Smoky Blue
SW 7604 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Smoky Blue
SW 7604
Noticeable blue, a cool color
- Color family
- Neutral
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Smoky Blue SW 7604 is a dusty, mid-dark blue with an LRV of 15, dark enough to feel like a decision on four walls and right at home on cabinets and doors. It is the one real blue on an otherwise gray strip, and our method reads it as a noticeable blue with a little green in it: denim gone soft, not navy. People use it in bedrooms and bathrooms, on kitchen cabinets, on front doors and on exteriors.
Updated
Is Smoky Blue warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans blue
Undertone
Noticeable blue
A visible lean you see in daylight.
Smoky Blue has real blue in it, more than any of its strip mates, and a smaller dose of green that keeps the blue from looking sharp. That mix is the dusty, smoky look: a blue that has been grayed and softened a step toward teal. Beside a crisp white trim it reads as a clear slate blue. Beside a warm white or oak floors the blue deepens; beside gray tile or a charcoal sofa the green whisper shows and it can look a shade teal. Waterloo SW 9141 is the nearest match, a touch darker and a hair greener; Slate Tile SW 7624 is the same depth with far less blue; Distance SW 6243 is the same depth with the green taken out, a cleaner, cooler blue.
Smoky Blue in north, south, east and west light
In a north-facing room Smoky Blue goes cooler and duller, closer to a slate gray than a blue, and on four walls of a small north room it can feel heavy by mid-afternoon; sample the darkest wall and plan on warm bulbs before committing there. South light is where the blue is at its clearest and the wall matches the chip. East rooms show a soft blue in the morning that cools through the day; west rooms look flat until the late sun deepens the blue. Bulbs at 3000K keep it true; 2700K warms it toward teal, 4000K sharpens it toward a colder blue.
Watch for
- Reads slate gray rather than blue in a dim north room
- Can look a shade teal beside gray tile, charcoal upholstery or 2700K bulbs
- Deepens toward navy in a room with one small window
Best rooms and surfaces for Smoky Blue
Smoky Blue is a bedroom color first, and the kind of blue that makes a bedroom feel settled rather than cold: four walls, white bedding, oak or walnut and brass. It is also a strong cabinet color, on a kitchen island, lower cabinets or a bathroom vanity, where a satin finish gives it depth and white walls and a light counter keep the room bright. In a bathroom it suits white tile and marble-look surfaces; with gray tile it drifts teal. A living room needs good daylight for it, and it is at its best there as an accent wall or on built-ins. It is too dark for a whole house or a hallway without windows. On a front door it reads as a friendly, muted blue that suits white, gray and brick.
Smoky Blue on an exterior
Smoky Blue is sold for exterior use and reads well on a house: in full sun it lightens to a soft slate blue, and in shade it deepens toward a muted navy, so a north-facing front looks darker than the chip. It is a gentler exterior blue than Naval SW 6244, lighter and grayer, and it sits well with white trim in Extra White SW 7006, natural cedar and gray stone. As a front door against white or light gray siding it reads as clear blue without shouting.
Try Smoky Blue on your own walls
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Smoky Blue vs Waterloo, Distance, Slate Tile and Naval
WaterlooSmoky BlueSmoky Blue vs Waterloo SW 9141
Smoky Blue is a touch lighter; both have a noticeable blue undertone.
Waterloo SW 9141 is the color searched against Smoky Blue most, and the two are close siblings: Waterloo is a touch darker, an LRV of 13 to Smoky Blue's 15, and a hair greener, so it reads a shade more teal and a shade moodier. In most rooms the difference is small. Waterloo suits cabinets and a dark accent wall; Smoky Blue is the one to put on four bedroom walls.
Smoky Blue vs Distance SW 6243
Smoky Blue is a touch darker; both have a noticeable blue undertone.
Distance SW 6243 sits at the same depth, an LRV of 15 for both, and it is the cleaner blue: measured, it has a little more color and only a trace of green, where Smoky Blue carries a clear green whisper. On a wall Distance reads as a straight slate blue and Smoky Blue reads dusty. Choose Distance for a cooler, crisper room; choose Smoky Blue for a softer, more weathered blue.
Slate TileSmoky BlueSmoky Blue vs Slate Tile SW 7624
Smoky Blue is a touch darker; undertone noticeable blue vs subtle blue.
Slate Tile SW 7624 is the color next to it on the strip, the same depth at an LRV of 15, with the blue turned well down: it reads as a dark gray that leans blue, where Smoky Blue reads as a blue. People shortlist them for cabinets and exteriors. Beside gray tile and stone, Slate Tile is the safer of the two; when the point is the blue, Smoky Blue is.
NavalSmoky BlueSmoky Blue vs Naval SW 6244
Smoky Blue is much lighter; both have a noticeable blue undertone.
Naval SW 6244 is much darker, an LRV of 5 to Smoky Blue's 15, and a straighter blue with no green in it, so it reads as navy where Smoky Blue reads as a dusty slate blue. Naval on four walls is a dark room; Smoky Blue on four walls is a moody one that still shows its color. Go with Naval for a door or an island that should read navy; go with Smoky Blue for a bedroom or bathroom.
Questions about Smoky Blue
Is Smoky Blue a good bedroom color?
Yes, it is the room it is searched for most. Four walls of Smoky Blue make a bedroom feel enclosed and calm without going as dark as a navy, and white bedding, a white ceiling and warm wood keep it from feeling cold. In a north-facing bedroom it reads more slate than blue; 2700K to 3000K bulbs bring the blue back at night.
Does Smoky Blue work on kitchen cabinets?
It does, and it is one of the more forgiving dark blues for cabinets because the gray in it hides fingerprints and small chips better than a clean blue. Use a satin or semi-gloss, pair it with white or warm white walls, a light counter and brass or black hardware, and keep it to the island or the lowers in a kitchen without much daylight.
What colors go with Smoky Blue?
Sherwin-Williams pairs it with Ice Cube SW 6252 on trim and ceilings and names Egret White SW 7570, a warm white, and Yellow Bird SW 9022, a clear yellow, as accents; the yellow is the one that makes the blue look its bluest. In practice it also sits with oak, walnut, brass, tan leather and a pale blue-gray such as Upward SW 6239 on adjoining walls.
Is Smoky Blue a good front door color?
Yes. At a door's size it reads as a clear, friendly blue rather than the dusty slate it becomes on a wall, and a semi-gloss finish brightens it. It suits white, cream and light gray siding and red or tan brick, with brass or black hardware. Against a dark gray house it disappears; there a lighter blue such as Upward SW 6239 shows better.
What is one shade lighter than Smoky Blue?
On its own strip the next step up is Wall Street SW 7665 and then Steely Gray SW 7664, both grays with only a hint of blue, because Smoky Blue is the strip's one real blue and its darkest color. Among its closest matches, Stargazer SW 9635 is a touch lighter and grayer, and Labradorite SW 7619 is a clear step lighter in the same blue family.
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 Smoky Blue, 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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