Paint colors · Sherwin-Williams, as published by the brand

Hardware SW 6172: #8B8372 hex code, LRV and undertone

Hardware (SW 6172) from Sherwin-Williams is #8B8372 with an LRV of 22.944. It measures as warm neutral, yellow undertone; black text on it reaches 5.58:1.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated November 11, 2026

Sherwin-WilliamsHardwareSW 6172

Hex: #8B8372
RGB: 139, 131, 114
LRV: 22.944
Undertone: Warm neutral, yellow undertone

LRV 22.944. Dark: a deep color that absorbs most light; often used on cabinets, doors and accent walls.

A neutral with a yellow cast (OKLCH hue 86°, chroma 0.027). Expect the yellow to show more in warm evening light and next to cooler whites.

Coordinating colors Sherwin-Williams suggests

Moderne WhiteSW 6168
Sedate GraySW 6169
Cavern ClaySW 7701

Closest colors from other brands

ΔE is the CIEDE2000 difference between the published values: under 2 is hard to tell apart on a wall, 2 to 5 is a visible but related shade. Always compare real chips before you buy.

Name, code, LRV and color value as published by Sherwin-Williams on its color page (checked 2026-11-11). A screen can only approximate paint: sheen, lighting and the screen itself all change it, so check a physical sample. ColorPlum is not affiliated with Sherwin-Williams.

ColorPlum swatchHardwaremedium, soft brown

HEX: #8B8372
RGB: rgb(139, 131, 114)
HSL: hsl(41, 10%, 50%)

Best text on it: black at 5.58:1

Build a palette Make a gradient Check contrast Wallpaper

Hardware#8B8372

Every code for Hardware

HEX#8B8372
RGBrgb(139, 131, 114)
HSLhsl(41, 10%, 50%)
HSV41°, 18%, 55%
CMYK0%, 6%, 18%, 45%
Lablab(55.1% 0.9 10.4)
OKLCHoklch(61.2% 0.027 85.8)
Decimal9143154

Tints, shades and tones

From white to black in 10% steps, with Hardware in the middle. Tap a code to copy it.

90%#F3F3F1
80%#E8E6E3
70%#DCDAD5
60%#D1CDC7
50%#C5C1B9
40%#B9B5AA
30%#AEA89C
20%#A29C8E
10%#978F80
Base#8B8372
10%#7D7667
20%#6F695B
30%#615C50
40%#534F44
50%#464239
60%#38342E
70%#2A2722
80%#1C1A17
90%#0E0D0B

Tones (mixed with gray)

10%#8A8373
20%#898275
30%#888276
40%#878278
50%#868279
60%#84817A
70%#83817C
80%#82817D
90%#81807F

Matching colors

Complementary

#8B8372
#727A8B

Analogous

#8B7772
#8B8372
#878B72

Triadic

#8B8372
#728B83
#83728B

Split complementary

#8B8372
#72878B
#76728B

Tetradic (square)

#8B8372
#728B77
#727A8B
#8B7287

Monochromatic

#37342D
#615B50
#8B8372
#AEA89C
#D0CDC6

Hardware in 3D color space

OKLab, the space ColorPlum does its math in: lightness runs up the pole, hue goes around it and saturation grows outward. The faint shell is every color a screen can show (saturation is drawn wider than lightness so hues separate). Drag to turn it.

Hardware with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade

Hardware
Triad #728B83
Triad #83728B
Complement
50% tint
50% shade

Hardware in use

New collectionAutumn edit

Card body text stays dark for reading; hardware carries the header and the button.

Shop nowTag

Headline in Hardware

A paragraph with a link in dark text, because this color is too light for text on white; use it for fills instead.

How it looks with color-vision deficiency

A simulation (Machado and colleagues, 2009) of how the color and its complement read without one type of cone.

Typical color vision#8B8372
Protanopia (no red cones)#878271
Deuteranopia (no green cones)#898572
Tritanopia (no blue cones)#8F807E

Contrast and readability

Pairing	Ratio	WCAG 2.2
as text on white	3.75:1	AA AA large AAA
as text on black	5.58:1	AA AA large AAA
white text on it	3.75:1	AA AA large AAA
black text on it	5.58:1	AA AA large AAA
on your background	3.28:1	AA AA large AAA

Try a background

Export

:root {
  --hardware: #8b8372;
  --hardware-rgb: 139 131 114;
  --hardware-on: #000000;
}

On this page

Hardware is Sherwin-Williams SW 6172, a muted khaki-gray that sits near the middle of the value scale. Its hex is #8B8372 and its RGB is 139, 131, 114.

The measurements

LRV comes in at 22.944, a dark-band value that soaks up most of the light reaching it. HSL reads hsl(41, 10%, 50%) and OKLCH reads oklch(61.2% 0.027 85.8). Its undertone comes out warm and neutral with a yellow lean, from a hue of 86 degrees and a chroma of 0.027. Chroma is low, so the color behaves like a gray-brown rather than a true khaki, and it will show more yellow under incandescent light.

At about the midpoint of the lightness scale, it is also a color that reads very differently on a small chip than on a whole wall, so a large painted board will tell you more than a swatch.

Worked example

Think of a mudroom with a bench, hooks and a north-facing door. Painting the lower half or the built-in cabinetry in Hardware gives you a workhorse shade that hides scuffs better than a pale wall. Above it, use one of the brand's listed partners, Moderne White (SW 6168), on the upper wall and ceiling. With an LRV near 23 on the cabinets and something much lighter above, the room gets a clear two-tone structure. Because the door faces north, expect the cabinets to look cooler and grayer during the day than they do under the evening lamp.

Coordinating colors

Sherwin-Williams lists Moderne White (SW 6168), Sedate Gray (SW 6169) and Cavern Clay (SW 7701). None has a page on this site, so I can give you only the names and codes. By name that reads as a white, a gray and a clay, a spread that could lighten, quiet and warm the room, though only samples will confirm it.

Close colors

The nearest paint in the same brand is Connected Gray (SW 6165) at ΔE 1.7, close enough that the switch would barely register on a wall. Messenger Bag (SW 7740) is 6.2 away and Poised Taupe (SW 6039) is 7.0, both clearly different.

Benjamin Moore offers Copley Gray (HC-104) at 2.5, Kingsport Gray (HC-86) at 3.4, Sage Mountain (1488) at 5.2 and Driftwood (2107-40) at 6.6. Copley Gray is the closest, and it still shows a visible gap. Compare physical samples before choosing.

Legibility

On #8B8372, black text measures 5.58:1 and white text 3.75:1. Black passes for paragraph text at that ratio, but white does not, though it would pass for large text at 3:1.