Pewter Green (SW 6208) vs Ripe Olive (SW 6209)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Pewter Green, LRV 12 vs 6.
- Warmer
- Ripe Olive, both green-gray (Lab b* 6.1 vs 4.6).
- North rooms
- Pewter Green: keeps more brightness (L* 36.9 vs 26.1 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 1.3 vs 2.1).
- Trim that works
- Green Glimpse SW 9676, #E7EAE3, LRV 82: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 9.2, clearly different. At 9.2, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Pewter Green (SW 6208) is lighter than Ripe Olive (SW 6209) and slightly cooler: LRV 12 vs 6, deltaE 9.2 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Pewter Green | Ripe Olive | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6208 | SW 6209 | |
| Hex | #5E6259 | #44483D | |
| RGB | 94, 98, 89 | 68, 72, 61 | |
| HSL | 87°, 5%, 37% | 82°, 8%, 26% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 12 | 6 | +6 |
| Lab L* | 41.0 | 29.9 | +11.0 |
| Lab a* | -3.4 | -4.0 | +0.6 |
| Lab b* | 4.6 | 6.1 | −1.5 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | warm | |
| Color family | Gray | Black |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pewter Green (SW 6208), published as #5E6259
#4F5957
#6D6B59
Ripe Olive (SW 6209), published as #44483D
#36403C
#52513D
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 Pewter Green (SW 6208) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 6 LRV points lighter (12 vs 6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Pewter Green (SW 6208) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.6 against 6.1, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Ripe Olive (SW 6209) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 6.1), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Pewter Green in other brands
Closest matches to Ripe Olive in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pewter Green the same color as Ripe Olive?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 9.2. Pewter Green and Ripe Olive are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Pewter Green or Ripe Olive?
- Pewter Green, with an LRV of 12 against 6.
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.