Sea Salt (SW 6204) vs Waterscape (SW 6470)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Sea Salt, LRV 63 vs 62.
- Warmer
- Sea Salt, both green-gray (Lab b* 3.4 vs 2.3).
- North rooms
- About the same: both keep their brightness and color about equally (L* 79.6 vs 78.6 in north light).
- Trim that works
- Glimmer SW 6476, #E0E7E2, LRV 78: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 5.6, clearly different. At 5.6, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Sea Salt (SW 6204) is about as light as Waterscape (SW 6470) and slightly warmer: LRV 63 vs 62, deltaE 5.6 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Sea Salt | Waterscape | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6204 | SW 6470 | |
| Hex | #CDD2CA | #BFD2C9 | |
| RGB | 205, 210, 202 | 191, 210, 201 | |
| HSL | 97°, 8%, 81% | 152°, 17%, 79% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 63 | 62 | +1 |
| Lab L* | 83.6 | 82.6 | +1.0 |
| Lab a* | -3.1 | -8.1 | +4.9 |
| Lab b* | 3.4 | 2.3 | +1.1 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue-Green | Cool Green | |
| Temperature | cool | neutral | |
| Color family | Gray | Green |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Sea Salt (SW 6204), published as #CDD2CA
#BBC8C8
#DFDCCA
Waterscape (SW 6470), published as #BFD2C9
#ADC8C7
#D1DCC9
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 Sea Salt (SW 6204) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1 LRV points lighter (63 vs 62), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Waterscape (SW 6470) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 2.3 against 3.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Sea Salt (SW 6204) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 3.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Sea Salt in other brands
Closest matches to Waterscape in other brands
Common questions
- Is Sea Salt the same color as Waterscape?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 5.6. Sea Salt and Waterscape are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Sea Salt or Waterscape?
- Sea Salt, with an LRV of 63 against 62.
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.