Dovetail
SW 7018 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Dovetail
SW 7018
Subtle orange, a warm color
- Color family
- Neutral
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Dovetail SW 7018 is a medium-dark warm gray, four steps down from Repose Gray SW 7015 on the same strip, often searched for as Dovetail Gray. With an LRV of 26 it absorbs more light than it reflects. It reads as a deep gray on a wall and needs daylight to stay gray rather than brown. Our method labels the undertone subtle orange: a gray with a touch of red-brown, not a taupe. It is a Top 50 color and a common exterior, cabinet and front-door pick.
Updated
Is Dovetail warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans orange
Undertone
Subtle orange
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Measured, Dovetail has a small warmth that sits between yellow and red, which our method files as subtle orange. It is enough to keep it from reading as cold concrete, not enough to make it a brown. Against a crisp white trim it reads as a deep, slightly warm gray. Beside oak or walnut the red-brown comes forward and it reads taupe. Beside cool white tile or stainless steel it looks warmer and browner than the chip. Dorian Gray SW 7017, two steps up its strip, has less red and stays grayer beside it, and Alloy SW 9569 is a near twin. It is often said to have a green cast. By the numbers there is no green in it, so that comes from pink or red finishes nearby.
Dovetail in north, south, east and west light
Dovetail is a daylight color. In a north-facing room it reads cooler, flatter and a step darker than the chip, close to Gauntlet Gray SW 7019, and the corners go charcoal by mid afternoon. The warm lean stops it from going blue, but a north bedroom in Dovetail is a cave unless that is the point. South rooms lift it to a clean mid gray and show the warmth. East rooms are warm in the morning and gray by evening. West rooms can push it brown late in the day. Keep bulbs at 2700K to 3000K and use plenty; 4000K bulbs make it look like wet cement.
Watch for
- In a north room it drops to a charcoal and reads like Gauntlet Gray SW 7019
- Beside walnut or oak the red-brown shows and it reads taupe
- Under 4000K bulbs it goes flat and cold; warm bulbs bring the gray back
Best rooms and surfaces for Dovetail
Dovetail is a cabinet and accent color first. On a kitchen island or a run of lower cabinets it reads as a deep warm gray that hides wear. It sits well with white uppers and a white counter, and takes brass or black hardware. On a bathroom vanity it does the same job. As a wall color it suits one room you want to feel enclosed: a study, a dining room, a media room, a bedroom with a big window. It makes a good accent wall behind a bed in a room otherwise painted Repose Gray SW 7015 or Mindful Gray SW 7016. It is too dark for a whole house, a hallway or a windowless bathroom. On interior doors against a white wall it gives a softer version of the black-door look.
Dovetail on an exterior
Sherwin-Williams lists Dovetail among its top exterior colors, and it is a common body color on siding as well as a common front door. In full sun it reads a couple of steps lighter, a warm mid gray, and it holds its color where a light gray washes out. In shade it stays dark and shows its brown. It pairs with a crisp white trim and sits well with stone, brick and a black roof. As a door on a white or light gray house it reads softer than black. Inky Blue SW 9149 is Sherwin-Williams' own accent for it.
Try Dovetail on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Dovetail onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.
Trusted by 19,897+ happy homeowners
Dovetail vs Dorian Gray, Repose Gray, Urbane Bronze and Evergreen Fog
Dorian GrayDovetailDovetail vs Dorian Gray SW 7017
Dovetail is much darker; undertone subtle orange vs subtle yellow-brown.
Dorian Gray SW 7017 is two steps up the same strip, an LRV of 39 against 26, so it is noticeably lighter. It also has less red, so it stays a clean gray where Dovetail leans taupe beside wood. On a wall Dorian Gray keeps a room feeling open; Dovetail closes it in. Pick Dorian Gray for walls and full kitchens. Pick Dovetail for an island, a door, an accent wall or a house that needs a darker body color.
Repose GrayDovetailDovetail vs Repose Gray SW 7015
Dovetail is much darker; undertone subtle orange vs subtle yellow-beige.
Repose Gray SW 7015 is the lightest color on Dovetail's strip and much lighter, an LRV of 58 against 26. Measured, Repose Gray has a hair of green and Dovetail a touch of red-brown, so they read as one family without being one color. They are a common pair: Repose Gray on the walls, Dovetail on the island, the vanity or the front door. Pick Repose Gray for anything that has to stay light; pick Dovetail for the one piece that should stand out.
Urbane BronzeDovetailDovetail vs Urbane Bronze SW 7048
Dovetail is much lighter; undertone subtle orange vs subtle yellow-brown.
Urbane Bronze SW 7048 is much darker, an LRV of 8 against 26. It reads close to black-brown on a wall where Dovetail reads as a deep gray. Their warmth is nearly the same, a small yellow-brown lean, so they read as one family at two depths. Pick Urbane Bronze for a front door, a fireplace wall or a house that should read dark from the street. Pick Dovetail where you want the depth but still want to see the color as gray.
Evergreen FogDovetailDovetail vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130
Dovetail is noticeably darker; undertone subtle orange vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is a touch lighter than Dovetail and sits in the green family, a gray-green where Dovetail is a gray-brown. Side by side Evergreen Fog looks green and Dovetail looks taupe, and neither shows it alone. Both work on cabinets and exteriors at almost the same depth. Choose Evergreen Fog for a room with warm wood, cream and brass; choose Dovetail for a room with black, white, stone and steel.
Questions about Dovetail
What colors go with Dovetail?
Sherwin-Williams' trim and ceiling white for it is Eider White SW 7014. Its named accents are Skyline Steel SW 1015, a light warm gray, and Inky Blue SW 9149, a deep teal-blue. In practice it sits well with white, black, navy, cream, oak, walnut and brass. Pink-beige finishes make it look green, so keep those out of the room.
Does Dovetail look green or purple?
Measured, it has neither: only a small red-brown warmth on a gray base. A green cast appears beside pink, red-brown or rosy beige finishes, and a purple one beside olive or yellow-green ones. The eye reads the opposite of whatever sits next to it. In a north room under cool bulbs it goes flat and cold rather than colored. Warm bulbs and a warm white trim fix that.
Is Dovetail good for kitchen cabinets?
Yes, and the island and lower cabinets are where it works best. It reads as a deep warm gray that hides fingerprints and wear, with white uppers, a white quartz counter and brass or black hardware. On every cabinet in a kitchen with little daylight it turns the room dark. Keep the uppers white there and the walls in Eider White SW 7014 or Repose Gray SW 7015.
What is one shade darker than Dovetail?
Gauntlet Gray SW 7019 is the next color down its fan-deck strip, a step darker with a little less warmth. The two are often weighed against each other for exteriors. One step up is Acier SW 9170. Among its closest matches, Alloy SW 9569 is nearly the same color and Elephant Ear SW 9168 is a touch lighter.
Is Dovetail a good front door color?
Yes. On a white, cream or light gray house it reads as a deep warm gray from the street, darker than the chip in the shade of a porch and softer than a black door. It suits brass, bronze or black hardware. Use a satin or semi-gloss finish, which keeps a dark door from looking chalky. Trim the frame in the house's white.
Get a sample before you paint
Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Dovetail, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
- Made with real paint
- Delivered next day
- Peels off clean
4.8 · 1,842 reviews
