Classic Light Buff (SW 0050) vs Alabaster (SW 7008)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Classic Light Buff, LRV 83 vs 82.
- Warmer
- Classic Light Buff, both warm white (Lab b* 7.5 vs 5.2).
- North rooms
- Alabaster drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.2 vs 4.3); both keep about the same brightness.
- Trim that works
- Dover White SW 6385, #F0EADC, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.9, very close. At 1.9, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Classic Light Buff (SW 0050) is about as light as Alabaster (SW 7008) and slightly warmer: LRV 83 vs 82, deltaE 1.9 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Classic Light Buff | Alabaster | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 0050 | SW 7008 | |
| Hex | #F0EADC | #EDEAE0 | |
| RGB | 240, 234, 220 | 237, 234, 224 | |
| HSL | 42°, 40%, 90% | 46°, 27%, 90% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 83 | 82 | +1 |
| Lab L* | 92.8 | 92.7 | +0.1 |
| Lab a* | -0.3 | -0.7 | +0.4 |
| Lab b* | 7.5 | 5.2 | +2.3 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Off-white | White |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Classic Light Buff (SW 0050), published as #F0EADC
#DEE0DA
#FFF4DC
Alabaster (SW 7008), published as #EDEAE0
#DBE0DE
#FFF4E0
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Which should you pick
Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.
- Pick Classic Light Buff (SW 0050) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1 LRV points lighter (83 vs 82), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Alabaster (SW 7008) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.2 against 7.5, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Classic Light Buff (SW 0050) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 7.5), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Classic Light Buff in other brands
Closest matches to Alabaster in other brands
Common questions
- Is Classic Light Buff the same color as Alabaster?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.9. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Classic Light Buff and Alabaster.
- Which is lighter, Classic Light Buff or Alabaster?
- Classic Light Buff, with an LRV of 83 against 82.
Full pages
Related comparisons
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.