Sherwin Williams Sea Salt

By Asad | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Sea Salt Paint Color

Does it look like someone is struggling between comfort and chic for house paints? Maybe you need a walkthrough for why Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is different in each scenario and should be chosen wisely for the perfect look with the ideal combination in the best-matched lighting to illuminate that south-facing room or radiate the warm sunroom or cool off those bathroom tones for a long bathtub experience.

sherwin williams sea salt review

Making the Right Choice

Most of the time, choosing the right color tones, the bright and the dulls, the reflections and the undertones, the whites, and the dark, dusty shadows need a lot of patience, guidance, and dedication towards building your dream room the way you have envisioned it to be. If you are about to sell your house or rent it out soon for a great deal and looking forward to impressing those visitors, only a good cup of coffee over some welcoming chat won’t do. You need to take that extra plunge into designing and making things seem unforgettable for all. A white off look is what people usually search for these days, which would lighten up the greens in Sea Salt and bring in that earthy look, and with the perfect furniture accents in gold and marble, you will be able to achieve that cherry on top of the cake!

One of the most helpful tips for you is to remember the color wheel and have each colors grading set aside differences and varied with each other for different looks following the rooms, their structure, the selected environment to set, the lighting, whether it’s natural or art of light bulbs and how they may change the color itself, whether the colors are neutral enough to blend in?

All the above questions answered with the correct mindset in the right time frame keeping all the desires of you and your loved ones in mind and analyzing all the logistics will help you in getting that perfect chic decency without compromising on the comfort radiating from all four corners turning the bare walls and ceiling into what you can firmly call a home.

sherwin williams sea salt review in detail

Why is Sea Salt Color Popular?

Trends and changes in people’s choices vary with time and popularity of certain things. However, wisdom, experience, and lineage never go out of style in any era, especially when you are sure of what you are doing, likewise, in the case of Sherwin Williams. Her brand and its ideal colors never seem to be fading in the past for all these years as they keep up with all sorts of trends and cultures. A soothing calming effect, funky color combinations, super pigmented dulls, and compliment a wide range of whites, all these are well set and created in the right proportions for the right themes and structures by this brand.

Brand Reputation

Sherwin Williams has worked with many historical color palettes from different areas and times from back to the 1830s, Early Victorian period, and those pastel additions have been a few specialties ever since. These iconic palettes were famous for rosy, rustic, earthy reds, and terra cotta inspired hues. This decade though, warm, muted, and less reflective colors have been adored, and thus grays and dull blues are painted in different proportions with the Sea Salt combination. Giving the brownish warm auburn undertones to this shade makes it most useful for office rooms and kitchen with an open outdoors to the backside of a house. These caramel and Sea Salt combinations seem one of the most popular ones with wooden accents and subtle combinations. It is what seemed the latest neutral apart from other pastel options.

How it All Works?

At Sherwin Williams, according to their director of color marketing, colors complete a full circle and keep reoccurring over the decades in different shades and forms. Similarly, the grays and greens used in the 80s have been reappearing in other muted tones individually as well as in a collision. Sea Salt is a mixture of these in different proportions to settle in with the highest demands of pastel colors and soft subtle hues for a comforting room. The designers for this generation find these shades forgotten and want to live by them in this era of serene colors and coastal, beach aura. The company’s team travels the globe for inspiration and acquires some global influenza to add to the newest color additions. Toned down hues, as well as eye-catching shades, are included in the upcoming palettes to have a bright outlook of the future and add a subtle touch of earlier decades. This combination is what currently appeals to the majority.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Reviews

The nuanced ways of using this color with the perfect blends and mixtures combined with the right structures are numerous. However, your usage decisions may be significantly influenced by reviews of other users quoting their experiences perfect combinations according to their opinions.

Sea Salt by SW has said to be the best Green, Grey, and Blue Blend paint color. It is currently one of the most famous greyish blues, so combine with a subtle hazy outlook to any room. SW Sea Salt has been reviewed as the most fantastic tone for coastal paint that compliments most mainstream accents and furniture and is supposedly neutral for all types of rooms providing a relaxing atmosphere in the surroundings.

