Jade Dragon
SW 9129 · #909886 · LRV 30 — cool green tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Vintage Vogue12
- 2Sage Green22
- 3Jade Dragon30
- 4Clary Sage41
- 5October Mist47
What Color Is Jade Dragon, Really?
Jade Dragon (SW 9129) is a muted gray-green. Its hex value is #909886 and its LRV is 30, a true mid-tone, so it has real presence on a wall without reading as a deep or dramatic color. The hue measures 87 degrees, in the green-yellow part of the wheel, but saturation is only 8 percent. That is a small amount of color spread over a lot of gray, which is why it behaves more like a soft neutral than like a green.
People choose it for the same reason they choose most sages: it feels organic and calm, and it sits naturally with wood, stone, and warm whites. Jade Dragon reads a little cooler and a little darker than the softest sages, which gives it more grounding on cabinets and lower walls. It suits transitional, farmhouse, and relaxed traditional rooms.
The catch is that a 30 LRV with 8 percent saturation is at the mercy of the light. In a bright south-facing room the green shows and the color looks alive. In a north-facing room or a dim hallway it drops toward a flat olive-gray and much of the green disappears. Paint a large sample and look at it in the morning, the afternoon, and under your evening bulbs before you commit a whole kitchen to it.
Jade Dragon leans green with a cool edge. At a hue of 87 degrees it sits on the yellow side of green, but the saturation of 8 percent keeps that lean quiet and the overall impression cool rather than warm. On a chip it can look gray; on a full wall the green becomes clear.
The undertone surfaces most against clean white trim, where the contrast in temperature makes the green obvious, and in direct daylight. Against warmer earth tones, terracotta, or a beige floor, it reads cooler and more clearly sage. Against another green, particularly a saturated one, it retreats and starts to look like a gray.
Before committing, hold it next to any green already in the room, whether that is tile, stone, or a countertop with green flecks. A neighbouring green sets the reference point and can easily make Jade Dragon look drab when the chip suggested otherwise.
Best Rooms and Uses for Jade Dragon
Jade Dragon is comfortable as a full-room wall color in spaces with decent light: bedrooms, home offices, dining rooms, and living rooms. At LRV 30 it will darken a room noticeably, so in a small space with one window treat it as an accent wall or a lower-wall color under a rail rather than as the whole envelope.
Cabinetry is where a mid-tone sage does its best work. It suits kitchen cabinets, an island under lighter uppers, a bathroom vanity, or a laundry run, where the green gives depth while wood floors, warm counters, and brass or bronze hardware stay in front of it.
Outside it works as a soft body color on a house that sits among trees, or as shutters and a front door with quiet character. Because it is a green rather than a true neutral, keep trim in a separate white; trimming it in the same color flattens the whole elevation.
How Lighting Changes Jade Dragon
At LRV 30 Jade Dragon reflects a moderate amount of light, so it is neither dark nor forgiving. North-facing rooms give it cool, indirect daylight that reinforces its cool green and pushes it toward stone gray, deeper and more muted than the chip. South-facing rooms are its best case: strong warm light lifts the yellow side of the hue and the sage comes forward, looking soft rather than heavy.
East rooms read cool and clear in the morning and settle warmer through the day. West rooms stay flat until late afternoon, when the low sun warms the green noticeably.
Artificial light changes it as much as daylight does. Warm 2700K bulbs bring out the sage and make the color feel cosy. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs strip the warmth and can leave it looking like a plain olive-gray at night. Because a 30 LRV color can go dim quickly, test the sample right next to the fixtures you actually use.
Most complaints about Jade Dragon 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 Sherwin-Williams SW 9129 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behr | Hillside GreenPPU11-17 · Behr | 0.5 | 30 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | High Park467 · Benjamin Moore | 2.2 | 30 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | RestorationPPG1031-4 · PPG / Glidden | 2.4 | 30 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Green Tea LeafPPG1128-5 · Glidden | 1.0 | 31 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Cypress Garden424-4DB · Dutch Boy | 1.0 | 32 | Color page → |
| HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams | Hunters PointeHGSW 3264 · HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams | 3.6 | 30 | Color page → |
Similar Sherwin-Williams Colors
The nearest shades to Jade Dragon within Sherwin-Williams'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.
