Air is so light (LRV of 73) and so gray, it comes off as more of a baby blue and loses pretty much any green.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Sherwin Williams Pearl Gray (SW 0052)
I am specifying Sherwin Williams Pearl Gray, because Benjamin Moore actually has a similar color of the same name.
SW Pearl Gray is a tiny bit darker than Sea Salt, with an LRV of 61. (A negligible difference.) Other than that, Pearl Gray is in the more yellowy-green family.
Sound familiar?
This is pretty much how I described Filmy Green. The difference between Filmy Green and Pearl Gray is that Filmy Green is even more yellow than Pearl Gray.
Pearl Gray, as the name suggests, is also more gray.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Lullaby (SW 9136)
Lullaby is a soft gray blue with an LRV of 65. That puts it in the same lightness range as Sea Salt, but that’s really the only thing these two have in common.
On the wall, Lullaby is a subtle icy blue.
Sea Salt Benjamin Moore Version
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Night Mist (1569)
Benjamin Moore’s Night Mist is a slightly warmer dupe for Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. It has just a little more yellow to it.
The LRV of Night Mist is 63.86 – essentially the same as SW Sea Salt.
Night Mist would be a great choice if you want Sea Salt to be just a sand-grain more neutral.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments (1563)
Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments is also a pretty good dupe for Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, but on the opposite side of Night Mist. It is just a little bit cooler and more green than Sea Salt.
Formerly known as “Smoky Green” (CC-700), it is on the same strip as Healing Aloe and Beach Glass, which I will cover in just a minute.
The LRV of Quiet Moments is 61.87, and you can see that it is a hint darker than Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Healing Aloe (1562)
Benjamin Moore Healing Aloe is almost the exact same shade of gray green as Sea Salt, but just a little lighter.
This is interesting because Quiet Moments is one shade darker than Healing Aloe on the same color strip, but it is considerably more green.
If there was a true darker version of Healing Aloe, it would be nearly identical to Sea Salt.
The LRV of Healing Aloe is 69.66.
All in all, Healing Aloe is actually very close:
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Beach Glass (1564)
Something I didn’t know about paint before I started working with it a lot, is that the color strip usually follows a trend, and is not just lighter or darker shades of the same thing.
Benjamin Moore Beach Glass is a perfect example of this.
Healing Aloe is two shades lighter than Beach Glass on the same color strip, and was almost the same color as Sea Salt, but lighter.
Quiet Moments is one shade darker than Healing Aloe, and close to the right LRV, so it should match Sea Salt, but it actually has more green.
Beach Glass is the next color on the same strip, and it is not only darker, but it is even more green. So much so, that it is approaching cyan/blue.
As a result, Beach Glass is not just darker than Sea Salt, it is also completely cool-toned.
Anyways, pardon the interlude, the LRV of Beach Glass is 50.3.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue (HC-144)
Palladian Blue is actually very much a green still, at least from a technical perspective. It is a bit lighter than Sea Salt and less gray.
The biggest difference between the two, is that Palladian Blue is completely green gray and has none of the yellow that Sea Salt does.
Palladian Blue is probably best described as a soft robin’s egg blue.
It’s LRV is 61.17.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Tranquility (AF-490)
Benjamin Moore Tranquility is also known as Picnic Basket (CSP-730).
Tranquility is quite a bit cooler than Sea Salt, and darker.
The LRV of Tranquility is 53.9.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Sea Salt (CSP-95)
Benjamin Moore’s color named Sea Salt is much closer to Sherwin Williams Fleur de Sel. It is a sandy color, and not green at all.
The LRV of Benjamin Moore Sea Salt is 62.93.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp (1570)
Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp is one shade down from Night Mist on the same color strip. If there was a color exactly like Gray Wisp, but lighter, it would be a near perfect dupe for Sea Salt.
As it is, Night Mist is a touch warmer than both Gray Wisp and Sea Salt.
