Alabaster (SW 7008) vs Shell White (SW 8917)

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008 (simulated) — Alabaster SW 7008#EDEAE0, LRV 82

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Shell White SW 8917 (simulated) — Shell White SW 8917#F0EBE0, LRV 83

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: Shell White, LRV 83 vs 82.
Warmer: About the same, both warm white (Lab b* 5.2 vs 5.9).
North rooms: Alabaster drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.2 vs 4.0); both keep about the same brightness.
Trim that works: Whitetail SW 7103, #F4EFE4, LRV 86: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 1.0, indistinguishable. At 1.0, pick on price, finish or availability.

See each color

AlabasterSherwin-Williams, SW 7008LRV 82, #EDEAE0

More comparisons with Alabaster

Shell WhiteSherwin-Williams, SW 8917LRV 83, #F0EBE0

Alabaster (SW 7008) is about as light as Shell White (SW 8917) and about as warm: LRV 82 vs 83, deltaE 1.0 (indistinguishable).

Side by side

Measure	Alabaster	Shell White	Gap
Brand	Sherwin-Williams	Sherwin-Williams
Color code	SW 7008	SW 8917
Hex	#EDEAE0	#F0EBE0
RGB	237, 234, 224	240, 235, 224
HSL	46°, 27%, 90%	41°, 35%, 91%
LRV (light reflectance value)	82	83	−1
Lab L*	92.7	93.2	−0.5
Lab a*	-0.7	-0.2	−0.5
Lab b*	5.2	5.9	−0.7
Undertone	Neutral	Neutral
Temperature	warm	warm
Color family	White	White

Same paint, two kinds of light

Alabaster (SW 7008), published as #EDEAE0

North light (cool, indirect)
#DBE0DE

South light (warm, direct)
#FFF4E0

Shell White (SW 8917), published as #F0EBE0

North light (cool, indirect)
#DEE1DE

South light (warm, direct)
#FFF5E0

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 Shell White (SW 8917) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1 LRV points lighter (83 vs 82), so it bounces back more of the limited light

Closest matches to Alabaster in other brands

Closest matches to Shell White in other brands

Common questions

Is Alabaster the same color as Shell White?: They are indistinguishable: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.0. Most people cannot tell Alabaster and Shell White apart.
Which is lighter, Alabaster or Shell White?: Shell White, with an LRV of 83 against 82.

Full pages

Related comparisons

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

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.