Ponder (SW 7079)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Ponder (SW 7079) 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 Ponder
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Ponder 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 Ponder, 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 | 1.8 | very close |
| Behr | French Lilac | PPU16-10 | 48.6 | 0.8 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Winter Calm | 4001-1B | 46 | 0.8 | indistinguishable |
| PPG Paints | Silver Bells | 1003-3 | 46 | 1.4 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams gray colors nearest to Ponder (LRV 48) by LRV.
Lighter than Ponder
Darker than Ponder
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 7079 |
| Hex | #BCB6B6 |
| RGB | 188, 182, 182 |
| HSL | 0°, 4%, 73% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 48 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 74.5, 2.1, 0.8 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Ponder (SW 7079), published as #BCB6B6
#ABACB4
#CEC0B6
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 Ponder (SW 7079)?
- Ponder has an LRV of 48. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Ponder is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Ponder in another brand?
- French Lilac (Behr PPU16-10) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.8 (indistinguishable).
- Is Ponder warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Ponder as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is 0.8; 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.