Jade Dragon vs Similar Colors
Its closest same-brand neighbour is Evergreen Fog (SW 9130) at #95978A, also LRV 30. Evergreen Fog is the warmer, softer of the two, while Jade Dragon at #909886 is cooler and a shade greener. If you want the well-known 2022 Color of the Year look, that is Evergreen Fog; Jade Dragon is the version that keeps its distance from beige. Cornwall Slate (SW 9131) at LRV 29 is grayer again.
Across brands, Hillside Green (PPU11-17) from Behr at deltaE 0.53, Green Tea Leaf (PPG1128-5) from Glidden at 0.96, and Cypress Garden (424-4DB) from Dutch Boy at 1.02 are visually identical in normal room light. Linden Spear (DE6285) from Dunn-Edwards at deltaE 1.47 and LRV 28 is effectively the same color, slightly deeper.
High Park (467) from Benjamin Moore at deltaE 2.17 and Restoration (PPG1031-4) at 2.42 are very close but worth a sample first. Everlasting Sage (0422), listed by Kompozit, Hirshfield's, and Diamond Vogel at deltaE 3.77 to 4.2, and Castle Gray (No. 92) from Farrow & Ball at 3.87 are close but visibly different side by side.
Colors That Go With Jade Dragon
A warm white on trim and ceilings keeps the sage looking intentional and soft. A cleaner white gives more contrast and makes the green read cooler, which suits a more modern room. Either way, the trim should sit far above 30 LRV so the wall stays clearly framed.
For an adjoining wall or a second surface, the nearest same-brand colors give you slight variations rather than contrast. Evergreen Fog (SW 9130) at #95978A and LRV 30 is a touch lighter in feel and warmer, Cornwall Slate (SW 9131) at #949488 and LRV 29 is grayer, and Green Earth (SW 7748) at #9A9883 and LRV 31 is warmer and more yellow. Illusive Green (SW 9164) at #92948D and LRV 29 drops most of the green.
Materials do the heavy lifting. Warm oak and walnut, natural stone, brass, and aged bronze all flatter a low-saturation green. Bright chrome tends to read cold beside it and can make the color look duller than it is.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #909886 in HSL space. Pair Jade Dragon with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Jade Dragon FAQ
Is Jade Dragon warm or cool?
It is a cool green. The hue sits at 87 degrees on the yellow side of green, but with only 8 percent saturation the overall read is cool and muted rather than warm and sagey. Next to a warm beige it looks clearly cooler; next to a true gray it looks green.
Is Jade Dragon more gray or more green?
Both, depending on scale. At 8 percent saturation it looks close to gray on a small chip, while a full wall shows the green clearly. Think of it as a green that behaves like a neutral. Lighting and the colors beside it decide which side you notice on any given day.
What LRV is Jade Dragon?
Jade Dragon has an LRV of 30, a genuine mid-tone. It reflects a moderate amount of light, enough to have presence and color without being deep or dramatic. On full walls it will make a room feel noticeably enclosed, and in a north-facing or dim space it reads deeper than the chip suggests.
Does Jade Dragon work in a dark room?
It works, but it changes. At LRV 30 in cool north light or a room with one window, the green retreats and it reads as a flat olive-gray. If you want the sage to stay visible, use warm 2700K bulbs, keep the trim a bright white, and consider limiting it to cabinets or one wall rather than the full room.
What white trim goes with Jade Dragon?
A warm white keeps the sage soft and the scheme cohesive, which is the usual choice with a low-saturation green. A cleaner, more neutral white gives sharper contrast and makes the green read cooler and more modern. In both cases the trim should be far lighter than the wall's LRV of 30 so the edge stays defined.
Is Jade Dragon good for kitchen cabinets?
Yes. A mid-tone at LRV 30 gives cabinets depth without turning the kitchen dark, and the muted green sits naturally with wood floors, warm counters, and brass or bronze hardware. It works on a full run, on lowers under lighter uppers, or on an island. Sample it on a door front first, since cabinet sheen makes the green read slightly stronger than it does on a matte wall.
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