Passive

SW 7064 · Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams

Passive

SW 7064

Hex code

#CBCCC9

Light reflectance value (LRV)

59.9Light, brightens without washing out

0 black100 white

Undertone

Faint yellow-leaning green, a true neutral

Color family: Neutral
Sold for: Interior and exterior

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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.

Updated September 2, 2026

Is Passive warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

too close to gray to lean

Undertone

Faint yellow-leaning green

graysaturated

Barely off gray.

Passive is as close to a plain gray as the light neutrals get: by measurement 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. There is no red in it, so it never goes mauve. 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 north, south, east and west light

Passive is one of the safer light grays for a north-facing room, with a caveat. With almost no pigment to shift, north light makes it a little darker and cooler and nothing more; the caveat is that the faint green lean is most visible there, so beside warm finishes a north wall can look faintly blue-green. 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 so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Passive vs Repose Gray, Light French Gray, Agreeable Gray and Sea Salt

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray SW 7015, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Passive vs Repose Gray SW 7015

Passive is a touch lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.

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.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Light French Gray SW 0055, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Passive vs Light French Gray SW 0055

Passive is noticeably lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs faint yellow-beige.

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 room Light French Gray is the safer of the two, since it has no green to bring out; in a bright room either works.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Passive vs Agreeable Gray SW 7029

Passive is a touch darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.

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.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW 6204, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Passive vs Sea Salt SW 6204

Passive is noticeably darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle green.

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 whisper of green and no blue by measurement, so in a bright room with white trim it reads as a plain light gray. 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 by measurement 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 by measurement. 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.