Serious Gray (SW 6256)
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Serious Gray (SW 6256) is a deep, neutral gray from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 23, so it reflects about 23 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Serious Gray
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Serious 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 Serious 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 | Englewood Cliffs | 1607 | 23.8 | 2.1 | very close |
| Behr | Milestone | 760F-5 | 22.8 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Elephant Gray | 4006-2A | 22 | 1.3 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Victorian Pewter | 1013-5 | 23 | 2.9 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams gray colors nearest to Serious Gray (LRV 23) by LRV.
Lighter than Serious Gray
Darker than Serious Gray
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 6256 |
| Hex | #7D848B |
| RGB | 125, 132, 139 |
| HSL | 210°, 6%, 52% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 23 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 54.8, -1.1, -4.6 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Serious Gray (SW 6256), published as #7D848B
#6C7B89
#8E8D8B
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 Serious Gray (SW 6256)?
- Serious Gray has an LRV of 23. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Serious Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Serious Gray in another brand?
- Milestone (Behr 760F-5) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is Serious Gray warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Serious Gray as neutral, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -4.6; 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.