The Effect of Lighting 

In a room brightly illuminated, the color Sea Salt gives a washed-out face completely stripped out of all undertones and mainly polished to be a fine plain unrecognizable shade of white. This light and subtle art would not be a bad idea for those looking for a greatly bold hue and wider view of the room, perhaps for more focus on office work or a moody bland look for that early morning workout you need to do.

However, switched off or dull lights and natural lighting covered with dark blinds would completely change the look.

It has been adored for being a cool greenish-gray that gives out to the relaxing atmosphere mentioned above and further enhances the chameleon hues of the walls or furniture painted onto. It, however, with the mix of diffused lighting or natural lighting, for instance, an evening hour light would give the best look of all and is best for those peaceful coastal vibe lovers wanting their homes to be simple and chic with a Parisian touch.

However, one great tip would be to try the color out as a small sample on sheets of cardboard or a piece of furniture to fit the lighting and positioning.

Where can you use Sherwin Williams Sea Salt?

Paint’s Different Uses and its Reviews

A Sea Salt washed wall painting, an accented sheet painted of roughly 8cm by 12cm, or a marble top counter with Sea Salt cabinets with wooden sides, or any other way of using this color could completely change the look and feel of any room.

Thus, this color can be used on a bland wall for one wash, a small frames sheet for adding it as an accent, or could cover furniture sets to add a little touch of blue and hues of green to your whitewashed bathroom.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in Bedroom

sea salt bedroom review

For a prime bedroom look, painting walls behind a master bed with blues, greens, and light dull shades would give a larger, airy outlook to it. The bedrooms would appear to have more spacing and enough lighting to make it seem comforting for a lazy day in bed. The spacious feeling radiates within one’s senses. It helps in encapsulating the feeling of relief during that wonderful morning time with a cup of coffee or not have a clustered environment while you breathe in deeply for that morning yoga.

For a more vibrant look in your bedroom, however, you may want to compliment the Sea Salt with other colors. For this, although, you need to keep in mind the color wheel and how combinations work. For instance, colors like green and red opposing each other on the wheel go with each other if light and subdued. The Sea Salt green undertones would play off a vibrant red quite well also.

Another great idea would be for you to play with the same shades and take a more monochromatic approach, for instance, chose from the various shades of blue, turquoise, baby blue, dark blue, navy blue or sky blue for a subtle color that seems soothing enough to add to your Sea Salt themed bedroom. Perhaps you could add bamboo sticks accents to make it more appealing and give an oceanic vibe.

Or even a darker shade could be used to enhance that subdued greenish-grey theme. Maybe a snatched out royal blue wall and a royal duvet to compliment would make you call it a night after that fancy dinner, strolling back to your room in that silk gown and a glass of champagne.

Coming back to our beachy homelike look and midsummer dreamer mood, however, this elite shade could do justice to white painted groove boards with a copper beam hanging or rope pendant lights coiling down the ceiling.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in Living Room

sea salt living room review

The same subtle and soothing ambiance in your living room would be thereby enhancing the greens in the Sea Salt wash of color. It is a warmer undertone usually highlighted by warm diffused lighting or a naturally fading light. Hence, a more south-facing one would work where the yellows and greens would work through more than the white and bluish hues.

For a cooler tone, however, colors like blues, lavenders, mauve, baby pink touches, or soft cream ochers are great choices to pair with a Sea Salt. These would complement a great evening, giving it a slight reliving and romantic touch and make the color lean towards its cooler side.

Another great idea would be to turn back to your color wheel and spot out the contrasting colors of purple and blue. Now try adding those mauves and lavenders to your Sea Salt and see how both the colors make each other stand out, and the added effect would be a pastel touch to your living room.

