Dark Clove (SW 9183) vs Clove (SW 9605)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- About the same: LRV 5 vs 5.
- Warmer
- Dark Clove, both warm charcoal (Lab b* 9.9 vs 4.2).
- North rooms
- Clove drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.2 vs 4.9); both keep about the same brightness.
- Trim that works
- Intimate White SW 6322, #F0E1D8, LRV 77: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 4.9, noticeably different. At 4.9, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Dark Clove (SW 9183) is about as light as Clove (SW 9605) and warmer: LRV 5 vs 5, deltaE 4.9 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Dark Clove | Clove | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 9183 | SW 9605 | |
| Hex | #4C3D31 | #453E39 | |
| RGB | 76, 61, 49 | 69, 62, 57 | |
| HSL | 27°, 22%, 25% | 25°, 10%, 25% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Lab L* | 27.0 | 26.8 | +0.3 |
| Lab a* | 4.5 | 2.0 | +2.5 |
| Lab b* | 9.9 | 4.2 | +5.7 |
| Undertone | Warm | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | neutral | |
| Color family | Brown | Black |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Dark Clove (SW 9183), published as #4C3D31
#3F3530
#594530
Clove (SW 9605), published as #453E39
#373638
#534639
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 Dark Clove (SW 9183) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 0 LRV points lighter (5 vs 5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Clove (SW 9605) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.2 against 9.9, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Dark Clove (SW 9183) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 9.9), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Dark Clove in other brands
Closest matches to Clove in other brands
Common questions
- Is Dark Clove the same color as Clove?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.9. Most people can see the difference between Dark Clove and Clove side by side.
- Which is lighter, Dark Clove or Clove?
- Neither: both have an LRV of 5.
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.