Color spec
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
| Name | Krypton |
| SKU | SW 6247 |
| Hex | #A6B0AE |
| RGB | 166, 176, 174 |
| HSL | 168°, 6%, 67% |
| LRV | 41 |
| Undertone | cool blue-green tone |
| Family | Gray |
What Color Is Krypton, Really?
Krypton SW 6247 is a mid-tone gray with a cool blue-green cast. Its hex value is #A6B0AE and its LRV is 41, which puts it right in the middle of the light scale. A wall in Krypton reflects a fair amount of light but never looks pale. It holds its color across a large surface instead of washing out. The hue sits at 168 degrees, on the teal side of green, but the saturation is only about 6 percent, so most of what you see is gray with a soft cool lean.
People pick Krypton when they want a gray that is not flat and not beige. The blue-green keeps it from turning pink or purple the way some grays do, and it stays quiet enough to work as a whole-room color rather than an accent. It reads calm and slightly coastal without becoming an obvious blue or an obvious sage.
The thing to check is how much of the green-blue you actually want. At LRV 41 the color darkens noticeably in a room with little daylight, and in cool north light the blue side can come forward and feel chilly. Next to a creamy white it can look faintly minty. Paint a large sample and look at it in the evening under your own bulbs before you commit.
Krypton hides a blue-green undertone inside a gray body. The hue reading of 168 degrees is squarely between blue and green, and the saturation of about 6 percent is low enough that the color behaves like a neutral most of the time. On a small chip it can look like plain gray. On a full wall the cool cast becomes clear.
What sits next to it decides which side shows. Against a warm cream or a yellow-based white, the green comes forward and the wall can look faintly minty. Against a true blue or a saturated teal, Krypton falls back and reads almost pure gray. Next to warm wood or brass, the contrast makes it look cooler than it is.
Hold a sample against your trim, your floor, and any tile or stone that is staying. Those fixed materials will pull Krypton one way or the other more than the paint chip suggests.
Best Rooms and Uses for Krypton
Krypton is a mid-tone, so it gives a room real color without going dark. It works well on walls in bedrooms, home offices, dining rooms, and finished basements where a calm, cool color is welcome. In bathrooms and laundry rooms it reads clean and slightly spa-like, which suits tile and chrome.
On cabinetry it is a softer alternative to a deep blue. Lower cabinets or a vanity in Krypton with lighter counters and white uppers give depth without weight. It also does well on built-ins and interior doors.
Outside, the blue-green gray suits shingle, coastal, and cottage exteriors, either as a body color with white trim or on shutters and a front door. Because it is a color and not a true neutral, keep trim in a separate white rather than painting trim the same shade. In a room with very little natural light it can feel gloomy, so treat those rooms with care.
How Lighting Changes Krypton
At LRV 41 Krypton reflects a moderate amount of light, so the room does a lot of the work. North-facing rooms get cool, indirect daylight, and that pushes Krypton toward its blue side. It looks deeper, cooler, and more serious there, which suits some people and feels cold to others. South-facing rooms get warm, generous light that softens the color and brings the green forward, so it reads more like a soft sage-gray.
East rooms look cool and clear in the morning and settle grayer by afternoon. West rooms stay flat early, then warm up late in the day.
Bulbs shift it just as much. Warm 2700K light takes the chill off and nudges Krypton green. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs sharpen the blue and can make a mid-tone room feel clinical. Because a 41 LRV loses light quickly after dark, look at your sample at night before deciding.
Most complaints about Krypton 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.
TEST IT IN YOUR LIGHT →Krypton vs Similar Colors
Eventide SW 9643 shares the same LRV of 41 and a hex of #A3AFAC, which is close enough that the two are hard to separate on a wall. Uncertain Gray SW 6234 at LRV 43 and hex #A9B0B1 is lighter and leans more blue than green, so it feels cooler and less earthy. Breezy SW 7616 at LRV 41 and hex #A0AEAF is the bluest of the group.