However, with only additions of color by small fragments or accents, Sea Salt alone without interference with other tones is a color to influence the environment and create a relentlessly calm environment for that perfect evening cuddled up in your living room.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in the Kitchen

sea salt kitchen review

Shades in a kitchen should be warm and buttery yellow, somehow complement the crockery and finely match the cabinets and countertops for those marble tops and wooden touches, Sea Salt would be an amazing addition. This color would soothe the hustle-bustle of a busy kitchen and add to the feeling of comfort at home with the aroma of those homemade goodies. The powdery bluish undertones would illuminate the compressing feeling in this part of the house as it is one with the most activity going on.

If your kitchen is one with North and West facing windows, for instance, this color will give a cool washed out, muted greenish grey that keeps changing with the hour of the day and the natural lighting that hits the wall. This naturally emerging light and blending tones bring out mostly the green in the Sea Salt by the same color in the same position would look completely unrecognizable at a different hour of the day. It is the beauty of this shade created by Sherwin Williams!

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Bathroom

sea salt bathroom review

There is an unnoticeable part of this color that radiates through its foundation in certain standard lighting. It is due to the addition of the bluish-black shade to the color blend that makes it fall towards the dusty undertones and may give a cooler look if used in bathrooms without natural lighting and the perfect combination of light bulbs. It would not make it look like an appalling dusty darkish undertone; it is actually for a more relieving calming undertone to cancel the yellows of natural reflections.

There have been reviews on this color, turning out fabulous in bathrooms owing to its serene and subtle nature. A lot of the people described it to be a spa-like feeling while in a bathtub with those airy tones, and the reflection of natural light on it gets them rid of all the pressing issues of life.

This versatile color would add to those ocean feels and tranquil outlook to a bathroom that has a farmhouse or coastal like décor and high wainscotings, neatly merging with the color blends and giving an iconic look all over.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Cabinets

The perfect positioning of our Sea Salt would be with whitewashed cabinets and long white cupboards, pale crown, and high baseboards. Or another perfect duo would be with a touch of marble and white with light polished oak or bamboo additions to complete the resort feeling.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Sunroom

Sea Salt in a sunroom would cause a direct natural light reflecting towards the finely painted wall and illuminate the undertones. In this south-facing room, the rays are yellow and bright, which may cause the Sea Salt to look greener than blue as usual in a cooler tone.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Exterior

sea salt exterior review

Besides being a beautiful blend of green and grey, Sea Salt is actually a cool green which goes more towards a green-blue side and not gives a dusty look; neither does it end up looking too warm towards the yellow undertones and greenish blends

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Foyer

If you are keen on improving your house and making it looks extraordinary and upgraded from what it is now, only a foyer is not the solution. The foyer in the right space and placement around the perfect wall painted with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt and the flooring with a dark Tricorn Black would really change the game for your house!

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Office

Another quite interesting way to use this color would be in a monotone plain way over your desk to help maintain focus and retain energy levels after that tiring evening call from the office.  This office setting would surely help in distressing and rejuvenating your mind and work better that way with a clear head in an airy environment.

Comparison with Other Colors

SW Silver strand Vs Sea salt

Silver strand seems to be a darker version of Sea Salt itself. With not a lot of difference, Silver Strand seems to be leaning towards more grey and may reveal darker undertones under artificial lights.

sea salt vs silver strand

SW Comfort gray vs Sea salt

Comfort grey being no matter how darker from Sea Salt seems to be an obvious grey gradient with more pigmentation, quite dull and dusty.

sea salt vs comfort gray

SW Rain washed vs Sea salt

Rain washed, as compared to Sea Salt is leaning towards way greener and seems to have greyish blue undertones when reflected with natural lights.

sea salt vs rain washed

SW Topsail vs Sea salt

Topsail seems to look quite lighter and greener from Sea Salt and shows a bit of minty hues with natural lights. The difference can be better spotted at different times of the day with different types of rays.

sea salt vs top sail

SW Silver sage vs Sea salt

Silver sage haves an unnoticeable shine to itself more than Sea Salt and must be quite lightening and make the room look brighter. However, such a bright contrast would not seem as welcoming as the Sea Salt.

