Windy Blue (SW 6240) vs Aleutian (SW 6241)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Windy Blue, LRV 48 vs 39.
- Warmer
- Windy Blue, both blue-gray (Lab b* -7.9 vs -9.2).
- North rooms
- Windy Blue keeps more brightness (L* 70.7 vs 64.3 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Sky High SW 6504, #DCE7E8, LRV 78: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 4.9, noticeably different. At 4.9, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Windy Blue (SW 6240) is lighter than Aleutian (SW 6241) and slightly warmer: LRV 48 vs 39, deltaE 4.9 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Windy Blue | Aleutian | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6240 | SW 6241 | |
| Hex | #AABAC6 | #98A9B7 | |
| RGB | 170, 186, 198 | 152, 169, 183 | |
| HSL | 206°, 20%, 72% | 207°, 18%, 66% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 48 | 39 | +9 |
| Lab L* | 74.7 | 68.4 | +6.3 |
| Lab a* | -3.0 | -2.9 | −0.1 |
| Lab b* | -7.9 | -9.2 | +1.3 |
| Undertone | Cool | Cool | |
| Temperature | cool | cool | |
| Color family | Blue | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Windy Blue (SW 6240), published as #AABAC6
#98B0C4
#BDC4C6
Aleutian (SW 6241), published as #98A9B7
#869FB5
#ABB3B7
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 Windy Blue (SW 6240) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 9 LRV points lighter (48 vs 39), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Aleutian (SW 6241) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is -9.2 against -7.9, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Windy Blue (SW 6240) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* -7.9), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Windy Blue in other brands
Closest matches to Aleutian in other brands
Common questions
- Is Windy Blue the same color as Aleutian?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.9. Most people can see the difference between Windy Blue and Aleutian side by side.
- Which is lighter, Windy Blue or Aleutian?
- Windy Blue, with an LRV of 48 against 39.
Full pages
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.