Tony Taupe (SW 7038) vs Moth Wing (SW 9174)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Tony Taupe, LRV 37 vs 29.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 11.3 vs 11.2).
- North rooms
- Tony Taupe keeps more brightness (L* 63.3 vs 56.8 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 5.6, clearly different. At 5.6, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Tony Taupe (SW 7038) is lighter than Moth Wing (SW 9174) and about as warm: LRV 37 vs 29, deltaE 5.6 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Tony Taupe | Moth Wing | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7038 | SW 9174 | |
| Hex | #B1A290 | #A0907F | |
| RGB | 177, 162, 144 | 160, 144, 127 | |
| HSL | 33°, 17%, 63% | 31°, 15%, 56% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 37 | 29 | +8 |
| Lab L* | 67.4 | 60.7 | +6.7 |
| Lab a* | 2.5 | 3.1 | −0.6 |
| Lab b* | 11.3 | 11.2 | +0.1 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow | Warm Yellow | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Beige | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Tony Taupe (SW 7038), published as #B1A290
#A1988E
#C1AC90
Moth Wing (SW 9174), published as #A0907F
#90877D
#B09A7F
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 Tony Taupe (SW 7038) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 8 LRV points lighter (37 vs 29), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Tony Taupe in other brands
Closest matches to Moth Wing in other brands
Common questions
- Is Tony Taupe the same color as Moth Wing?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 5.6. Tony Taupe and Moth Wing are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Tony Taupe or Moth Wing?
- Tony Taupe, with an LRV of 37 against 29.
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.