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

Sherwin-Williams Steely Gray (SW 7664) hex #90979B, LRV and undertone

Steely Gray (SW 7664) from Sherwin-Williams is #90979B with an LRV of 30.355. It measures as a true neutral, and black text on it reaches 7.08:1.

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

Updated November 11, 2026

Sherwin-WilliamsSteely GraySW 7664

Hex: #90979B
RGB: 144, 151, 155
LRV: 30.355
Undertone: True neutral

LRV 30.355. Dark: a deep color that absorbs most light; often used on cabinets, doors and accent walls.

Almost no undertone (chroma 0.010): it reads as a clean gray in most light.

Coordinating colors Sherwin-Williams suggests

Ice CubeSW 6252
Pure WhiteSW 7005
Pollen PowderSW 9014

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 swatchSteely Graymedium gray

HEX: #90979B
RGB: rgb(144, 151, 155)
HSL: hsl(202, 5%, 59%)

Best text on it: black at 7.08:1

Build a palette Make a gradient Check contrast Wallpaper

Steely Gray#90979B

Every code for Steely Gray

HEX#90979B
RGBrgb(144, 151, 155)
HSLhsl(202, 5%, 59%)
HSV202°, 7%, 61%
CMYK7%, 3%, 0%, 39%
Lablab(62% -2 -3)
OKLCHoklch(67.2% 0.01 232.4)
Decimal9475995

Tints, shades and tones

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

90%#F4F5F5
80%#E9EAEB
70%#DEE0E1
60%#D3D5D7
50%#C8CBCD
40%#BCC1C3
30%#B1B6B9
20%#A6ACAF
10%#9BA1A5
Base#90979B
10%#82888C
20%#73797C
30%#656A6D
40%#565B5D
50%#484C4E
60%#3A3C3E
70%#2B2D2F
80%#1D1E1F
90%#0E0F10

Tones (mixed with gray)

10%#8E9598
20%#8D9296
30%#8B9093
40%#8A8E90
50%#888C8E
60%#86898B
70%#858788
80%#838585
90%#828283

Matching colors

Complementary

#90979B
#9B9490

Analogous

#909B99
#90979B
#90929B

Triadic

#90979B
#9B9097
#979B90

Split complementary

#90979B
#9B9092
#9B9990

Tetradic (square)

#90979B
#99909B
#9B9490
#929B90

Monochromatic

#454A4D
#697175
#90979B
#B8BDBF
#E0E2E4

Steely Gray 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.

Steely Gray with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade

Steely Gray
Triad #9B9097
Triad #979B90
Complement
50% tint
50% shade

Steely Gray in use

New collectionAutumn edit

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

Shop nowTag

Headline in Steely Gray

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#90979B
Protanopia (no red cones)#95979B
Deuteranopia (no green cones)#94959B
Tritanopia (no blue cones)#8D9898

Contrast and readability

Pairing	Ratio	WCAG 2.2
as text on white	2.96:1	AA AA large AAA
as text on black	7.08:1	AA AA large AAA
white text on it	2.96:1	AA AA large AAA
black text on it	7.08:1	AA AA large AAA
on your background	2.58:1	AA AA large AAA

Try a background

Export

:root {
  --steely-gray: #90979b;
  --steely-gray-rgb: 144 151 155;
  --steely-gray-on: #000000;
}

On this page

Steely Gray is Sherwin-Williams SW 7664, hex #90979B, RGB 144, 151, 155. It is a lighter cousin of the deep grays and sits comfortably between a pale wall color and a dramatic one.

The measurements

The formats block gives hsl(202, 5%, 59%), lab(62% -2 -3) and oklch(67.2% 0.01 232.4). Chroma is 0.010, low enough that the undertone field labels it a true neutral, a gray with essentially no tint. The hue of 232 degrees would lean cool if there were more chroma, but at this level it will only show up as a very faint blue edge against warm surroundings.

LRV is 30.355, which falls in the dark band by the scale used here, although it is the lightest of the grays you might compare it with. That means it holds a room together without swallowing it.

Worked example

Try it in a laundry room with a north-facing window, white appliances and a countertop in pale stone. The cool daylight leaves the gray reading as itself, and white cabinets against it stand out sharply because the LRV gap is large. For the trim and cabinets, Sherwin-Williams lists Pure White (SW 7005) as a coordinating color. It also lists Ice Cube (SW 6252) and Pollen Powder (SW 9014), which have no pages here. Ice Cube would sit softly on a ceiling, and Pollen Powder would offer a faint warm contrast for a door or cubby.

Neighbors in the brand

Software (SW 7074) and Pewter Cast (SW 7673) are both ΔE 6.6 away, and Jasper Stone (SW 9133) is 7.6. All three are clearly different, so Steely Gray has no close sibling in the nearby catalog we hold. If you want a nearly identical color, you would be looking outside these, perhaps in a paint line this site does not yet cover.

Across brands

The nearest cross-brand entries are Behr Rainy Afternoon (N430-4) at 7, Benjamin Moore Little Falls (1621) at 7.4, Templeton Gray (HC-161) at 8 and Platinum Gray (HC-179) at 8.1. Everything above 5 is clearly different, so these are inspirations rather than substitutes, and their names should not be taken as proof of a match. A different brand's version of "steel gray" will need its own sample on your wall.

Text on #90979B

Black text measures 7.08:1 against this hex and white text 2.96:1. Black passes the 4.5:1 body requirement easily, and white misses even the 3:1 large-text level by a hair. Use dark lettering on this background. The contrast grid is handy for testing other combinations.

A gray at this depth tends to flatter white fixtures and trim, and it often looks lighter on a wall than the chip suggests when a window is nearby. Try the sample at both ends of the room, near the window and in the darkest corner.