Light French Gray (SW 0055) vs Repose Gray (SW 7015)

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Light French Gray SW 0055 (simulated) — Light French Gray SW 0055#C2C0BB, LRV 53

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray SW 7015 (simulated) — Repose Gray SW 7015#CCC9C0, LRV 58

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: Repose Gray, LRV 58 vs 53.
Warmer: Repose Gray (Lab b* 4.9 vs 2.8). Light French Gray reads neutral gray; Repose Gray reads greige.
North rooms: Repose Gray keeps more brightness (L* 77.0 vs 73.7 in north light); Light French Gray drifts less gray (chroma drop 0.3 vs 3.3).
Trim that works: Cold Foam SW 9504, #EFECE3, LRV 84: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 2.9, noticeably different. At 2.9, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.

See each color

Light French GraySherwin-Williams, SW 0055LRV 53, #C2C0BB

More comparisons with Light French Gray

Repose GraySherwin-Williams, SW 7015LRV 58, #CCC9C0

More comparisons with Repose Gray

Light French Gray (SW 0055) is darker than Repose Gray (SW 7015) and slightly cooler: LRV 53 vs 58, deltaE 2.9 (noticeably different).

Side by side

Measure	Light French Gray	Repose Gray	Gap
Brand	Sherwin-Williams	Sherwin-Williams
Color code	SW 0055	SW 7015
Hex	#C2C0BB	#CCC9C0
RGB	194, 192, 187	204, 201, 192
HSL	43°, 5%, 75%	45°, 11%, 78%
LRV (light reflectance value)	53	58	−5
Lab L*	77.7	81.0	−3.2
Lab a*	-0.2	-0.6	+0.4
Lab b*	2.8	4.9	−2.1
Undertone	Neutral	Warm Greige
Temperature	neutral	warm
Color family	Gray	Gray

Same paint, two kinds of light

Light French Gray (SW 0055), published as #C2C0BB

North light (cool, indirect)
#B1B6B9

South light (warm, direct)
#D4CABB

Repose Gray (SW 7015), published as #CCC9C0

North light (cool, indirect)
#BBBFBE

South light (warm, direct)
#DED3C0

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 Repose Gray (SW 7015) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 5 LRV points lighter (58 vs 53), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Light French Gray (SW 0055) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 2.8 against 4.9, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
Pick Repose Gray (SW 7015) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 4.9), which counters cool indirect light

Closest matches to Light French Gray in other brands

Closest matches to Repose Gray in other brands

Common questions

Is Light French Gray the same color as Repose Gray?: They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 2.9. Most people can see the difference between Light French Gray and Repose Gray side by side.
Which is lighter, Light French Gray or Repose Gray?: Repose Gray, with an LRV of 58 against 53.

Full pages

Related comparisons

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

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.