Zen
PPG1040-1 · #CED8DE · LRV 68 — cool blue tone, light — bounces daylight without going clinical.
- 1Stardew43
- 2Sea Salt63
- 3Zen68
- 4Spring Thaw83
What Color Is Zen, Really?
Zen reads as a cool blue tone — light — bounces daylight without going clinical. The notes below cover how PPG / Glidden PPG1040-1 behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Best Rooms and Uses for Zen
Zen is an easy whole-room color for living spaces and bedrooms, and light enough to carry onto trim or a ceiling if you want a soft, seamless look. Grays like this read as a modern neutral and sit comfortably alongside both warm woods and cool metals.
How Lighting Changes Zen
At LRV 68, Zen is a light color that bounces daylight around a room without tipping into stark white. Its blue undertone is the part to watch: it gets picked up by whatever sits next to it, so test it against your trim, floor and the room's main light before committing. It holds its undertone in most exposures, which is what makes light shades like this so forgiving room to room.
Most complaints about Zen are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint PPG / Glidden PPG1040-1 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Hinting BlueSW 6519 · Sherwin-Williams | 1.2 | 68 | Color page → |
| Behr | Siberian IceMQ3-57 · Behr | 0.5 | 67 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Beacon Gray2128-60 · Benjamin Moore | 0.5 | 67 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Orchid Ash4003-3B · Valspar | 1.6 | 66.3 | Color page → |
| Glidden | ZenPPG1040-1 · Glidden | 0.6 | 68 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Dreamy Blue338-1DB · Dutch Boy | 1.5 | 67 | Color page → |
Similar PPG / Glidden Colors
The nearest shades to Zen within PPG / Glidden's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #CED8DE in HSL space. Pair Zen with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
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