Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) vs Natural Linen (SW 9109)

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029 (simulated) — Agreeable Gray SW 7029#D1CBC1, LRV 60

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Natural Linen SW 9109 (simulated) — Natural Linen SW 9109#DFD3C3, LRV 66

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

Quick decision

Lighter: Natural Linen, LRV 66 vs 60.
Warmer: Natural Linen, both greige (Lab b* 9.4 vs 5.7).
North rooms: Natural Linen keeps more brightness (L* 81.2 vs 77.9 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
Trim that works: Futon SW 7101, #EDE6DB, LRV 80: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 3.7, noticeably different. At 3.7, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.

See each color

Agreeable GraySherwin-Williams, SW 7029LRV 60, #D1CBC1

More comparisons with Agreeable Gray

Natural LinenSherwin-Williams, SW 9109LRV 66, #DFD3C3

More comparisons with Natural Linen

Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) is darker than Natural Linen (SW 9109) and cooler: LRV 60 vs 66, deltaE 3.7 (noticeably different).

Side by side

Measure	Agreeable Gray	Natural Linen	Gap
Brand	Sherwin-Williams	Sherwin-Williams
Color code	SW 7029	SW 9109
Hex	#D1CBC1	#DFD3C3
RGB	209, 203, 193	223, 211, 195
HSL	37°, 15%, 79%	34°, 30%, 82%
LRV (light reflectance value)	60	66	−6
Lab L*	81.9	85.1	−3.2
Lab a*	0.3	1.5	−1.1
Lab b*	5.7	9.4	−3.7
Undertone	Warm Beige	Warm
Temperature	warm	warm
Color family	Greige	Beige

Same paint, two kinds of light

Agreeable Gray (SW 7029), published as #D1CBC1

North light (cool, indirect)
#C0C1BF

South light (warm, direct)
#E3D5C1

Natural Linen (SW 9109), published as #DFD3C3

North light (cool, indirect)
#CEC9C1

South light (warm, direct)
#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 Natural Linen (SW 9109) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 6 LRV points lighter (66 vs 60), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.7 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 Agreeable Gray in other brands

Closest matches to Natural Linen in other brands

Common questions

Is Agreeable Gray the same color as Natural Linen?: They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 3.7. Most people can see the difference between Agreeable Gray and Natural Linen side by side.
Which is lighter, Agreeable Gray or Natural Linen?: Natural Linen, with an LRV of 66 against 60.

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.