Passive
SW 7064 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Passive
SW 7064
Faint yellow-leaning green, a very subtle lean
- Color family
- Neutral
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Passive SW 7064 is a light, cool-reading gray, the one people search for as Passive Gray, with an LRV of 60, light enough to run through a whole house and still a gray against white trim rather than an off-white. Our method calls it neutral: the only lean is a faint yellow-green, too small to see on its own, which is why it reads as a true gray next to the greiges. It is used on walls, in bathrooms and on exteriors.
Source: Sherwin-Williams's color data. Undertone labels describe our calculation, not the paint formula or a test in your room. How we assess colors.
Is Passive warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
too close to gray to lean
Undertone
Faint yellow-leaning green
Barely off gray.
Passive is as close to a plain gray as the light neutrals get: in our swatch comparison it has a whisper of green and a whisper of yellow, so little of either that our method calls it neutral. What people see depends on the company. Beside a warm greige like Agreeable Gray SW 7029 it looks cool and silvery; beside a true blue-gray it looks warm; beside a bright white trim it reads as a clean, light gray with no cast at all. The green whisper shows in one place: in a cool north room, beside pink-beige or red-brown finishes, the wall can pick up a faint green or blue tint. The swatch calculation does not rule out a mauve-looking wall. Zircon SW 7667 and Autonomous SW 9557 are its near twins; Light French Gray SW 0055 is the same kind of neutral a step darker, leaning a hair beige instead of green.
Passive in different lighting
Passive is one of the safer light grays for a north-facing room, with a caveat. In north light Passive may look darker, cooler or faintly blue-green beside warm finishes; its subtle swatch lean does not guarantee a steady gray. South light warms it a touch and lifts it toward silver-white, and it stays neutral. An east room hardly changes it from morning to evening. West rooms cool it in the morning and warm it at sunset, and it stays the same gray. Bulbs decide more than exposure: 2700K warms it toward greige, 4000K makes it icy, and 3000K keeps it true.
Watch for
- Can pick up a faint blue-green tint in a north room beside pink-beige tile or red-brown wood
- Turns icy under 4000K LEDs; a 3000K bulb is the fix in a bathroom
- Next to a warm greige or a cream trim it looks cooler than it is
Best rooms and surfaces for Passive
Passive is the light gray for a house that leans cool: white trim, white or gray tile, black or nickel hardware, marble and gray-washed or pale floors. It carries a whole house at this depth and does its best work in bathrooms, where the greiges go muddy against white tile and Passive stays clean, and in kitchens behind white cabinets. On cabinets themselves it reads as a pale silver-gray and needs a white wall to show. It suits a bedroom that should feel cool and quiet. It is the wrong pick for a room full of honey oak, terracotta or cream, where it reads cold and can go faintly green. Brown floors need a warm white trim to bridge the gap.
Passive on an exterior
Passive is on Sherwin-Williams' top exterior list, and full sun lifts it to a pale silver-gray close to white, so it suits a house that should read light and crisp from the street, with white trim and a black or charcoal roof. In shade and on a north elevation it holds a little more gray and stays clean, with no beige creeping in the way a greige does. It sits well with gray stone and white brick and poorly with red or orange brick. Extra White SW 7006 trim keeps it crisp, and its own strip supplies the door color: Peppercorn SW 7674 at the bottom, or Tricorn Black SW 6258.
Try Passive on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Passive onto the walls for an illustrative preview beside your floors and furniture. Confirm the color with a physical sample. Your first 3 renders are free.
Passive vs Repose Gray, Light French Gray, Agreeable Gray and Sea Salt
Repose GrayPassivePassive vs Repose Gray SW 7015
Passive is a touch lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Repose Gray SW 7015 is a touch darker, an LRV of 58 against 60, and warmer: it measures a subtle yellow-beige where Passive measures neutral with a faint green whisper. Side by side Repose Gray is the one with a hint of beige and Passive the silvery one. Choose Repose Gray for brown wood and cream trim, where Passive would look cold; choose Passive for white tile, marble and black hardware, where Repose Gray would look muddy.
