If you can’t quite find the perfect greige, beige, cream, or tan for your home, you might love the subtle taupe of Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning!

Let’s review this color in real homes, take a look at a color palette, and compare it to similar shades (plus see some dupes from other brands)!
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What Color is Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning (SW 9590)
Most taupes tend to have a bit of a purple undertone, but I find Taupe of the Morning to be VERY subtle.
Think mushroom, putty, or cool beige. It’s a light and versatile neutral.

Taupe of the Morning LRV
The LRV of Taupe of the Morning is 65, which puts it into the magic whole-home LRV range. It won’t look white or off-white, but it’s not dark by any means.
How do we know this?
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 65, Taupe of the Morning still reflects a good amount of light.
What Are the Undertones of Taupe of the Morning?
While subtle, Taupe of the Morning does still have a purple undertone like many other taupe colors.
If you hate purple, I really wouldn’t suggest Taupe of the Morning. You don’t always see the undertone, but why take the chance?
You might prefer a more yellow neutral, like Manchester Tan, or a greige like Agreeable Gray.
Check out this post about two popular neutrals: Accessible Beige vs Agreeable Gray (How to Choose!)

In an update to this post, I have received feedback from a couple of people who said that Taupe of the Morning had quite a pink undertone in their home.
This was surprising because it certainly isn’t a pink color. If I had to guess, I think this could be the case when you have a lot of subtle green or yellow influence. This could be in the form of a green or yellow-based white for trim, or a lot of greenery outside.
Something to look out for, and it’s always a good idea to test your colors!
Is Taupe of the Morning Warm or Cool?
In my opinion, Taupe of the Morning is neutral, and neither warm nor cool.
Technically it is in the orange area of the color wheel, but it has a good amount of gray in it. This combined with the purple undertone, and I think Taupe of the Morning has equally cool and warm elements.

Taupe of the Morning Color Strip
The Taupe of the Morning color strip was a bit hard to track down. I ended up using the Sherwin Williams color number as my guide.
Taupe of the Morning is color number 9590. Shades 9589 through 9595 are kind of a light to dark progression, but you may notice that they have slight variations in tone:

Lauriston Stone in particular sticks out as having more of a green undertone than the rest.
Lighter Version of Taupe of the Morning
Sherwin Williams Limewash (SW 9589) is one shade lighter than Taupe of the Morning. It has an LRV of 67, so it really is just a touch lighter.
If you are looking for a significantly lighter color, then you will be hunting in off-white territory. I will show you a few similar-but-lighter colors when we compare Sherwin Williams shades below.
Darker Version of Taupe of the Morning
Sherwin Williams Whisper (9591) is a perfect darker alternative to Taupe of the Morning. It shares all the same components but has an LRV of 45.
I had actually not seen this color before, so it seems like a great choice if you want a less popular neutral.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning Color Palette
I was feeling Taupe of the Morning with smokey teals and a couple of neutral shades:

Taupe of the Morning Coordinating Colors
Benjamin Moore Polished Slate
Polished Slate is a nice muted teal color that I think works great with Taupe of the Morning.

You could easily go with something of a more true green nature instead of a teal, such as Sherwin Williams Rosemary.
Sherwin Williams Cascades
Cascades is a very deep teal that is as dark as some black paint colors. If you want a moody shade to complement the lightness of Taupe of the Morning, this could be the one!

Sherwin Williams Grizzle Gray
Grizzle Gray is a fairly taupey-gray in its own right, but less beige than Taupe of the Morning. It would be a great choice for a coordinating dark neutral.

Sherwin Williams Pure White
Pure White is my safest choice for a white with Taupe of the Morning. It is super neutral, and should work well with those tricky purple undertones.

Read more in my post: Sherwin Williams White Battle – Snowbound vs Pure White
Complementary Color for Taupe of the Morning
The “official” complementary color for Taupe of the Morning (the color directly across the color wheel) would be a light gray-blue, similar to Sherwin Williams Upward:

What Trim Colors Go With Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning?
If you want to minimize purple or pink tones with Taupe of the Morning, steer clear of warm creamy whites.
Choose instead a clean true white like Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace*, or a soft white that has a touch of gray, like Sherwin Williams Pure White.
A creamy yellow white will make Taupe of the Morning look more purple, as you can see in this bathroom:

*Originally when I suggested Chantilly Lace for trim, I had not seen or heard about Taupe of the Morning looking pink. Chantilly Lace is a green-based white, so while it should be okay on trim due to no real undertone, you may want to swatch them together. I probably wouldn’t have Chantilly Lace walls with accents of Taupe of the Morning, just to be safe.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning Home Interior
Taupe of the Morning is a super underrated color in my opinion!
I really haven’t seen it used a whole lot, and unfortunately that means I don’t have a ton of photos to share.
I was able to scrounge up a few however:
Taupe of the Morning in the Bedroom
I mentioned earlier that I had received feedback that Taupe of the Morning sometimes gives a pink undertone. One of the people to mention it was Kelly (@therozyhomebykelly).

She used Taupe of the Morning for the trim in her kids’ bedroom, with Oxford White walls. I’m not especially getting pink here. Maybe just a touch on the trim above the window?

