Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain SW 6956
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- Blue Refrain for bedroom (1 photo)
- Blue Refrain for living room (7 photos)
- Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain for bathroom (2 photos)
- Sherwin Williams SW 6956 on kitchen cabinets (4 photos)
- Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain reviews (9 photos)
- What are Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain undertones?
- Is Blue Refrain SW 6956 cool or warm?
- How light temperature affects on Blue Refrain
- Monochromatic color scheme
- Complementary color scheme
- Color comparison and matching
- LRV of Blue Refrain SW 6956
- Color codes
- Color equivalents
| Official page: | Blue Refrain SW 6956 |
| Code: | SW 6956 |
| Name: | Blue Refrain |
| Brand: | Sherwin Williams |
What color is Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain?
Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain SW 6956 is a light, cool blue with a noticeable soft aqua cast, giving it a clean, airy appearance. Its high brightness keeps it from feeling heavy, while the green-blue undertone adds more freshness than a traditional powder blue. In bright daylight, Blue Refrain can read crisp and lightly watery; under warmer indoor bulbs, it may soften toward a gentler blue. It suits bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and ceiling applications, as well as painted cabinetry where a pale color is wanted without using white. Pair it with warm white trim, pale oak, woven natural textures, or charcoal accents for contrast.
Blue Refrain for bedroom
We’ve hand-picked a beautiful collection of photos of this amazing blue shade used in real bedrooms. Take a look and imagine how this wonderful cool light paint color could transform your own bedroom space.
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Blue Refrain for living room (7 photos)
Check out this stunning light color used in real living rooms. Explore how this blue shade can create a unique space
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Sherwin Williams SW 6956 for bathroom (2 photos)
Looking for inspiration for your dream bathroom renovation project? These beautiful handpicked photos will show you this delightfully cool light blue real bathrooms.
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Sherwin Williams SW 6956 on kitchen cabinets (4 photos)
Want a stylish kitchen? View real-life photo examples of this fascinating cool blue hue is paired with backsplashes, countertops, and hardware.
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Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain reviews (9 photos)
View the photos of real spaces painted with this blue that were not included in specific categories. Close-ups, painted furniture, storages and dressers, hallways, stairs and ceilings.
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What are Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain undertones?
Blue Refrain is a light, muted light blue. The HEX sample leans blue; this describes its measurable digital hue direction, not a hidden paint pigment. Warm bulbs may gray the color down, while cool daylight usually makes its blue or teal direction clearer.
HEX value:
RGB code:
176, 216, 231
Is Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain cool or warm?
warm
cool
At 196° on the HSL hue wheel, this Blue falls clearly in the cool range.
SW 6956 Blue Refrain HSL code: 196, 53%, 80%
Hue - degree on a color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, and 240 is blue.
Saturation is expressed as a percentage. At 0%, it appears as a shade of grey, and at 100%, it is in full color.
Lightness is also a percentage value. 0% is black, and 100% is white.
How light temperature affects Blue Refrain
Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.
In addition, natural-light temperature depends on its direction:
| Direction of sunlight | Visible temp. | Hue | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Cool | Bluish | All day |
| East | Warm | Yellow | Before noon |
| West | Warm | Orange-red | After noon |
| South | Warm | Orange-yellow | All day |
Artificial Lighting. When choosing bulbs, pay attention to their color temperature in Kelvins.
Use the slider to see how this Blue shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Sherwin Williams Blue Refrain:
Monochromatic color scheme
This scheme consists of various shades, tints, and tones of a single color. While it offers a perfect combination of hues, without accent décor it may become monotonous.
Lighter shades
SW 6956
Blue Refrain
Darker shades
Complementary color scheme
This color scheme is a combination of two shades that are opposite each other on the color wheel. The high contrast between these colors creates a vibrant and dynamic visual effect. For the color Blue Refrain with a green hue, complementary colors are those with a red hue close to 16, such as Sherwin Williams Black Bean and Dutch Cocoa.
LRV of Blue Refrain
Blue Refrain has an LRV of 64.25% and refers to Light colors that reflect most of the incident light. Why LRV is important?
Light Reflectance Value measures the amount of visible and usable light that reflects from a painted surface.
Simply put, the higher the LRV of a paint color, the brighter the room you will get.
The scale goes from 0% (absolute black, absorbing all light) to 100% (pure white, reflecting all light).
Act like a pro: When choosing paint with an LRV of 64.25%, pay attention to your bulbs' brightness. Light brightness is measured in lumens. The lower the paint's LRV, the higher lumen level you need. Every square foot of room needs at least 40 lumens. That means for a 200 ft2 living room you'll need about 8000 lumens of light – e.g., eight 1000 lm bulbs.
Color codes
We have collected almost every possible color code you could ever need.
Not sure what the difference between HEX and RGB is? We break down color models in plain language. Understanding color models
| Format | Code |
|---|---|
| HEX | #b0d8e7 |
| RGB Decimal | 176, 216, 231 |
| RGB Percent | 69.02%, 84.71%, 90.59% |
| HSV | Hue: 196° Saturation: 23.81% Value: 90.59% |
| HSL | hsl(196, 53, 80) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 23.81 Magenta: 6.49 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 9.41 |
| YIQ | Y: 205.75 I: -28.656 Q: -3.793 |
| XYZ | X: 56.879 Y: 64.109 Z: 84.957 |
| CIE Lab | L:84.023 a:-9.784 b:-11.671 |
| CIE Luv | L:84.023 u:-20.94 v:-16.633 |
| Decimal | 11589863 |
| Hunter Lab | 80.068, -13.316, -6.862 |
Color equivalents
2058-60
Ocean Breeze
Benjamin Moore
778
Skylark Song
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SW 6800
Something Blue
Sherwin Williams
772
Hawaiian Breeze
Benjamin Moore
785
Morning Glory
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779
Fairview Blue
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2057-60
Blue Flower
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Blue Click
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794
Paradise View
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2061-60
Little Boy Blue
Benjamin Moore
P500-2
Seashore Dreams
Behr
793
Watercolor Blue
Benjamin Moore
2059-60
Splash
Benjamin Moore
2062-60
Blue Hydrangea
Benjamin Moore
2060-60
Turquoise Haze
Benjamin Moore
M490-1
Breezy Blue
Behr
SW 6793
Bluebell
Sherwin Williams
2063-60
Sapphireberry
Benjamin Moore