Light French GrayPassivePassive vs Light French Gray SW 0055
Passive is noticeably lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs faint yellow-beige. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Light French Gray SW 0055 is the other neutral gray, noticeably darker at an LRV of 53 against 60, and it leans a hair beige where Passive leans a hair green. In practice both read as plain grays, and the choice is depth: Passive keeps a room light and airy, Light French Gray puts visible weight on the wall. In a north-facing room, compare Light French Gray if Passive looks too green; either still needs a sample under the actual lighting.
Agreeable GrayPassivePassive vs Agreeable Gray SW 7029
Passive is a touch darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Agreeable Gray SW 7029 is the same depth, an LRV of 60 for both, so this pair is the cleanest test of warm against cool at one lightness. Agreeable Gray is a greige with a small, clear yellow; Passive is a neutral gray with almost nothing. In a room with warm wood, cream and brass Agreeable Gray belongs and Passive looks cold. In a room with white tile, gray floors and black metal Passive looks clean and Agreeable Gray looks dirty. Sample both against the floor.
Sea SaltPassivePassive vs Sea Salt SW 6204
Passive is noticeably darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle green. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Sea Salt SW 6204 is a touch lighter, an LRV of 63 against 60, and it is a real color where Passive is a gray: a soft green-gray that reads green or blue-green depending on the light. Passive carries a whisper of the same lean, so the two sit well together, Sea Salt in a bathroom and Passive in the hall. Pick Sea Salt when you want the wall to read as a color; pick Passive when Sea Salt looks too green or too blue in your light.
Questions about Passive
Does Passive look blue or green?
It can, faintly, in the wrong light. Passive has a faint greenward swatch lean in our calculation and may look plain gray or blue-green depending on the setting. In a north-facing room beside pink-beige, red-brown or cream finishes the whisper shows and the wall can read faintly blue-green. Warm 2700K to 3000K bulbs and a soft white trim like Nebulous White SW 7063 hide it.
What colors go with Passive?
Sherwin-Williams pairs it with Nebulous White SW 7063 on trim, Shell White SW 8917 as a bright white and Green Onyx SW 9128, a muted green, as the accent. In practice it works with navy, black and charcoal on doors and islands, white and light gray cabinets, nickel or black hardware, white marble, and pale or gray-washed floors. Its own strip runs down through Argos SW 7065 to Peppercorn SW 7674 for darker partners.
What is one shade lighter or darker than Passive?
Passive is the lightest color on its fan-deck strip, so the printed step is only darker: Argos SW 7065, about nine points down. For a lighter version the nearest colors in our swatch comparison are Big Chill SW 7648 and Touch of Grey SW 9549, both a touch lighter, and Reflection SW 7661, noticeably lighter; Zircon SW 7667 is the nearest that is a touch darker.
Is Passive good for a bathroom?
Yes, it is one of the best light grays for a bathroom because it stays clean against white tile and marble where the greiges go muddy. The one rule is the bulb: 3000K keeps it true, 4000K makes it icy, and a windowless bath needs the warmer bulb. A white vanity and a bright white trim such as Extra White SW 7006 keep it crisp; a gray vanity makes the room one flat tone.
Is Passive the same as Reflection?
No, but they are near siblings. Reflection SW 7661 is noticeably lighter, about six points above Passive, with the same near-neutral gray lean in our swatch comparison. On a wall Reflection reads as a gray-white and Passive as a light gray that shows against the trim. Pick Reflection for a small or dim room that should read almost white; pick Passive where the walls should read as 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 Passive, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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Trim, ceiling and coordinating colors for Passive
Sherwin-Williams names Nebulous White SW 7063 as the trim and ceiling white for Passive, a soft white with a gray cast that keeps the pairing quiet, and lists Shell White SW 8917 as the coordinating bright white. Extra White SW 7006 and Pure White SW 7005 are the crisp choices and keep the gray clean. A warm white like Alabaster SW 7008 makes Passive look cooler and a touch blue by contrast, so use it only when that is the intent.
Colors darker than Passive
Colors similar to Passive
Closest matches for Passive in other brands
These are the closest digital colors in our catalog, not equivalent paint formulas or touch-up substitutes. Compare physical samples in the same finish before choosing. See the comparison method.