Pussywillow
SW 7643 · #B2ADA4 · LRV 42 — warm red-orange tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Anonymous20
- 2Fawn Brindle36
- 3Pussywillow42
- 4Agreeable Gray60
- 5Pale Oak69
What Color Is Pussywillow, Really?
Pussywillow SW 7643 is a warm mid-tone greige. Its hex value is #B2ADA4 and its LRV is 42, which places it in the middle of the light scale. On a wall it reads as a soft, medium gray with a little warmth in it, dark enough to be clearly a color and light enough to keep a room from closing in. The hue sits at 39 degrees with saturation around 8 percent, which is a warm red-orange lean carried at very low strength.
People choose Pussywillow when a true gray feels too cold and a beige feels too yellow. It sits between the two, which is exactly what most people mean when they ask for greige. It works as a whole-home color, holds its character in open floor plans, and does not fight wood floors or warm stone the way a blue-gray can.
The catch with any color this quiet is that it borrows. Next to a strong beige it looks gray; next to a cool gray it looks beige. In north light the warmth mostly disappears and it can read flat and slightly taupe. At LRV 42 it is also darker than most people expect from a greige, so a small room with limited daylight will feel dimmer than the chip suggests.
Pussywillow carries a warm red-orange undertone, with a hue reading of 39 degrees and saturation of only about 8 percent. That is enough warmth to keep it from reading as a cold gray, but far too little to look like a beige on its own. In practice it lands as a soft taupe-gray that most people describe as greige.
The undertone shows most in warm light and against cool company. Put it beside a blue-gray and the warmth becomes obvious. Put it beside a yellow beige and Pussywillow suddenly looks like plain gray. Against white trim it reads as a clean, quiet mid-tone.
Because its character depends so heavily on neighbors, the test that matters is a large sample taped next to your floor, your counters, and your trim, viewed at more than one time of day. A small chip against a paint deck will not tell you which way this one leans in your room.
Best Rooms and Uses for Pussywillow
Pussywillow is a whole-home mid-tone. It works on walls in living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and open-plan spaces where you want continuity from room to room without a strong color statement. In dining rooms and offices it reads calm and grown-up.
It is also useful on cabinetry and millwork. On a vanity, laundry cabinets, or a mudroom bench it gives a soft contrast against white counters without the heaviness of a dark color. Painted on built-ins with lighter walls, it separates the shelves from the room quietly.
Outdoors it makes a restrained body color for traditional, craftsman, and transitional homes, especially with white trim and a darker door. Because it is a mid-tone at LRV 42, avoid using it on every surface in a small north-facing room; it will read flatter and dimmer than expected. Keep trim in a distinctly lighter white so the walls stay defined.
How Lighting Changes Pussywillow
With an LRV of 42, Pussywillow reflects a moderate amount of light. It stays usable in most rooms but never brightens one. South and west light bring out the warm red-orange side, so the color reads softer and closer to a warm taupe, especially late in the day.
North-facing rooms strip most of that warmth out. In cool, indirect daylight Pussywillow settles toward a flat, neutral gray, which some people like for a modern look and others find drab. East rooms read cooler in the morning and warm gently by afternoon.
Bulbs finish the job. Warm 2700K lamps restore the warmth and make the color feel cozy at night. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs push it gray and can make it look slightly purple-taupe on a big wall. Since a 42 LRV drops noticeably once the sun is gone, check your sample under your own fixtures after dark before you commit.
Most complaints about Pussywillow 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 7643 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 | Granite Boulder790D-4 · Behr | 2.0 | 42 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Smoke & MirrorsCSP-105 · Benjamin Moore | 1.2 | 42 | Color page → |
| Valspar | London Coach4002-1B · Valspar | 4.8 | 40.4 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Boulder CreekPPG0999-3 · PPG / Glidden | 0.5 | 42 | Color page → |
| Glidden | GreyhoundPPG1008-3 · Glidden | 0.6 | 42 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Shale Ridge421-3DB · Dutch Boy | 3.1 | 41 | Color page → |
Similar Sherwin-Williams Colors
The nearest shades to Pussywillow 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.
