Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams is a well-loved blue, green and gray shade that pairs beautifully with white and other trendy home design colors. It's considered a coastal "neutral" yet is flexible enough to suit any style of home.
I absolutely adore Sea Salt and have used it in several of my homes. I always find a spot for it, whether it's a porch ceiling, laundry room, kitchen, bedroom or bathroom. I'll find a place for it because I love it that much!
If you're painting the room yourself, these tools will help a lot. Or learn how to paint a room in 5 easy steps. And if you're ever unsure which paint sheen to use, learn which paint finish works in each room!
What Color is Sea Salt?
Sea Salt (SW) is a lovely soft blue-green paint color with gray undertones.
It recalls clear blue-green ocean water. The muted water tone, cool gray undertones and a hint of warmth from sand and sunshine make it a picture not so far from the paint color Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.
This paint color is not only gorgeous, it's also one of the most popular paint colors for homes. It's one of the blue-green paint colors that always makes me stop mid-scroll and take another look at a room. It pairs beautifully with whites, grays and navy blue, bringing a calming pop of color to any space.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Undertones
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is mainly a green color with blue and gray undertones. Like many colors, Sea Salt is a chameleon, meaning it will look different in each room and light as different undertones come through.
For example, the green tone stands out when Sea Salt is in a room with warm bulbs. In a room with diffused, filtered light, the color can look greener, bluer or even bluish.
In a brightly lit room, Sea Salt may look washed out. That isn't necessarily bad, but it means the color becomes very light and subtle, which is worth knowing if you're going for a bold, moody hue.
Of course, the color shifts once the lights go off or the sun sets. Isn't paint fun? Yes!!
For this reason, I always recommend trying a sample in your home before painting the whole room! I like to paint a poster board or two with the sample color, then hang them on different walls around the room at different times of day to see how the light plays with the color.
PRO Tip
Whenever you choose a new paint color, try out the real paint color in your home first!
The easiest, quickest way to do that is with Samplize! I use them exclusively for paint samples now. There's no mess and no leftover pots of paint. Plus these peel-and-stick rectangles are made from real paint, so they're easy to move around the room and easy to save for later!
Order REAL Paint Samples
A word to the wise: don't mix up the Sherwin Williams Sea Salt paint color with the Benjamin Moore Sea Salt color. They're very different, and you'll be let down if you set your heart on one and end up with a few cans of the other.
LRV of Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams
Light reflectance value (LRV) measures how much visible light a paint color reflects or absorbs. The higher the number, the more light it reflects rather than absorbs. So, where does Sea Salt land on the scale?
Sea Salt has a Light Reflectance Value of 63.
On the paint color strip, it's followed by a slightly darker shade called Comfort Gray. Then come Oyster Bay, Acacia Haze, Retreat, Pewter Green and Ripe Olive. Many of these gorgeous green shades are popular home paint colors!
Is It a Warm or Cool Color?
Sea Salt is definitely a cool color with some warmth in its undertones. As a cool color, it makes a room feel calm, bright and spacious, so it works well in almost any room where you want to unwind.
The good news is this cool, calming color pairs really well with warm neutrals like taupe and beige. I've twice used it in an adjoining room with Revere Pewter (Benjamin Moore), and they work wonderfully together!
What Colors Go with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt?
If you're looking for a complementary color to go with this shade, you have several popular options from Sherwin Williams, including:
- Accessible Beige
- Agreeable Gray
- Comfort Gray
- Spare White
- Fleur de Sel
- Summit Gray
Benjamin Moore Colors that coordinate well with Sea Salt:
It pairs beautifully with almost any pure white or off-white for trim and ceilings. I use it with Simply White (Benjamin Moore), and I love them together!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in Real Rooms
Ready to see Sea Salt in action? I've sorted examples by room throughout the home, so you can see how the hue looks in different spaces and lighting.
SW Sea Salt in Kitchens
The kitchen is always my favorite place to start. I LOVE Sea Salt in a kitchen, so much that it was the shade I picked for my previous kitchen after a long debate over which color to choose.
Plus, it's a great example of how differently Sea Salt can look under various lighting. In my kitchen, the color reads blue-gray, as you can see below.
In my eat-in kitchen, though, Sea Salt looks decidedly greener on the wall to the right and a light gray on the left. It all depends on the time of day.
I love how Sea Salt turned out in the kitchen M Is For Mama put together. It adds the perfect shade of neutral blue-green to her space. The cabinets, by the way, are Sherwin Williams Dover Gray. They look fantastic together!
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in Bathrooms
Sea Salt was practically made to be shown off in the bathroom. It gives the space a clean, watery feel, which is perfect for an area around the tub, like this gorgeous bathroom from Studio McGee.
If you love a calm coastal vibe, you really should give Sea Salt a try.
Sea Salt in Living Rooms
If you want a livable green color for the living room, this could be the one! After seeing this gorgeous living room from Sand and Sisal, it's on my short list if I ever repaint our living room.
Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams for Front Doors
If you're not sure where to add this fun color, try giving your home some serious curb appeal by using it on your front door. You can paint just the exterior, or do both sides like this lovely home from Bria Hammel Interiors did.
Sea Salt on the Ceiling
My back porch got a refresh with Simply White trim and Sea Salt on the ceiling, known as a haint blue porch ceiling here in the South. It's such a soft color that it's hard to pick out from outside the house, yet it's just the right amount of soft blue-green without overwhelming the space!
What Trim Color Works Best with Sea Salt?
You can use either a true white like Pure White, or an off-white like Simply White. Both pair really well with Sea Salt.
When Should I Use Sea Salt?
Use Sea Salt when you want a pop of color that behaves like a neutral. It's great for small spaces or large ones, since it's a very versatile, flexible paint color.
Is Sherwin Williams Sea Salt Blue or Green?
It's a soft, muted blue-green paint color that can look more blue, green or gray depending on the lighting and which direction your room faces.
Note that your room will look bluer if it faces north and gets less natural light.
SW Sea Salt in My Kitchen
When I finally painted my former kitchen cabinets white, the original wall color was just too dark for me. The obvious choice was something similar to Stratton Blue, but lighter. Palladian Blue (BM) fit the bill! It's two shades lighter than Stratton Blue, and I just knew it would be perfect.
If I had stuck to my old habits, I would have grabbed a store-bought paint and painted the kitchen. But it would still have been wrong. I would have lived with it, even though I didn't love it 100%. No big deal, but why settle for a little off when you can be spot on!?
When testing a paint color on the wall, I like to try at least 2 colors, but 3-4 is even better. I was sure Palladian Blue was the color I wanted, but on a whim I also grabbed a sample of SW Sea Salt.
As soon as I painted them on the wall, I knew I'd choose Palladian Blue.
But as I lived with the swatches on the wall for 24+ hours, I changed my mind.
After seeing them in every light of the day and night, Sea Salt seemed just perfect!
This was the start of a beautiful relationship with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, and I've since painted many rooms and even ceilings this gorgeous color!
Once again, what seemed like a pointless exercise (sampling on the walls) saved me from the wrong paint choice. And sometimes it just confirms what I already knew. Still, I'd rather be 100% sure than end up with half a room painted and wish I could change it.
Final Thoughts
This chameleon paint color looks stunning in most rooms and can be just the color you're after if you want a pop of color but keep things airy and neutral. It also brings in a coastal feel without screaming "beach house."
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt looks great wherever it ends up. Have I convinced you to give this beautiful color a try?
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