Balanced Beige (SW 7037) vs Shiitake (SW 9173)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Shiitake, LRV 51 vs 46.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 10.0 vs 10.1).
- North rooms
- Shiitake keeps more brightness (L* 72.7 vs 69.3 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Panda White SW 6147, #EAE2D4, LRV 77: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 2.8, noticeably different. At 2.8, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Balanced Beige
More comparisons with Balanced Beige
Balanced Beige (SW 7037) is darker than Shiitake (SW 9173) and about as warm: LRV 46 vs 51, deltaE 2.8 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Balanced Beige | Shiitake | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7037 | SW 9173 | |
| Hex | #C0B2A2 | #C8BCAB | |
| RGB | 192, 178, 162 | 200, 188, 171 | |
| HSL | 32°, 19%, 69% | 35°, 21%, 73% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 46 | 51 | −5 |
| Lab L* | 73.3 | 76.8 | −3.5 |
| Lab a* | 2.3 | 1.4 | +0.9 |
| Lab b* | 10.0 | 10.1 | −0.1 |
| Undertone | Warm | Warm Yellow | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Beige | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Balanced Beige (SW 7037), published as #C0B2A2
#B0A8A0
#D1BCA2
Shiitake (SW 9173), published as #C8BCAB
#B7B2A9
#D9C6AB
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 Shiitake (SW 9173) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 5 LRV points lighter (51 vs 46), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Balanced Beige in other brands
Closest matches to Shiitake in other brands
Common questions
- Is Balanced Beige the same color as Shiitake?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 2.8. Most people can see the difference between Balanced Beige and Shiitake side by side.
- Which is lighter, Balanced Beige or Shiitake?
- Shiitake, with an LRV of 51 against 46.
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.