Pussywillow vs Similar Colors
Warm Pewter SW 9572 shares the same LRV of 42 with a hex of #B4ADA6, which makes the two nearly interchangeable on a wall. Perfect Greige SW 6073, also at LRV 42, has a hex of #B7AB9F with clearly more yellow, so it reads warmer and more beige. Escape Gray SW 6185 at LRV 41 and hex #ABAC9F leans green, which is the main way people separate these two families.
Across brands, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Pussywillow HGSW 1494 shares the exact hex and LRV, so it is the same color. PPG Boulder Creek PPG0999-3 at LRV 42 and Glidden Greyhound PPG1008-3 at LRV 42 both sit under a deltaE of 1, close enough to call identical. Benjamin Moore Smoke and Mirrors CSP-105 at LRV 42, Behr Granite Boulder 790D-4 at LRV 43, Dunn-Edwards Throwing Shade DEGR45 at LRV 44, and Farrow and Ball Hardwick White No. 5 at LRV 42 are visually identical in normal room light. Valspar London Coach 4002-1B at LRV 40.4 is close but visibly different side by side, reading pinker.
Colors That Go With Pussywillow
White trim is the standard partner. A warm white keeps the greige soft and cohesive; a cleaner, brighter white gives more definition and makes Pussywillow look grayer. Both work, so pick based on how modern you want the room to feel.
Within Sherwin-Williams, the near neighbors let you build a layered neutral scheme across rooms. Warm Pewter SW 9572 at LRV 42 sits almost on top of it. Perfect Greige SW 6073 at LRV 42 is warmer and more clearly beige. Chatroom SW 6171 at LRV 41 and Gateway Gray SW 7644 at LRV 41 pull slightly green, and Escape Gray SW 6185 at LRV 41 goes further that way. Mineral Deposit SW 7652 at LRV 43 is the cooler option if you want a gray-green step in an adjoining room.
For materials, warm oak and walnut, natural stone, and both black and brass hardware all sit comfortably against it. Very yellow woods can make it look gray by contrast.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #B2ADA4 in HSL space. Pair Pussywillow with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Pussywillow FAQ
Is Pussywillow warm or cool?
Pussywillow is warm, but only slightly. Its undertone is red-orange, with a hue around 39 degrees and saturation of about 8 percent, so the warmth is present without being obvious. That small amount is enough to keep it from feeling like a cold gray. In north light most of the warmth disappears and it reads close to neutral.
Is Pussywillow gray or beige?
It is a greige, meaning it sits between the two. The warm red-orange undertone gives it beige character, while the very low saturation keeps it behaving like a gray. Which one you see depends on the neighbors. Next to a clear beige it looks gray, and next to a cool blue-gray it looks beige.
What LRV is Pussywillow and what does that mean?
Pussywillow has an LRV of 42. LRV runs from 0 for black to 100 for pure white and describes how much light a color reflects. At 42 it is a true mid-tone. It holds visible color on a large wall and works across a whole house, but it will not brighten a dim room and looks deeper than most people expect from a greige.
Does Pussywillow work in a dark room?
It can, with realistic expectations. At LRV 42 there is a moderate amount of light coming back, so a room with limited daylight will look softly dim rather than dark. Warm bulbs keep the color from going flat. If you need the room to feel brighter, a lighter greige is the better tool.
What white trim goes with Pussywillow?
A warm white gives a soft, cohesive look and keeps the wall reading greige. A cleaner, brighter white makes the trim crisper and pushes Pussywillow toward gray, which suits a more modern room. Because Pussywillow sits at LRV 42, almost any white will give clear contrast, so choose by temperature rather than brightness.
Is Pussywillow good for cabinets or exteriors?
Yes to both. On vanities, laundry cabinets, and mudroom built-ins its mid-tone LRV of 42 gives quiet contrast against white counters without weight. On exteriors it is a restrained body color for traditional and transitional homes, and it pairs well with white trim and a much darker front door.
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