Anew Gray (SW 7030) vs Worldly Gray (SW 7043)


Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Worldly Gray, LRV 57 vs 47.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 7.2 vs 6.5).
- North rooms
- Worldly Gray keeps more brightness (L* 76.2 vs 70.4 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Cotton White SW 7104, #F7EFE3, LRV 87: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 4.1, noticeably different. At 4.1, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Worldly Gray
More comparisons with Worldly Gray
Anew Gray (SW 7030) is darker than Worldly Gray (SW 7043) and about as warm: LRV 47 vs 57, deltaE 4.1 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Anew Gray | Worldly Gray | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7030 | SW 7043 | |
| Hex | #BFB6AA | #CEC6BB | |
| RGB | 191, 182, 170 | 206, 198, 187 | |
| HSL | 34°, 14%, 71% | 35°, 16%, 77% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 47 | 57 | −10 |
| Lab L* | 74.5 | 80.2 | −5.8 |
| Lab a* | 1.1 | 0.9 | +0.2 |
| Lab b* | 7.2 | 6.5 | +0.7 |
| Undertone | Warm | Warm Green | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Anew Gray (SW 7030), published as #BFB6AA
#AEACA8
#D0C0AA
Worldly Gray (SW 7043), published as #CEC6BB
#BDBCB9
#E0D0BB
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 Worldly Gray (SW 7043) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 10 LRV points lighter (57 vs 47), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Anew Gray in other brands
Closest matches to Worldly Gray in other brands
Common questions
- Is Anew Gray the same color as Worldly Gray?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.1. Most people can see the difference between Anew Gray and Worldly Gray side by side.
- Which is lighter, Anew Gray or Worldly Gray?
- Worldly Gray, with an LRV of 57 against 47.
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.