Light French Gray (SW 0055) vs Passive (SW 7064)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Passive, LRV 60 vs 53.
- Warmer
- Light French Gray, both neutral gray (Lab b* 2.8 vs 1.4).
- North rooms
- Passive keeps more brightness (L* 77.9 vs 73.7 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- White Sail SW 9622, #EBEBE7, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 3.3, noticeably different. At 3.3, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Light French Gray
More comparisons with Light French Gray
Light French Gray (SW 0055) is darker than Passive (SW 7064) and slightly warmer: LRV 53 vs 60, deltaE 3.3 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Light French Gray | Passive | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 0055 | SW 7064 | |
| Hex | #C2C0BB | #CBCCC9 | |
| RGB | 194, 192, 187 | 203, 204, 201 | |
| HSL | 43°, 5%, 75% | 80°, 3%, 79% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 53 | 60 | −7 |
| Lab L* | 77.7 | 81.9 | −4.2 |
| Lab a* | -0.2 | -0.9 | +0.7 |
| Lab b* | 2.8 | 1.4 | +1.4 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | neutral | |
| Color family | Gray | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Light French Gray (SW 0055), published as #C2C0BB
#B1B6B9
#D4CABB
Passive (SW 7064), published as #CBCCC9
#B9C2C7
#DDD6C9
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 Passive (SW 7064) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 7 LRV points lighter (60 vs 53), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Passive (SW 7064) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 1.4 against 2.8, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Light French Gray (SW 0055) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 2.8), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Light French Gray in other brands
Closest matches to Passive in other brands
Common questions
- Is Light French Gray the same color as Passive?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 3.3. Most people can see the difference between Light French Gray and Passive side by side.
- Which is lighter, Light French Gray or Passive?
- Passive, with an LRV of 60 against 53.
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.