sea salt vs silver sage

SW Window Pane vs Sea salt

Window pane also resembling to a matte window sill seems to be creating a minty touch for the viewers as compared to the Sea Salt.

sea salt vs window pane

SW Tradewind vs Sea salt

Another minty bluish shade is made by this trade wind making the bluish-gray in Sea Salt stand out more than usual.

sea salt vs trade wind

SW Tidewater vs Sea salt

A watery oceanic blue of trade water clearly overshadows the grayness. This makes Sea Salt quite dark, dull and plain gray.

sea salt vs tidewater

SW Agreeable gray vs Sea salt

This agreeable gray is a simple shade used most usually and brings out the weird dust purple complimenting Sea Salt in a way that makes its blue undertones stand out.

sea salt vs agreeable gray

SW Sea Salt Undertones

Talking about the undertones, this shade has quite a few; however, each of them reflective differently in accordance with the type of lighting the shade interacts with as well as the orientation of the room and the placement of the color at the right side of natural light.

In the south-facing rooms with the warmer lighting and direct orientation, the color would lean towards the greener and yellow aspect.

In the north-facing rooms, however, it will appear bluer with darker hues and a washed outlook.

The fact that this color of Sherwin Williams is so different and versatile from all others is owed to it having a grey base. This dusty base and washed out fade makes it all the more worthwhile as it is not a plain, bland throw up of one toned color, instead too much going on in the most subdued and subtle manner possible. More than one gradients and undertones but in the most one toned formula possible.

What are the Undertones of Sherwin Williams Sea Salt?

The color Sea Salt itself is a mixture of water and salt as a compliment to the name. Hence, this beautiful touch of marine and coastal vibe with a pastel base is a mix of green and gray; the foamy salt and the clear ocean. Owing to the popularity of this shade and all other related ones in different places, the undertones, the look it gives may be similar, however, it’s all about the right proportions of the mix and the correct blend of the two that gives the perfect finish and makes that difference setting SW Sea Salt apart from all others.

SW  Sea Salt Coordinating Colors

So much for one color suiting the best possible ideas in your head that here we provide with the perfect coordinating colors with Sea Salt as well! This color on itself is much of prestige, however, its perfect mix with other light, dark, vibrant, dusty, mate tones with traditional floors and mainstream paneling would do wonders to your space.

Eggshell White

  • Cream
  • Embossing Gray
  • Cosmic latte Beige
  • Turquoise
  • Electric Blue
  • Emerald
  • Opal White
  • Marble
  • Mauve
  • Lavender
  • Stardust Blue
  • Bottle Green
  • Khaki
  • Malabar yellow
  • Taupe
  • Tiffany Blue
  • Rain Washed
  • White Alabaster
  • Cloudy Sky
  • Chantilly Lace
  • Oyster
  • Champagne pop
  • Icy laced
  • Glazed Orange
  • Composed gray

SW Sea Salt Warm or Cool

If used in a “mixed” space with a little more of the natural light than usual, this color will react to a warmer tone by adding a bit more blue to itself. This seems to be the ideal situation for using this color in the right dimension and in the perfect natural lighting to enhance the warmer tone.

The warmth in this color can be switched up and personalized to your demands by choosing certain shades of vibrant yet warmer colors. With reds, buttery yellows and muted shades of pink, the warmth can be changed to enhance the lightening of the room. Shades vary from being pure and cool or vibrant, muted and subtle to being pigmented and shaded, and could even be either palely bland (one toned) or evenly textured and toned down.

SW Sea Salt Blue or Green

As funny as it may sound, the world’s most adored green and grey paint is actually one that flashes hues of blue at different instances. It has been quite deceiving but true that Sea Salt is true for looking blue instead of a sharp or faded green with a dirty green merged. At unusual times, however, in a south-facing room, this color will be looking way more green than any other color as it’s the effect of warm lighting and even in warm light bulbs instead of natural lights, it tends to stand at the greener than a grayer side.

