If you are looking for a sage green, but you hate anything that leans the least bit cool or minty, you will love the warm harvest green of Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage.
Let’s take a look at Svelte Sage in a coordinating color palette, see it in real homes, go over trim choices, and compare with similar colors!
What Color is Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage (SW 6164)?
Svelte Sage is a very warm-leaning muted sage green. From the color chip, you might not realize it’s a green at all!
LRV and RBG of Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage
The LRV of Svelte Sage is 41.
What does that mean?
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.
At 41, Svelte Sage is a mid-toned paint color. It absorbs a little bit more light than it reflects, but not a whole lot.
The RGB of Svelte Sage is Red 178, Green 172, Blue 150.
The hex value provided by Sherwin Williams for Svelte Sage is #b2ac96.
What Are the Undertones of Svelte Sage?
Svelte Sage is about as yellow as it can get and still be a sage green. It has major warm beigey undertones.
Is Svelte Sage Warm or Cool?
Svelte Sage is a neutral to warm paint color. Greens (particularly muted ones) tend to act as neutrals, but Svelte Sage leans very warm.
When we get to real homes I will point out where it looks warmest and coolest.
Svelte Sage in the Sherwin Williams Color Strip
This color strip has some great muted greens, ranging from light beige-greens to deep olive.
Here are the rest of the shades from this collection:
- Ancient Marble (SW 6162)
- Grassland (SW 6163)
- Svelte Sage (SW 6164)
- At Ease Soldier (SW 9127)
- Connected Gray (SW 6165)
- Eclipse (SW 6166)
- Garden Gate (SW 6167)
Lighter Version of Svelte Sage
One shade lighter than Svelte Sage is the color Grassland. It has an LRV of 50, so it’s not loads lighter.
Should you use Grassland or Svelte Sage?
Personally I would go with Svelte Sage over Grassland, if only because we know for sure what it looks like! I wasn’t able to find anybody who has actually used Grassland.
I suspect that Grassland reads more like a beige with a green undertone, rather than a sage with warm yellow undertones. Svelte Sage already toes that line when paired with darker cooler colors, so I would expect a lighter color to lean even more that way.
If you want a significantly lighter gray green that still has a slightly warm undertone, you might like Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage in a Color Palette
Here is a wam and cozy color palette to help you use Svelte Sage in your home:
Coordinating Colors for Svelte Sage
Svelte Sage and Urbane Bronze
Svelte Sage loves to be paired with other warm colors! That is, if you want it to look nice and sagey.
Urbane Bronze is probably my favorite deep brown. (It’s a short list, because I’m pretty “meh” about browns, but this one is lovely!) Urbane Bronze is quite muted like Svelte Sage, so these two would look beautiful together.
Svelte Sage and Greek Villa
Greek Villa is nice warm white that has a slight beige undertone despite technically being a true white. It should make Svelte Sage look about as dark and cool as possible.
Svelte Sage and Shoji White
I added the creamy off-white of Shoji White because we have a real example of this combo in the homes below, and it’s pretty perfect!
Svelte Sage and Tricorn Black
Clearly the true black of SW Tricorn Black isn’t a warm color, but there’s always a place for a crisp black in a color palette!
Complementary Color for SW Svelte Sage
The “official” complement for any color, is the shade directly across the color wheel. Svelte Sage is so yellow, that this is actually a purpley-blue.
The Benjamin Moore 2024 Color of the Year Blue Nova is actually a great match:
I wasn’t too sure about pairing these colors together, but now that I see them side by side, I do think it works.
What Trim Colors Go With Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage?
Here is an example of how some popular Sherwin Williams trim colors will look with Svelte Sage on the wall:
White Paint that Goes with Svelte Sage
To keep Svelte Sage looking it’s warmest and darkest, try a clean white like SW High Reflective White.
All the rest of these whites are warm, because that would be my personal choice, in order to keep Svelte Sage looking, well…sage.
For a super soft contrast between your walls and trim, try the darker off-white of Shoji White.
Greek Villa and Alabaster are both creamy whites that are still actual white paint colors. Go with Alabaster for the creamier of the two, and Greek Villa for a slightly lighter and more neutral white.
(You can also see my full comparison here: Greek Villa vs Alabaster)
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage for Your Home’s Interior
Let’s get into the fun stuff and see Svelte Sage in real homes!
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage in the Living Room
First things first, let’s take a look at Svelte Sage in the living room, on Laura’s (@theclassiccottage) fireplace wall:
Here we see the color looking pretty “typical,” I would say. It’s a muted sage with a definite warm, almost beige, undertone.
I totally love this space! Svelte Sage looks equally good with the pink, white, and gold decor elements.
I could show you Laura’s fireplace all day! She really takes the best photos, and styles her space perfectly.
Next we have Svelte Sage on a wood beadboard accent wall:
In this space by Meagen of @badgerhouseinteriors, Svelte Sage looks a touch darker because the natural light is lower.
If you like this look, you will love my post: Fabulous Sage Green Trim Colors to Uplevel Your Aesthetic (See Real Homes!)
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage in the Laundry Room
I’m not sure which project came first, but Meagan really fell in love with this color, and used it on several projects. The next one is this little laundry room closet:
With Svelte Sage tucked away like this, it looks the darkest:
Here is a close up for good measure:
If you like the color how it looks in this photo, you might like a darker warm sage, like Vintage Vogue.
