Clary Sage (SW 6178) vs Dried Thyme (SW 6186)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Clary Sage, LRV 41 vs 21.
- Warmer
- Clary Sage, both green-gray (Lab b* 11.2 vs 8.1).
- North rooms
- Clary Sage keeps more brightness (L* 66.1 vs 48.8 in north light); Dried Thyme drifts less gray (chroma drop 2.2 vs 3.8).
- Trim that works
- Spinach White SW 6434, #E4E8DA, LRV 79: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 15.2, clearly different. At 15.2, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Clary Sage (SW 6178) is much lighter than Dried Thyme (SW 6186) and warmer: LRV 41 vs 21, deltaE 15.2 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Clary Sage | Dried Thyme | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6178 | SW 6186 | |
| Hex | #ACAD97 | #7B8070 | |
| RGB | 172, 173, 151 | 123, 128, 112 | |
| HSL | 63°, 12%, 64% | 79°, 7%, 47% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 41 | 21 | +20 |
| Lab L* | 70.1 | 52.8 | +17.3 |
| Lab a* | -4.3 | -5.0 | +0.7 |
| Lab b* | 11.2 | 8.1 | +3.1 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow | Neutral | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Green | Green |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Clary Sage (SW 6178), published as #ACAD97
#9CA395
#BDB797
Dried Thyme (SW 6186), published as #7B8070
#6B776E
#8B8970
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 Clary Sage (SW 6178) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 20 LRV points lighter (41 vs 21), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Dried Thyme (SW 6186) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 8.1 against 11.2, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Clary Sage (SW 6178) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 11.2), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Clary Sage in other brands
Closest matches to Dried Thyme in other brands
Common questions
- Is Clary Sage the same color as Dried Thyme?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 15.2. Clary Sage and Dried Thyme are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Clary Sage or Dried Thyme?
- Clary Sage, with an LRV of 41 against 21.
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.