Retreat
SW 6207 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Retreat
SW 6207
Subtle green, a green color
- Color family
- Green
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Retreat SW 6207 is a muted gray-green, deeper than a sage and well short of a forest green. Its LRV of 21 makes it dark, enough to read as a statement on all four walls. Our method reads it as a subtle green with only a trace of yellow, so it sits between gray and green and swings toward whichever the room pushes it. People use it on kitchen cabinets, siding and front doors, and in bedrooms meant to feel closed in.
Updated
Is Retreat warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans green
Undertone
Subtle green
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
By measurement Retreat holds a little green and a trace of yellow, and not much of either, so it is a gray-green rather than a green. That small dose of color is what moves. Beside a true gray such as Attitude Gray SW 7060 the green comes forward and it looks clearly sage. Beside Dried Thyme SW 6186, the closest page color at the same depth, it looks grayer and cooler, because Dried Thyme carries a noticeable yellow lean where Retreat's is a trace. White trim sharpens the green, warm oak and brass pull it toward olive, and cool gray tile pulls it toward slate. Taiga SW 9654 is its closest catalog match, a close sibling with the same quiet green.
Retreat in north, south, east and west light
Retreat wants daylight. In a south room it reads as a soft sage all day and stays clearly green. A north room is where it goes gray. Weak, cool light drains the little yellow it has, and the walls read slate, a charcoal with a green cast. In a north room keep it to cabinets or one wall unless that moody effect is the goal. East rooms give sage in the morning and gray-green by afternoon, a wider swing than most colors. West rooms run gray early and olive late. Warm bulbs at 2700K to 3000K hold the sage; cooler bulbs push it gray.
Watch for
- Goes slate gray on four walls of a dim north room; the green needs daylight to show
- Reads cool and gray next to Dried Thyme SW 6186 or any olive, and green next to a plain gray
- Under cool white LED strips on cabinets the green drops out and the doors read charcoal
- Orange-toned oak floors push it toward olive; white oak or a gray floor keeps it sage
Best rooms and surfaces for Retreat
Kitchen cabinets are the indoor use people ask about most, and Retreat earns it. It is dark enough to read as a color against a white wall and gray enough to sit with marble, quartz or plain white tile. Pair it with a light wall such as Spare White SW 6203 and brass or black hardware. On all four walls it suits a bedroom, a study or a dining room with a good window, where the closed-in feel is the point. A bathroom works with daylight; a windowless one under cool LEDs turns it flat and gray. A front door or the wall behind a bed takes it with no risk. It is too dark for a hallway or a whole house, and orange-toned wood floors push it olive.
Retreat on an exterior
Sherwin-Williams sells Retreat for exterior use, and siding is where much of the demand for it sits. In full sun it lightens a step or two and reads as a soft gray-green. On the shaded side of the same house it holds closer to the chip and looks deeper and grayer, so walk around a sample at noon. Trim in Spare White SW 6203 or Extra White SW 7006 gives crisp lines. It also works as a front door on a white, cream or light gray house, where it reads as a quiet green rather than a black.
Try Retreat on your own walls
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Retreat vs Evergreen Fog, Pewter Green and Dried Thyme
Evergreen FogRetreatRetreat vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130
Retreat is noticeably darker; undertone subtle green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is the comparison people search most, and the two are not as close as the names suggest. Evergreen Fog is noticeably lighter, LRV 30 against Retreat's 21, and carries a subtle yellow lean that keeps it on the sage side. Retreat has almost no yellow and reads grayer and cooler beside it. Pick Evergreen Fog for four walls of an ordinary room; pick Retreat for cabinets, a door or a room that should feel enclosed.
Pewter GreenRetreatRetreat vs Pewter Green SW 6208
Retreat is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Pewter Green SW 6208 sits one step below Retreat on the same strip and is much darker, LRV 12 against 21. Both are subtle greens with little color, so the difference is depth more than tint. Pewter Green goes to near-charcoal in dim light, while Retreat stays a readable gray-green. Choose Pewter Green when an island or a door should read almost black with a green cast. Choose Retreat when the green should still be visible from across the room.
Dried ThymeRetreatRetreat vs Dried Thyme SW 6186
Retreat is a touch lighter; undertone subtle green vs noticeable yellow-leaning green.
Dried Thyme SW 6186 matches Retreat for depth, both rounding to an LRV of 21, which is why the search is about tint rather than lightness. Dried Thyme carries a noticeable yellow lean and reads as an olive. Retreat's lean is a trace and it reads as a gray-green with a cool edge. Side by side, Dried Thyme looks warmer and browner, Retreat grayer. Pick Dried Thyme for warm wood and cream; pick Retreat for white, black metal and gray stone.
Questions about Retreat
Is Retreat green or gray?
Both, depending on the room. By measurement Retreat is a green with very little color in it. In strong daylight and next to plain grays it reads sage; in dim or north light and next to olives it reads slate gray. To keep it green, give it daylight, white trim and a warm bulb at night.
What colors go with Retreat?
Sherwin-Williams puts Spare White SW 6203 on the trim and ceiling and lists Origami White SW 7636 and Verdigreen SW 9042 as its accents. In practice it also sits well with white oak, cream linen, black or brass hardware and gray-veined stone, and it fights orange-toned oak and pink-beige tile.
What is one shade lighter than Retreat?
Acacia Haze SW 9132 is the next color up the strip, noticeably lighter at LRV 32, and the pick when four walls of Retreat feel heavy. One step down the strip is Pewter Green SW 6208. Among the closest matches, Willowleaf SW 9649 is a touch lighter and Taiga SW 9654 is a near twin at the same depth.
Is Retreat a good cabinet color?
Yes, and it is one of the more forgiving dark cabinet greens because it has so little yellow. It does not fight a cool quartz or a gray-veined marble the way an olive can. In a small kitchen put it on the lowers or the island with white uppers, and check the doors under the under-cabinet lights, which are often cool enough to turn it charcoal.
Is Retreat a good bedroom color?
In a bedroom with a decent window, yes. On all four walls it makes the room feel closed in and quiet, which is what most people painting a bedroom this dark are after. Keep the ceiling light, Spare White SW 6203 in a flat finish, and choose warm bedside bulbs so the walls read green at night rather than gray.
Is Retreat a good front door color?
It is a safe one. Retreat is dark enough to anchor an entry but not so dark that it reads black from the street. Its gray side keeps it calm on a white, cream, light gray or brick house. Use a satin or semi-gloss so the door catches light, with brass or matte black hardware.
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 Retreat, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
- Made with real paint
- Delivered next day
- Peels off clean
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