Fawn Brindle

SW 7640 · Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams

Fawn Brindle

SW 7640

Hex code

#A7A094

Light reflectance value (LRV)

35.5Medium, moodier in dim rooms

0 black100 white

Undertone

Subtle yellow-brown, a warm color

Color family: Neutral
Sold for: Interior and exterior

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Sherwin-Williams Fawn Brindle SW 7640 is a medium taupe gray, a gray with enough brown in it to read warm from across the room. With an LRV of 36 it holds real weight on a wall, sitting between a mid gray and a dark one. It is the fifth color down the Jogging Path SW 7638 fan-deck strip. Our method labels the undertone subtle yellow-brown, the same label as Urbane Bronze SW 7048 at a fraction of the depth. It is used most on exteriors and on cabinets.

Updated September 2, 2026

Is Fawn Brindle warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans yellow

Undertone

Subtle yellow-brown

graysaturated

A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.

Measured, Fawn Brindle has a modest amount of yellow, a trace of red and no green. A gray with brown in it is what taupe means in practice. There is more visible warmth here than in Dorian Gray SW 7017, so beside that color Fawn Brindle looks brown and Dorian Gray looks gray. Against white trim it reads as a warm mid gray. Beside walnut or a brown leather sofa the brown links up with the wood and the wall reads plainly taupe. Beside cool gray tile or steel it looks warmer than the chip and can turn muddy. Intellectual Gray SW 7045 is hard to tell apart from it. Rushing River SW 7746, the next step down its strip, has a hair of green that Fawn Brindle lacks.

Fawn Brindle in north, south, east and west light

Fawn Brindle needs daylight to stay taupe rather than mud. In a north-facing room it reads cooler, grayer and a shade darker than the chip, and the brown in it turns dull. The warm lean keeps it from going blue, but a north room in this color feels closed. South rooms are its best exposure, where afternoon sun lifts it to a warm gray with the brown showing softly. East rooms are warmest at breakfast. West rooms can push it toward a plain brown late in the day. Bulbs at 2700K to 3000K keep it true; 4000K bulbs turn it into wet clay.

Watch for

In a north room it goes dull brown-gray and reads a shade darker than the chip
Beside walnut or a brown leather sofa it reads plainly brown, not gray
Under 4000K bulbs it turns the color of wet clay; warm bulbs bring the taupe back

Best rooms and surfaces for Fawn Brindle

Fawn Brindle is an exterior and cabinet color first, and a wall color for one room at a time. On kitchen cabinets and a bathroom vanity it reads as a warm taupe gray that hides marks and suits a white counter with brass or black hardware. As a wall color it suits a study, a dining room or a bedroom with a big south window, where the depth feels warm rather than dark. It makes a good accent wall in a room otherwise painted Jogging Path SW 7638, the light end of its own strip. It is too dark for a hallway, a stair wall without a window or a whole house, and in a windowless bathroom it goes muddy. Interior doors in Fawn Brindle against white walls give a softer version of the dark-door look.

Fawn Brindle on an exterior

Fawn Brindle is sold for exterior use, and siding is where most people use it. In full sun it reads two steps lighter, a warm mid gray with the taupe showing, and it hides dust and dirt well. On the shaded side it holds a deeper brown-gray. It sits well with stone, brown brick and a dark roof, and it takes a white trim without looking cold. Sherwin-Williams' own accents for it are Aged White SW 9180, a warm white for trim, and Rockweed SW 2735, a near-black brown for the door. Urbane Bronze SW 7048 works there too.

Try Fawn Brindle on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Fawn Brindle onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Fawn Brindle vs Dorian Gray, Jogging Path, Evergreen Fog and Urbane Bronze

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Dorian Gray SW 7017, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Fawn Brindle vs Dorian Gray SW 7017

Fawn Brindle is noticeably darker; both have a subtle yellow-brown undertone.

