Iron Ore (SW 7069) vs Peppercorn (SW 7674)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Peppercorn, LRV 10 vs 6.
- Warmer
- Iron Ore, both neutral gray (Lab b* 1.2 vs 0.0).
- North rooms
- Peppercorn keeps more brightness (L* 33.3 vs 24.4 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Natural White SW 9542, #ECEBE8, LRV 83: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 7.4, clearly different. At 7.4, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Iron Ore (SW 7069) is slightly darker than Peppercorn (SW 7674) and slightly warmer: LRV 6 vs 10, deltaE 7.4 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Iron Ore | Peppercorn | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7069 | SW 7674 | |
| Hex | #434341 | #585858 | |
| RGB | 67, 67, 65 | 88, 88, 88 | |
| HSL | 60°, 2%, 26% | 0°, 0%, 35% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 6 | 10 | −4 |
| Lab L* | 28.4 | 37.4 | −9.1 |
| Lab a* | -0.4 | 0.0 | −0.4 |
| Lab b* | 1.2 | 0.0 | +1.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Charcoal | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | neutral | |
| Color family | Black | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Iron Ore (SW 7069), published as #434341
#343B3F
#524B41
Peppercorn (SW 7674), published as #585858
#494F56
#676158
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 Peppercorn (SW 7674) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 4 LRV points lighter (10 vs 6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Peppercorn (SW 7674) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 0.0 against 1.2, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Iron Ore (SW 7069) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 1.2), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Iron Ore in other brands
Closest matches to Peppercorn in other brands
Common questions
- Is Iron Ore the same color as Peppercorn?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 7.4. Iron Ore and Peppercorn are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Iron Ore or Peppercorn?
- Peppercorn, with an LRV of 10 against 6.
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.