Urbane Bronze (SW 7048) vs Muddled Basil (SW 7745)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Muddled Basil, LRV 9 vs 8.
- Warmer
- Muddled Basil (Lab b* 10.0 vs 4.1). Urbane Bronze reads warm charcoal; Muddled Basil reads greige.
- North rooms
- Muddled Basil keeps more brightness (L* 31.1 vs 30.1 in north light); Urbane Bronze drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.4 vs 5.4).
- Trim that works
- Downy SW 7002, #EFE8DD, LRV 81: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 4.5, noticeably different. At 4.5, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Urbane Bronze (SW 7048) is about as light as Muddled Basil (SW 7745) and cooler: LRV 8 vs 9, deltaE 4.5 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Urbane Bronze | Muddled Basil | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7048 | SW 7745 | |
| Hex | #54504A | #5A5243 | |
| RGB | 84, 80, 74 | 90, 82, 67 | |
| HSL | 36°, 6%, 31% | 39°, 15%, 31% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 8 | 9 | −1 |
| Lab L* | 34.2 | 35.2 | −1.0 |
| Lab a* | 0.4 | 0.5 | −0.1 |
| Lab b* | 4.1 | 10.0 | −5.9 |
| Undertone | Warm Bronze | Warm Yellow | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Brown | Brown |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Urbane Bronze (SW 7048), published as #54504A
#464748
#63594A
Muddled Basil (SW 7745), published as #5A5243
#4C4942
#685B43
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 Muddled Basil (SW 7745) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1 LRV points lighter (9 vs 8), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Urbane Bronze (SW 7048) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.1 against 10.0, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Muddled Basil (SW 7745) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 10.0), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Urbane Bronze in other brands
Closest matches to Muddled Basil in other brands
Common questions
- Is Urbane Bronze the same color as Muddled Basil?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.5. Most people can see the difference between Urbane Bronze and Muddled Basil side by side.
- Which is lighter, Urbane Bronze or Muddled Basil?
- Muddled Basil, with an LRV of 9 against 8.
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.