Dorian Gray SW 7017 is a touch lighter than Fawn Brindle, an LRV of 39 against 36, and it carries less warmth. Both measure as subtle yellow-brown grays, but on a wall Dorian Gray reads gray and Fawn Brindle reads taupe. Pick Dorian Gray for a room with white, black and steel, or where the walls should stay clearly gray. Pick Fawn Brindle for a room with walnut, leather and brass, or a house with brown brick and stone.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Jogging Path SW 7638, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Fawn Brindle vs Jogging Path SW 7638

Fawn Brindle is much darker; undertone subtle yellow-brown vs noticeable yellow-beige.

Jogging Path SW 7638 sits three steps up the same strip and is noticeably lighter, an LRV of 49 against 36. It also has more yellow and no red, so it reads as a khaki greige where Fawn Brindle reads as a taupe gray. They pair well: Jogging Path on the walls, Fawn Brindle on cabinets, an island or a feature wall. Choose Jogging Path for a whole room you want to feel light; choose Fawn Brindle for the piece that should stand out.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog SW 9130, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Fawn Brindle vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130

Fawn Brindle is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle yellow-brown vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is a step darker than Fawn Brindle and carries about the same amount of color, pointed at green instead of brown. Side by side Evergreen Fog looks green and Fawn Brindle looks brown; alone, each reads as a muted mid gray. Both work on cabinets and siding. Choose Evergreen Fog for a room with cream, brass and warm oak; choose Fawn Brindle for a room with walnut, black and stone.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze SW 7048, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Fawn Brindle vs Urbane Bronze SW 7048

Fawn Brindle is much lighter; both have a subtle yellow-brown undertone.

Urbane Bronze SW 7048 is much darker, an LRV of 8 against 36, with the same subtle yellow-brown lean. It reads as Fawn Brindle's shadow, the same taupe gray taken nearly to black. They are a natural pair on an exterior, Fawn Brindle on the body and Urbane Bronze on the door and shutters. Pick Urbane Bronze for a door, a fireplace wall or a dark house. Pick Fawn Brindle where you want the warmth on every wall and still see the color.

Questions about Fawn Brindle

What colors go with Fawn Brindle?

Sherwin-Williams pairs it with Shoji White SW 7042 on trim and ceilings and Aged White SW 9180 as a warmer white. Its dark accent is Rockweed SW 2735, a near-black brown. In practice it sits well with walnut, black, cream, olive green, navy and brass. Cool blue-grays beside it make it look brown, so keep those to small doses.

Is Fawn Brindle good for exteriors?

Yes, and it is the surface people search it for most. On siding it reads as a warm mid gray in sun and a brown-gray in shade. It suits a house with a dark roof, stone or brown brick, and it hides dirt better than a light gray. Trim it in Pure White SW 7005 or Shoji White SW 7042 and put a dark door on it.

Is Fawn Brindle good for kitchen cabinets?

Yes. On cabinet faces it reads as a warm taupe gray, deep enough to hide fingerprints and light enough that a kitchen does not go dark. It works with a white quartz counter, brass or black hardware and a lighter wall in Shoji White SW 7042 or Jogging Path SW 7638. Under cool LED strips it turns muddy, so fit warm bulbs.

What is one shade lighter than Fawn Brindle?

Ethereal Mood SW 7639 is the next color up its fan-deck strip, a touch lighter with a little more warmth. One step down is Rushing River SW 7746, a touch darker and a hair greener. Among its closest matches, Intellectual Gray SW 7045 is nearly the same color and Mega Greige SW 7031 is a touch lighter and a touch redder.

Does Fawn Brindle look brown or purple?

It looks brown before it looks purple. Measured, it is a gray with a modest yellow-brown warmth, and in a north room or beside walnut that warmth reads as plain brown. A purple cast shows only beside olive or yellow-green finishes, where the eye pushes it the other way. Beside white trim and black hardware it reads as a warm gray.

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 Fawn Brindle, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.