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage in the Bedroom
I only have one example of Svelte Sage at work in a bedroom, but it’s a good one!
I love how the color carries along at 5/8, even over the door and trim! The white here is the muted off white of Sherwin Williams Shoji White. (Which we talked about earlier with the color palette and trim.)
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage in a Bathroom
The light in this bathroom by Cerissa of @industriousinteriors is super bright, so you would be forgiven for not knowing it was sage!
In this particular photo, Svelte Sage certainly looks as close to beige as it ever does.
Svelte Sage in a Home Office
Back at Meagan’s, Svelte Sage makes an appearance on this office feature wall:
On the board and batten here, Svelte Sage looks about as cool (more minty) as it ever does.
If you prefer how the color looks here, you might prefer Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay.
SW Svelte Sage on Kitchen Cabinets
Over at @highland.haven, Svelte Sage takes us through the full range of looks on these cabinets:
The upper cabinets catch more of the light, and tend to look a little lighter and warmer than the lowers do here.
In this next photo, they almost look beige.
The lower (and lower light) cabinets tend to stay looking more green.
If you are super observant, you may have noticed that this is actually a laundry room, but I thought it was a kitchen, so that’s what matters.
…Actually what matters is that this room is serving a whole lotta cabinets, so it’s more applicable to the average person as kitchen inspo.
Meagan also used Svelte Sage on the lower cabinets in this kitchen project, and kept the uppers soft and creamy using Benjamin Moore Simply White.
In the first picture, Svelte Sage looks more yellow, but in the next one it looks more sage:
I love the simplicity of this color scheme! White + Sage + Natural wood tones is a great way to go.
If you are trying to settle on a sage green for your kitchen, check out my post: The Best Colors for Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets (To Get the Look You Want!)
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage on an Exterior
You know how I hate to come up empty handed, so today we are going to look at some exterior inspiration that is similar to how Svelte Sage will look:
How similar? This muted sage is Benjamin Moore Gettysburg Gray, which is a little bit darker than Svelte Sage, but overall very similar:
You can expect Svelte Sage to look a little bit lighter and a touch warmer than this project by Word of Mouth Painting (@word_of_mouth_painting):
Here the garage looks quite warm, so it’s a good example:
Personally, I might consider Gettysburg Gray over Svelte Sage for an exterior, because in the bright warm sunlight, I think Svelte Sage will look too beige for my taste.
If you scroll back to the lighter cabinet photos, I think that’s close to what you can expect outside.
One more from this project:
I do think Svelte Sage would be a lovely exterior color.
Svelte Sage on Exterior Trim
On Laura’s (@darthschleder) house, she chose to use Svelte Sage on her trim, with another favorite sage Sherwin Williams Retreat on the siding:
You can see that Svelte Sage leans much more beige against the cooler sage of Retreat.
(The pops of brighter green by the front door is SW Tupelo Tree.)
This combo is quite unexpected, but it works so well together!
I think Svelte Sage would also make a great trim color with a creamy white exterior. In that case it would look closer to a true sage.
Svelte Sage Compared to Other Sage Green Paint Colors
Here is how Svelte Sage compares to some other warm sages that you may be considering:
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage vs Clary Sage
Clary Sage is cooler and more green than Svelte Sage (although it’s still a warm sage itself). You can see that Svelte Sage looks much more brown in comparison:
The LRV is the same for both of these colors: 41.
See more from this color in my post: Sherwin Williams Clary Sage Review (With Dupes!)
Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage vs October Mist
October Mist is a former color of the year by Benjamin Moore. This sage green is also warm, but it is cooler and lighter than Svelte Sage.
Dupes for Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage
Here are the best colors to get you the same look as Svelte Sage from other brands:
Benjamin Moore Svelte Sage Equivalent
From Benjamin Moore, the color Dried Basil aka Herbs de Provence, is the best dupe for Svelte Sage.
Benjamin Moore Dried Basil (1510)
Dried Basil is a tiny bit darker and a tiny bit cooler than Svelte Sage:
Valspar (Lowe’s) Equivalent to Svelte Sage
From Lowe’s, the best color match for Svelte Sage is the color Artemis.
Valspar Artemis (8006-1D)
Artemis is a little bit more gray, and a little bit warmer than Svelte Sage. These two differences should almost cancel out, so this is a super good alternative to Svelte Sage.
Svelte Sage Behr Equivalent (Home Depot)
Heading over to Home Depot, the best color match for Svelte Sage is their shade Stone Walls.
Behr Stone Walls (PPU8-19)
Stone Walls is such an interesting name for this color. It’s almost like they want us to think it’s taupe and not sage, but we shall remain steadfast in our opinions.
Stone Walls is a little bit darker and a touch more beige than Svelte Sage.
Once again, here are all of the alternatives to Svelte Sage:
Svelte Sage Pros & Cons
Thanks so much for making it to the end of this post! That really helps my site. If this isn’t the one for you, take a little scroll down and I will link some other sage colors!
Still not sure? Here are a few pros and cons:
Pros
- Almost perfectly mid-toned, so you can use it anywhere
- The best of current trends: It’s both warm and sage
- Still usually reads green, despite being very warm
Cons
- Has the potential to read a little “muddy” against cooler or brighter colors
- Might be a touch too light and beige-leaning for exteriors
