Sherwin Williams Breakwater SW 9638
Contentsshow +hide -
- Breakwater for bedroom (1 photo)
- Breakwater for living room (7 photos)
- Sherwin Williams Breakwater for bathroom (2 photos)
- Sherwin Williams SW 9638 on kitchen cabinets (4 photos)
- Sherwin Williams Breakwater reviews (9 photos)
- What are Sherwin Williams Breakwater undertones?
- Is Breakwater SW 9638 cool or warm?
- How light temperature affects on Breakwater
- Monochromatic color scheme
- Complementary color scheme
- Color comparison and matching
- LRV of Breakwater SW 9638
- Color codes
- Color equivalents
| Code: | SW 9638 |
| Name: | Breakwater |
| Brand: | Sherwin Williams |
| Collections: | Emerald Designer Edition - Rustic + Refined |
What color is Sherwin Williams Breakwater?
Sherwin Williams Breakwater SW 9638 is a light, muted gray with a quiet green cast that keeps it from reading flat or icy. Its low saturation gives it a soft, weathered appearance, while the slightly cool lean is especially noticeable beside warm white trim. In bright daylight, Breakwater can look like a gentle gray-green; under warmer lamps, it may settle into a more neutral gray. It suits bedrooms, bathrooms, and living areas where a pale wall color is wanted without the starkness of a pure gray. Pair it with creamy whites, natural oak, pale stone, brushed nickel, or charcoal accents for clear contrast.
Breakwater for bedroom
We’ve hand-picked a beautiful collection of photos of this amazing grey shade used in real bedrooms. Take a look and imagine how this wonderful cool mid-tone paint color could transform your own bedroom space.
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Breakwater for living room (7 photos)
Check out this stunning mid-tone color used in real living rooms. Explore how this grey shade can create a unique space
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Sherwin Williams SW 9638 for bathroom (2 photos)
Looking for inspiration for your dream bathroom renovation project? These beautiful handpicked photos will show you this delightfully cool mid-tone grey real bathrooms.
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Sherwin Williams SW 9638 on kitchen cabinets (4 photos)
Want a stylish kitchen? View real-life photo examples of this fascinating cool grey hue is paired with backsplashes, countertops, and hardware.
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Sherwin Williams Breakwater reviews (9 photos)
View the photos of real spaces painted with this grey 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 Breakwater undertones?
Breakwater is a mid-light, near-neutral medium gray. Its chroma is so low that assigning a specific hue-based undertone would be misleading. Because it is close to neutral, nearby surfaces and the color of the light can noticeably change how warm or cool it appears.
HEX value:
RGB code:
162, 168, 166
Is Sherwin Williams Breakwater cool or warm?
warm
cool
With a hue of 160°, this Grey leans cool, but it is near the neutral line and may feel warmer in certain lighting.
SW 9638 Breakwater HSL code: 160, 3%, 65%
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 Breakwater
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 Grey shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Sherwin Williams Breakwater:
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 9638
Breakwater
Darker shades
SW 9638
Breakwater
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 Breakwater with a green hue, complementary colors are those with a red hue close to 340, such as Sherwin Williams Whimsical White and Chaise Mauve.
LRV of Breakwater
Breakwater has an LRV of 38.31% and refers to Medium colors that reflect a lot of 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 38.31%, 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 | #a2a8a6 |
| RGB Decimal | 162, 168, 166 |
| RGB Percent | 63.53%, 65.88%, 65.10% |
| HSV | Hue: 160° Saturation: 3.57% Value: 65.88% |
| HSL | hsl(160, 3, 65) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 3.57 Magenta: 0.0 Yellow: 1.19 Key: 34.12 |
| YIQ | Y: 165.978 I: -2.933 Q: -1.892 |
| XYZ | X: 35.784 Y: 38.44 Z: 41.6 |
| CIE Lab | L:68.343 a:-2.51 b:0.295 |
| CIE Luv | L:68.343 u:-3.263 v:0.854 |
| Decimal | 10660006 |
| Hunter Lab | 62.0, -5.476, 3.618 |
Color equivalents
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