Ripe Olive
SW 6209 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Ripe Olive
SW 6209
Subtle yellow-leaning green, a green color
- Color family
- Green
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Ripe Olive SW 6209 is a near-black green, the darkest color on the strip that begins with Sea Salt SW 6204. Its LRV of 6 makes it very dark, close to black on a wall. It hides texture, shows dust and needs good light for the green to show at all. Our method reads it as a subtle yellow-leaning green: in daylight it is a deep olive, and by lamplight it is a black with a warm cast. Kitchen cabinets are what people use it for most.
Updated
Is Ripe Olive warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans yellow-green
Undertone
Subtle yellow-leaning green
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Ripe Olive has a small yellow lean and only a little color, and at this depth that little color is nearly all the eye gets. In daylight beside white it reads as a dark olive. In a dim room or beside a true black it reads as a soft black with a green-brown warmth. Its nearest matches are Laurel Woods SW 7749 and Foxhall Green SW 9184, near twins you would struggle to tell apart on a door. Beside Iron Ore SW 7069, a neutral, the olive shows clearly. Beside Pewter Green SW 6208 it looks browner and blacker, since Pewter Green is lighter and grayer. Warm wood and brass bring out the olive, and cool gray tile turns it toward a blackened pine.
Ripe Olive in north, south, east and west light
Ripe Olive needs light more than any other color on its strip, because without it there is nothing to see but black. In a south room the sun brings up a real olive on the lit wall while the far wall stays black-green, and that range is part of the look. In a north room it is a warm black all day. The green shows only on a sample held to the window, so use it there for cabinets, a door or one wall, not four. East and west rooms give a few hours of olive and the rest black. Warm bulbs at 2700K keep the olive cast; cool bulbs turn it a flat charcoal-black.
Watch for
- Reads as plain black in a north room or under cool bulbs; only daylight shows the green
- Shows dust, fingerprints and roller marks more than any mid-tone, so use a matte or eggshell on walls
- Looks olive beside Iron Ore SW 7069 and brown-black beside Pewter Green SW 6208
- Goes muddy next to orange-toned oak in strong sun
Best rooms and surfaces for Ripe Olive
Kitchen cabinets are the use people search for most, and Ripe Olive is a good alternative to black there. It reads black from across the room and olive up close, with none of the coldness of a true black. It works on lowers, an island or a full run in a bright kitchen, against white or cream counters and brass. On four walls it suits a powder room, a study or a dining room where the point is to make the walls disappear. As a bedroom color it works on the wall behind the bed; four walls need a big window and a light ceiling. An accent wall or built-in shelving takes it well. It is wrong for hallways, small windowless bathrooms and any room you want to feel bigger.
Ripe Olive on an exterior
Ripe Olive works outside as a body color on a modern or farmhouse-style house. Full sun lifts it to a readable dark olive and shade takes it to black. It is more often used as a front door, on shutters or as trim against a white, cream or pale gray body. There it reads as a softer black with some green in it. Spare White SW 6203 or Extra White SW 7006 keep the contrast crisp. A whole house in it gets hot in the sun, which is worth knowing before painting every wall.
Try Ripe Olive on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Ripe Olive 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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Ripe Olive vs Pewter Green, Shade-Grown, Laurel Woods and Iron Ore
Pewter GreenRipe OliveRipe Olive vs Pewter Green SW 6208
Ripe Olive is noticeably darker; both have a subtle yellow-leaning green undertone.
Pewter Green SW 6208 is one step up the strip and noticeably lighter, LRV 12 against 6, a subtle green with less yellow. It stays a readable gray-green in most rooms; Ripe Olive is a black with a green cast unless the light is good. Pick Pewter Green for four walls or for cabinets in a normal kitchen. Pick Ripe Olive for a door, an island or a room that should go nearly black.
Shade-GrownRipe OliveRipe Olive vs Shade-Grown SW 6188
Ripe Olive is a touch darker; both have a subtle yellow-leaning green undertone.
Shade-Grown SW 6188 is a touch lighter, LRV 8 against 6, with the same subtle yellow lean. The two are close enough that most people could not pick them apart on a door. Shade-Grown shows a little more green in dim light; Ripe Olive goes to black sooner. Pick Shade-Grown when the room is on the dark side. Pick Ripe Olive when there is plenty of light and you want the deeper of the two.
Ripe Olive vs Laurel Woods SW 7749
Ripe Olive is a touch darker; both have a subtle yellow-leaning green undertone.
Laurel Woods SW 7749 is a near twin, both rounding to an LRV of 6, and by measurement the closest color to Ripe Olive in the line. Sherwin-Williams files it as a neutral rather than a green. On a wall the two are hard to tell apart, Laurel Woods with a hair less green. Pick whichever chip you already have; the difference will not survive the first coat.
Iron OreRipe OliveRipe Olive vs Iron Ore SW 7069
Ripe Olive is a touch lighter; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs none (a true neutral).
Iron Ore SW 7069 is level with Ripe Olive for depth, both rounding to an LRV of 6. It is a true neutral with no lean, a soft black. Ripe Olive is the same black with olive in it, which shows in daylight and beside white. Pick Iron Ore for a black that suits any finish and any room. Pick Ripe Olive when the kitchen or the house has warm wood and brass and a plain black would look cold.
Questions about Ripe Olive
Does Ripe Olive look black?
From a distance and in dim light, yes. Ripe Olive reflects about as much light as Iron Ore SW 7069, so at night or in a north room the two look alike. In daylight and next to white the difference shows: Ripe Olive reads as a dark olive and Iron Ore as a plain black.
What colors go with Ripe Olive?
Sherwin-Williams lists Spare White SW 6203 for trim and Oyster White SW 7637 and Green Onyx SW 9128 as accents. In practice it suits warm wood from white oak to walnut, brass, unlacquered copper, cream and rust. Sea Salt SW 6204, at the top of the same strip, works on the walls around Ripe Olive cabinets.
What is one shade lighter than Ripe Olive?
Pewter Green SW 6208 is the next color up the strip, noticeably lighter at LRV 12. Ripe Olive is the darkest on that strip, so there is no darker step. Among the closest matches, Shade-Grown SW 6188 and Forestwood SW 7730 are each a touch lighter, and Laurel Woods SW 7749 and Foxhall Green SW 9184 are near twins.
Is Ripe Olive a good cabinet color?
Yes, and it is the use it is best known for. Ripe Olive reads black from the doorway and olive at the counter, which gives a kitchen depth without the flatness of a true black. Use a satin or semi-gloss so the doors catch light, brass or aged bronze hardware, and a white or cream wall. Under cool under-cabinet strips it turns plain black, so warm bulbs matter.
Is Ripe Olive a good front door color?
It is a strong front door color for a white, cream or pale gray house. There it reads as a black with warmth in it rather than a flat black. Semi-gloss or high gloss shows the green; a flat finish hides it. Brass hardware suits it, and it pairs with a surround in Spare White SW 6203.
Is Ripe Olive a good bedroom color?
On one wall, yes; on four, only with a big window. Ripe Olive behind a bed makes a headboard wall that reads as a deep green by day and a warm black at night. It takes cream or white bedding and warm wood. Four walls of it in an average bedroom read black by mid-afternoon, so keep the ceiling a light white and the bulbs warm.
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 Ripe Olive, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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