Pearly White (SW 7009) vs Shoji White (SW 7042)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Pearly White, LRV 77 vs 74.
- Warmer
- Shoji White, both warm white (Lab b* 6.7 vs 5.5).
- North rooms
- Pearly White: keeps more brightness (L* 86.4 vs 85.2 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 4.0 vs 4.6).
- Trim that works
- Frost Bite SW 9505, #F6F0E5, LRV 88: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.4, very close. At 1.4, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Pearly White (SW 7009) is slightly lighter than Shoji White (SW 7042) and slightly cooler: LRV 77 vs 74, deltaE 1.4 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Pearly White | Shoji White | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7009 | SW 7042 | |
| Hex | #E8E3D9 | #E6DFD3 | |
| RGB | 232, 227, 217 | 230, 223, 211 | |
| HSL | 40°, 25%, 88% | 38°, 28%, 86% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 77 | 74 | +3 |
| Lab L* | 90.4 | 89.1 | +1.3 |
| Lab a* | 0.0 | 0.3 | −0.4 |
| Lab b* | 5.5 | 6.7 | −1.2 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Off-white | Off-white |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pearly White (SW 7009), published as #E8E3D9
#D6D9D7
#FAEDD9
Shoji White (SW 7042), published as #E6DFD3
#D5D5D1
#F8E9D3
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 Pearly White (SW 7009) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 3 LRV points lighter (77 vs 74), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Pearly White (SW 7009) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.5 against 6.7, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Shoji White (SW 7042) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 6.7), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Pearly White in other brands
Closest matches to Shoji White in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pearly White the same color as Shoji White?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.4. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Pearly White and Shoji White.
- Which is lighter, Pearly White or Shoji White?
- Pearly White, with an LRV of 77 against 74.
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.