Alabaster (SW 7008) vs Natural Linen (SW 9109)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Alabaster, LRV 82 vs 66.
- Warmer
- Natural Linen (Lab b* 9.4 vs 5.2). Alabaster reads warm white; Natural Linen reads greige.
- North rooms
- Alabaster: keeps more brightness (L* 88.8 vs 81.2 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.2 vs 4.9).
- Trim that works
- Shell White SW 8917, #F0EBE0, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 6.5, clearly different. At 6.5, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Natural Linen
More comparisons with Natural Linen
Alabaster (SW 7008) is much lighter than Natural Linen (SW 9109) and cooler: LRV 82 vs 66, deltaE 6.5 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Alabaster | Natural Linen | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7008 | SW 9109 | |
| Hex | #EDEAE0 | #DFD3C3 | |
| RGB | 237, 234, 224 | 223, 211, 195 | |
| HSL | 46°, 27%, 90% | 34°, 30%, 82% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 82 | 66 | +16 |
| Lab L* | 92.7 | 85.1 | +7.6 |
| Lab a* | -0.7 | 1.5 | −2.2 |
| Lab b* | 5.2 | 9.4 | −4.2 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | White | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Alabaster (SW 7008), published as #EDEAE0
#DBE0DE
#FFF4E0
Natural Linen (SW 9109), published as #DFD3C3
#CEC9C1
#F1DDC3
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 Alabaster (SW 7008) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 16 LRV points lighter (82 vs 66), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Alabaster (SW 7008) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.2 against 9.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Natural Linen (SW 9109) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 9.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Alabaster in other brands
Closest matches to Natural Linen in other brands
Common questions
- Is Alabaster the same color as Natural Linen?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 6.5. Alabaster and Natural Linen are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Alabaster or Natural Linen?
- Alabaster, with an LRV of 82 against 66.
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.