Kestrel White (SW 7516) vs Natural Linen (SW 9109)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Kestrel White, LRV 68 vs 66.
- Warmer
- Natural Linen, both greige (Lab b* 9.4 vs 8.1).
- North rooms
- About the same: both keep their brightness and color about equally (L* 82.1 vs 81.2 in north light).
- Trim that works
- Panda White SW 6147, #EAE2D4, LRV 77: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.2, very close. At 1.2, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Natural Linen
More comparisons with Natural Linen
Kestrel White (SW 7516) is slightly lighter than Natural Linen (SW 9109) and slightly cooler: LRV 68 vs 66, deltaE 1.2 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Kestrel White | Natural Linen | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 7516 | SW 9109 | |
| Hex | #E0D6C8 | #DFD3C3 | |
| RGB | 224, 214, 200 | 223, 211, 195 | |
| HSL | 35°, 28%, 83% | 34°, 30%, 82% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 68 | 66 | +2 |
| Lab L* | 86.1 | 85.1 | +1.0 |
| Lab a* | 1.1 | 1.5 | −0.4 |
| Lab b* | 8.1 | 9.4 | −1.3 |
| Undertone | Warm | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Kestrel White (SW 7516), published as #E0D6C8
#CFCCC6
#F2E0C8
Natural Linen (SW 9109), published as #DFD3C3
#CEC9C1
#F1DDC3
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 Kestrel White (SW 7516) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 2 LRV points lighter (68 vs 66), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Kestrel White (SW 7516) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 8.1 against 9.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Natural Linen (SW 9109) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 9.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Kestrel White in other brands
Closest matches to Natural Linen in other brands
Common questions
- Is Kestrel White the same color as Natural Linen?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.2. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Kestrel White and Natural Linen.
- Which is lighter, Kestrel White or Natural Linen?
- Kestrel White, with an LRV of 68 against 66.
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.