Blithe Blue (SW 9052)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Blithe Blue (SW 9052) is a medium, neutral blue from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 46, so it reflects about 46 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Blithe Blue
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Blithe Blue by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, 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 Blithe Blue, 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 | Spirit in the Sky | 676 | 46 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Behr | Lap Pool Blue | PPU12-06 | 45.6 | 2.7 | noticeably different |
| Valspar | Sea Seeker | 5004-7C | 50 | 2.7 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Aqua Fiesta | 1147-4 | 49 | 2.3 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams blue colors nearest to Blithe Blue (LRV 46) by LRV.
Lighter than Blithe Blue
Darker than Blithe Blue
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 9052 |
| Hex | #90BDBD |
| RGB | 144, 189, 189 |
| HSL | 180°, 25%, 65% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 46 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 73.5, -14.8, -4.9 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Blithe Blue (SW 9052), published as #90BDBD
#7CB3BB
#A4C7BD
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 Blithe Blue (SW 9052)?
- Blithe Blue has an LRV of 46. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Blithe Blue is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Blithe Blue in another brand?
- Spirit in the Sky (BM 676) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is Blithe Blue warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Blithe Blue as neutral, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -4.9; 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.