Before the Storm (SW 9564)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Before the Storm (SW 9564) is a very deep, neutral gray from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 18, so it reflects about 18 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Before the Storm
Four Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Before the Storm 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 Before the Storm, 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 | Steel Wool | 2121-20 | 20.7 | 1.7 | very close |
| Behr | Liquid Mercury | N510-5 | 19.3 | 2.0 | very close |
| Valspar | Almost Charcoal | 4008-2B | 19 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Improbable | 1011-5 | 17 | 2.0 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams gray colors nearest to Before the Storm (LRV 18) by LRV.
Lighter than Before the Storm
Darker than Before the Storm
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 9564 |
| Hex | #74777A |
| RGB | 116, 119, 122 |
| HSL | 210°, 3%, 47% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 18 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 49.9, -0.5, -2.0 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Before the Storm (SW 9564), published as #74777A
#646E78
#85807A
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 Before the Storm (SW 9564)?
- Before the Storm has an LRV of 18. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Before the Storm is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Before the Storm in another brand?
- Steel Wool (BM 2121-20) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 1.7 (very close).
- Is Before the Storm warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Before the Storm as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is -2.0; 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.