The LRV of Gray Wisp is 54.85. Beyond that, Sea Salt and Gray Wisp are the same.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Restoration Hardware Silver Sage
This is the first time that I have ever written about a Restoration Hardware paint color!
I read a blog post from someone who wanted Restoration Harware’s Silver Sage, but in the end they chose Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.
I have to say that while on paper the colors aren’t so very different, in real life on the wall, Silver Sage looks nothing like Sea Salt.
Silver Sage tends to look like a sage color, or even gray, whereas Sea Salt usually reads brighter, or even blueish green at times, but never gray.
From first glance, RH Silver Sage is much more similar to Sherwin Williams Contented, but I would have to do some further investigation.
The LRV of Silver Sage is approximately 53.14.
Valspar Equivalent to Sea Salt
Valspar is ON IT with the dupes for Sea Salt. I narrowed it down to just five to show you, but that’s still way more than I was expecting!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Valspar Sparkling Sage 5005-3B
Sparkling Sage is tied with Sage Morsel (up next) for the best Sea Salt color match in Valspar.
Sparkling Sage has an LRV of 60.22 so it is a little darker than Sea Salt. It is also ever so slightly warmer (more yellow).
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Valspar Sage Morsel 5005-1C
Valspar Sage Morsel is the closet match to Sea Salt in terms of lightness, with an LRV of 61.66.
It is a little more yellow than Sparkling Sage, which is already slightly warmer than Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Valspar Ante Meridian 5005-1B
Valspar’s Ante Meridian is lighter than Valspar Sparkling Sage, so it is close to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, but lighter instead of darker.
The LRV of Ante Meridian is 66.34.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Valspar Mellow Tune 5003-1B
Valspar Mellow Tune is the darkest of these dupes, with an LRV of 57.45. It is ever so slightly warmer than SW Sea Salt, but another very close dupe!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Valspar Sea Salt Blue (CI191)
Valspar’s Sea Salt Blue is not a terrible match for Sea Salt, but it is completely cool-toned, and a little more gray.
As a result, even though it is technically still a green, it does tend to look quite blue.
The LRV of Sea Salt Blue is 61.187.
Sea Salt Behr Equivalent
I was able to come up with two really solid dupes for Sherwin Williams Sea Salt!
Both of these colors have an LRV of 65, compared to Sea Salt’s 64, so they are just a hair lighter.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Behr Salt Glaze PPU12-11
Behr Salt Glaze is an almost perfect dupe for Sea Salt, but it is ever so slightly cooler.
I actually found this color hidden away in Behr’s gray section. It doesn’t show up under green at all!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Behr Flora N390-2
Behr Flora is on the opposite side of things, and is just a touch warmer than Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt vs Behr Breezeway (MQ3-21)
Not a dupe, but I thought we should look at Behr Breezeway because it is similar to Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, and it was their “Color of the Year” for 2022.
Breezeway lacks the same muted subtlety of SW Sea Salt. You can see that Breezeway is a much “brighter” color, and it makes Sea Salt look almost completely gray beside it.
In real life and on the wall, the difference seems to be a lot more subtle, but Breezeway isn’t in a heck of a lot of homes yet.
I don’t really like to take the official Behr literature and photos as gospel.
I suspect that Breezeway is quite aqua once it’s on the wall. I guess we will have to wait and see as more people use it!
The LRV of Breezeway is similar to Sea Salt, at 66.
Sea Salt Mood
Well if this hasn’t made up your mind about Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, I don’t think anything will, but here’s a quick recap:
- Sea Salt is a subtle gray green-blue
- Sea Salt is light enough and neutral enough to use in your whole home
- Sea Salt likes to be matched with neutral colors, other greens, and blues
- This color is probably not for exteriors
- In north facing rooms, Sea Salt might look quite blue
Not sold? Never fear! I seem to have really gone down a rabbit hole with greens. Here are many more:
