Essential Gray (SW 6002)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Essential Gray (SW 6002) is a medium, neutral gray from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 48, so it reflects about 48 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Essential Gray
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Essential Gray by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Sherwin-Williams did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Essential Gray, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Moore | Through the Looking Glass | CSP-495 | 51 | 1.6 | very close |
| Behr | Grape Creme | PPU16-11 | 50.1 | 1.3 | very close |
| Valspar | Winter Calm | 4001-1B | 46 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Gray Marble | 1002-4 | 46 | 1.2 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams gray colors nearest to Essential Gray (LRV 48) by LRV.
Lighter than Essential Gray
Darker than Essential Gray
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 6002 |
| Hex | #BCB8B6 |
| RGB | 188, 184, 182 |
| HSL | 20°, 4%, 73% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 48 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 75.1, 1.0, 1.5 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Essential Gray (SW 6002), published as #BCB8B6
#ABAEB4
#CEC2B6
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Sherwin-Williams
More from Sherwin-Williams
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Essential Gray (SW 6002)?
- Essential Gray has an LRV of 48. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Essential Gray is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Essential Gray in another brand?
- Gray Marble (PPG 1002-4) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 1.2 (very close).
- Is Essential Gray warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Essential Gray as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is 1.5; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.