North Facing Rooms

A super light and faded form of the color sea green, showing a lot of the green and blue combination with an extra hinge towards the green is shown mainly when Sea Salt is painted in a North facing room with faded warm lighting or a more dull and diffused aura.

In a North facing kitchen for instance, if one uses the color sea salt, it needs to be teamed with nice creamy tones like a rain-washed effect rolling in. The light however would definitely keep changing the multi-toned color through the hours of the day and sometimes it would lean towards blue and sometimes to green depending on other circumstances hindering it.

SW Sea Salt Neutral

Apart from the inclusion of the greys into it, Sea Salt is not that much of a neutral color. It seems to be shifting with the lighting, the natural shadows and effects, the indoors and outdoors experience but not seem to leave the green in any of this. Thus, this color can be a more muted pastel leaning towards the greens and warmer undertones however, neutral enough to be easy at tackling with mainstream furniture and comparing with other decent color combinations.

How Light Changes the Look of Sea Salt

Sea salt is one of those colors which vary themselves from a wall to wall basis prior to the exposure it gets to light throughout the day in a well- lit room. Some hours it will appear greener and some hour’s baby bluish, this color keeps switching the color grading.

In the natural light, the color is sure to lean towards more blue than green no matter what the intensity of the light is or if it is direct or obstructed by anything.

With an LRV of 64, Sea Salt can make a room seem light and bright reflecting all unwanted light whether natural or artificial back into the space instead of absorbing it and affecting the temperatures of the room. This makes the rooms more lit up and the spaces cooler than usual.

What colors go with Sherwin Williams Sea salt

The colors looking most beautiful with Sea Salt is marble textured white and grey combinations excluding the dark purples and the dusty tones. It can also look beautiful with finely polished browns in wooden textures and bamboo themes.

Curtains that go with Sherwin Williams Sea salt

Different accessories including curtains, towels, beddings, and textured fragments can make a world of a difference to how this color would appear at different times. The perfectly custom colored curtains in vibrant outlays and one toned towel along with textured beddings and candles would really enhance the way this color outplays itself. The perfectly custom colored curtains in vibrant outlays and one toned towel along with textured beddings and candles would really enhance the way this color outplays itself.

Sherwin Williams Sea salt LRV

The RGB values for Sherwin Williams Sea Salt SW6204 are 204, 209, 200 and the HEX code is CCD1C8. The LRV for Sherwin Williams Sea Salt SW6204 is 62.82. The LRV stands for Light Reflectance Value and measures the percentage of light that color reflects

SW sea salt Benjamin Moore Equivalent

Sea Salt is quite different from Benjamin Moore. They have different LRVs and truly radiate different shades from different angles and varied lightings. Never mix up the two and get your hopes in vain!

Sherwin Williams is more on the cooler side and has a proportion of the color set in such a way that the undertones appear to be blue and gray. The other color, however, is more saturated in tone and instead of being subdued. Clearly, Benjamin Moore is more towards the cool purple tones with a darkish undertone towards the gray.

Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Paint Alternative

There are other brands of paint with similar colors. In particular, there’s a Prestige Sea Salt Comparable Paint which some might go for. Going with an off brand can save you money, though you might not get the same quality. 

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Sea salt is a color more lenient to go towards its green side than blue in normal circumstances. If, however, your room is a North facing one and is bright and a lot of natural light impacts the walls instead of an artificial one, Sea Salt may seem a bit bluer and the gray undertones will be enhanced. In the case of a South-facing room, the green may be more vibrant and recognizable as the sun rays react to its cool tones. This reaction and reflection would switch up the undertones and enhance more of the greens, leaning the color towards more yellows.

Abundant or less light is also an important factor to consider as the intensity would directly impact the reflections. The more the natural light, the more the color will lean towards its cooler and darker undertones. The saturation of the color, however, is changed by the type of artificial lighting and needs to be taken into great consideration.