I think it could be a bit like Sherwin Williams Snowbound, where once you see the pink you can’t unsee it. The color isn’t pink, but the hint may drive you crazy.
Oxford White is a yellowy-green based white, so the green theory I suggested earlier may have some legs.
Taupe of the Morning on Kitchen Cabinets
Ashley and Matt from @homesweetiepiehome, chose Taupe of the Morning for the kitchen cabinets in their new build:

It’s not quite finished yet, but you get the idea!

The white is Sherwin Williams Pure White, and you can see that it doesn’t make Taupe of the Morning look purple. The pantry is Sherwin Williams Succulent.
I’m a big fan of this soft shade on cabinets. It’s unexpected, but still on trend with beige and gray cabinets.
I have one more set of kitchen cabinets to show you, this time by The Finishing Room (@thefinishingroommke):

In this kitchen, Taupe of the Morning looks much more beige. Definitely no purple here either. It actually looks very similar to Revere Pewter.
I don’t know the white wall color here, but if I had to guess I would say it was Sherwin Williams Snowbound.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning Exterior
Unfortunately I was not able to find Taupe of the Morning on an exterior, but I do have Shoji White, and it is pretty similar (more on that in just a minute).

All colors will look lighter on an exterior, so while Taupe of the Morning will be darker than these exteriors, only by about 10%.

Taupe of the Morning Compared to Other Sherwin Williams Paint Colors
Feeling a little muddled with all of your neutral paint swatches? Allow me to share the difference between Taupe of the Morning and other colors you might be considering.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Oyster White (SW 7637)
Oyster White is not as similar to Taupe of the Morning as I expected. It is not only lighter (LRV of 72) it is cleaner and more yellow.

Read more about this color in my post: Sherwin Williams Oyster White (Review and Dupes!)
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Accessible Beige (SW 7036)
Accessible Beige is darker than Taupe of the Morning, with an LRV of 58. It is also a little less gray.

It’s interesting how similar they look on the swatches, because in real life Accessible Beige never looks taupe.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Natural Choice (SW 7011)
Natural Choice is a popular off-white from Sherwin Williams that also looks much more beige than taupe.

You can see that it has a lot more yellow in it, so much so that it almost looks green in comparison.
Natural Choice has an LRV of 74.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Shoji White (SW 7042)
Shoji White is more red than Oyster White and Natural Choice, so it is similar to Taupe of the Morning that way.

It is still lighter, with an LRV of 74.
In terms of “darker whites” (off-whites), Shoji is one of my faves! Read more here: Sherwin Williams Shoji White Review and Alternatives (It’s not greige!)
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Modern Gray (SW 7632)
The waters start to get a little muddy between Modern Gray and Taupe of the Morning.
Modern Gray is a bit darker, with an LRV of 62.

I would say that Modern Gray is also a taupe. It is a little more gray than Taupe of the Morning, but it is also more red, so it too has that purpley-gray-beige quality of many taupes.
Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning vs Kestrel White (SW 7516)
Kestrel White is just a bit lighter than Taupe of the Morning, with an LRV of 68. It is also a little less gray, and a little more red.

Taupe of the Morning Dupes
Time for the fun part! Dupes!
Where else can you get a color like Taupe of the Morning, you ask?
Well I’ll tell you!

Benjamin Moore Taupe of the Morning Equivalent
I found two pretty good dupes for Taupe of the Morning from Benjamin Moore. From a technical perspective, Kitten Whiskers is the closest match, but I personally like Cedar Key a bit better.
Benjamin Moore Cedar Key (982)
Cedar Key is a soft beigey-taupe like Taupe of the Morning. It is just a touch darker, and a bit more yellow, but I feel like it’s a great dupe in person.

Benjamin Moore Kitten Whiskers/Bone China (1003 or CC-426)
The LRV of Bone China aka Kitten Whiskers is very close to that of Taupe of the Morning, and on paper it looks more similar than Cedar Key:

However, Bone China is actually a fair bit more red, and in real life it can look quite pinky, where Taupe of the Morning does not.
Valspar (Lowe’s) Equivalent to Taupe of the Morning
From Valspar the best color match for SW Taupe of the Morning is the shade Warm Putty.
Valspar Warm Putty (6006-1A)

Warm Putty is a touch more yellow (vs red), and less gray than Taupe of the Morning. It is also supposed to be a touch lighter, but I’m not seeing it. This dupe is pretty perfect!
Taupe of the Morning Behr Equivalent (Home Depot)
Behr Sandstone Cove (730C-2)
Sandstone Cove is the Behr version of Taupe of the Morning.
It is just a tiny bit more red, and a wisp lighter.


Taupe of the Morning Final Moody Musings
That’s about it for Taupe of the Morning! If you have used it I would love to hear all about it.
If you haven’t, let’s recap:
- Taupe of the Morning is most popular for cabinets, but it would make a nice neutral whole home color
- Use it with a pure white (like SW Pure White) to keep the purple undertone in check
- It is similar to some super popular off-whites, but it is a touch darker
Not the one?
Allow me! :
Ready to Paint?
Don’t Forget Your Supplies!
This little brush might look funny, but it’s my absolute ride or die!
Rollers like these hold the most paint and make the job faster. Get a metal roller cage for easy on and off.
DryDex is the fastest (and funnest!) way to make chips and dents disappear. (Make sure you get a small spackling tool that actually fits in the container, and a sanding sponge.)
This tool will save your back and limit time on a ladder.