Across brands, Dunn-Edwards Misty Seascape DEGR75 at LRV 43, Valspar Dream Weaver 8004-33D at LRV 41, and Benjamin Moore Mount Saint Anne 1565 at LRV 42 all land within a deltaE of about 1.25, which means they are visually identical to Krypton in normal room light. HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Silver Shadows HGSW 3335 at LRV 42 and PPG Mirror Mirror PPG1039-3 at LRV 43 are very close, so sample first. Farrow and Ball Lamp Room Gray No. 88 at LRV 44 is close but visibly different side by side, reading warmer and less green.
Colors That Go With Krypton
The simplest partner is a clean white trim. A white with a hint of warmth keeps Krypton from feeling cold, while a crisper, cooler white sharpens its coastal side. Either works; pick based on how much chill you want.
For a layered scheme in the same family, Sherwin-Williams neighbors sit close enough to build a quiet tonal palette. Mineral Deposit SW 7652 at LRV 43 and Morning Fog SW 6255 at LRV 42 are near the same lightness with slightly different leans, so they work in adjoining rooms rather than on the same wall. Stardew SW 9138 at LRV 43 pushes a touch bluer, and Eventide SW 9643 at LRV 41 sits almost on top of Krypton.
For contrast, go dark rather than mid-tone. A near-black door, black hardware, or an oiled bronze fixture grounds the room. Warm wood floors and natural oak furniture balance the cool cast, and unlacquered brass warms it without clashing.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Sherwin-Williams SW 6247 directly — but if you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches:
Similar Sherwin-Williams colors
closest in the Sherwin-Williams deckThe nearest shades to Krypton within Sherwin-Williams's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #A6B0AE in HSL space. Pair Krypton with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Accessibility (WCAG contrast)
WCAG 2.1: AA = 4.5:1 normal text · AA Large = 3:1 large text · AAA = 7:1 normal text.
The Questions Everyone Asks
Is Krypton warm or cool?
Krypton is a cool color. Its undertone is blue-green, with a hue around 168 degrees, so it sits on the chilly side of gray. The saturation is low, only about 6 percent, which keeps the coolness soft rather than obvious. In warm south light it can look almost neutral, but in north light the cool cast is easy to see.
Is Krypton more gray, blue, or green?
It is a gray first, with the blue and green sharing second place. The hue reading of 168 degrees is right between the two, so which one you notice depends on the room. Warm light and warm neighbors bring out the green side. Cool light and cool neighbors bring out the blue. On a small chip it often just looks gray.
What LRV is Krypton and what does that mean?
Krypton has an LRV of 41. LRV runs from 0 for black to 100 for pure white and measures how much light a color bounces back. At 41 it is a true mid-tone, so it holds visible color on a full wall without making the room dark. It will look noticeably deeper in a room with limited daylight.
Does Krypton work in a dark room?
It can, but go in with open eyes. At LRV 41 there is not much light in reserve, so a room with small windows or a north exposure will make Krypton look deeper and cooler than the chip. If you want the same character with more light back, a lighter neighbor such as Uncertain Gray SW 6234 at LRV 43 gives a little more room to breathe.
What white trim goes with Krypton?
A slightly warm white is the easier match, because it offsets the cool blue-green and keeps the room from feeling cold. A crisper, cleaner white also works if you want a sharper, more coastal edge. Whichever you choose, use a separate white for trim rather than the same color, since Krypton reads as a color and not a neutral.
Is Krypton good for exteriors or cabinets?
Yes to both. On exteriors the blue-green gray suits coastal, cottage, and shingle homes as a body color with white trim, or on shutters and doors. On cabinets it works as a softer stand-in for navy, especially on lower cabinets or a vanity, where its LRV of 41 gives depth without darkening the whole room.
Will It Work in YOUR Room?
No page can promise how Krypton behaves in your light. Upload a photo and see it on your own walls in seconds — before you spend a cent on samples.
TRY KRYPTON ON YOUR ROOM →Ask a Question
Not sure about Krypton in your room?
Ask Jessica below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day.