Softened Green
SW 6177 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Softened Green
SW 6177
Noticeable yellow-leaning green, a green color
- Color family
- Green
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Softened Green SW 6177 is a light sage with a clear yellow side. It reads as a color from across the room and never as a gray. Its LRV of 49 sits at the light-medium line, comfortable on four walls with good windows and moodier in a small or dim room. Our method reads it as a noticeable yellow-leaning green, and it carries enough color that it does not slide toward blue the way Sea Salt SW 6204 does. Bedrooms and living rooms are its usual homes.
Updated
Is Softened Green warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans yellow-green
Undertone
Noticeable yellow-leaning green
A visible lean you see in daylight.
Softened Green is a green with a noticeable yellow lean and enough color to read as a green in any room. That makes it the odd one out among the pale sages: the others tip gray or blue, and this one tips yellow. Next to Soft Sage SW 9647, at the same depth but filed as a neutral, it looks plainly green and warm. Next to Clary Sage SW 6178, one step down its strip, it looks lighter and a shade yellower. Beside a cool white or gray tile the yellow shows most and it can read celery. Beside warm oak, cream and brass it settles into a soft sage. Grassland SW 6163 is a close sibling at the same depth.
Softened Green in north, south, east and west light
Softened Green is the light green in this family that a north room does the least harm to. Cool north light takes some of the yellow away and leaves a calm gray-sage, still clearly green and never blue. That makes it a good north-room pick where Sea Salt SW 6204 or Rainwashed SW 6211 would turn blue. South rooms are the ones to watch: strong sun brings the yellow forward, and by afternoon it can read closer to celery next to warm floors. East rooms are yellow-green in the morning and sage later; west rooms the reverse. Warm bulbs push the yellow up at night, so a 3000K bulb suits it better than 2700K.
Watch for
- Reads celery next to warm oak floors in a sunny south room
- Looks plainly green beside Soft Sage SW 9647 or any gray-green, and yellow beside a cool white
- A cream or yellow-leaning white on the trim doubles the yellow; a neutral white balances it
- Deepens a step on four walls under a low ceiling
Best rooms and surfaces for Softened Green
Bedrooms and living rooms are what people ask about, and both suit it. On four walls of a bedroom Softened Green reads as a soft sage that takes white, oatmeal and pale wood. It is one of the few light greens that still looks green in a north-facing bedroom. In a living room it works on every wall when the trim is a neutral white, and it pairs with rattan, linen and brown leather. Bathrooms take it well as long as the tile is white or gray rather than cream. It is a good nursery color, calm without being pale. On kitchen cabinets it reads as a sage with visible yellow, better with butcher block or warm quartz than with cool marble. Too much of it in a small windowless room turns the whole space yellow-green.
Softened Green on an exterior
Softened Green is rated for exterior use and reads as a pale sage on siding, lighter and yellower in full sun and nearer a true sage in shade. It suits a cottage or a ranch with white trim and works with brick, stone and wood accents. Sagey SW 6175 or Extra White SW 7006 keeps the trim clean; a cream trim makes the whole house read yellow. For a door against it, Artichoke SW 6179 or Oakmoss SW 6180, from the lower half of its strip, are the natural partners.
Try Softened Green on your own walls
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Softened Green vs Clary Sage, Liveable Green, Soft Sage and Evergreen Fog
Clary SageSoftened GreenSoftened Green vs Clary Sage SW 6178
Softened Green is noticeably lighter; both have a noticeable yellow-leaning green undertone.
Clary Sage SW 6178 is one step down the strip and noticeably darker, LRV 41 against 49, with the same noticeable yellow lean. The two are nearly one color at two depths. Clary Sage reads as a fuller sage that holds its own in a dim room; Softened Green stays lighter and a little yellower. Pick Clary Sage for a living room or cabinets where the green should read from across the room. Pick Softened Green for a bedroom, a nursery or a room with a low ceiling.
Softened Green vs Liveable Green SW 6176
Softened Green is much darker; both have a noticeable yellow-leaning green undertone.
Liveable Green SW 6176 is the top of the strip and noticeably lighter, LRV 61 against 49, with the same yellow lean. It is the pale version of Softened Green rather than a different green. On a wall it reads as a tinted off-white with a green cast. Pick Liveable Green for a whole house or a small bathroom that should stay bright. Pick Softened Green when the walls should read as a real green.
Soft SageSoftened GreenSoftened Green vs Soft Sage SW 9647
Softened Green is a touch darker; undertone noticeable yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Soft Sage SW 9647 sits at nearly the same depth, LRV 50 against 49, and is one of Softened Green's closest matches by measurement. Sherwin-Williams files it as a neutral: the same idea with most of the yellow taken out. Side by side, Soft Sage is the gray-green and Softened Green is the green. Pick Soft Sage for a room with cool tile and gray floors; pick Softened Green for warm wood and cream.
Evergreen FogSoftened GreenSoftened Green vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130
Softened Green is much lighter; undertone noticeable yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Evergreen Fog SW 9130 is much darker, LRV 30 against 49, and its yellow lean is subtle where Softened Green's is noticeable. It reads as a gray-green and Softened Green as a clear sage. They pair well, Softened Green on the walls and Evergreen Fog on an island or a vanity. On their own, Evergreen Fog is the moodier pick for cabinets and a study, Softened Green the lighter one for bedrooms.
Questions about Softened Green
Does Softened Green look yellow?
It can. Softened Green carries a noticeable yellow lean, and strong afternoon sun, warm oak floors or a cream trim bring that yellow forward until the wall reads celery. In north light and beside a neutral white it settles into a plain sage. If yellow is the worry, choose a cooler white for the trim and a 3000K bulb rather than a warmer one.
What colors go with Softened Green?
Sagey SW 6175 is the white Sherwin-Williams puts on trim beside Softened Green; Queen Anne's Lace SW 6420 and Dirty Martini SW 9119 are its listed accents. In practice it takes white, oatmeal, rattan, brown leather, brass and mid-tone oak. A darker green from its own strip, Artichoke SW 6179 or Oakmoss SW 6180, works on a door or a built-in.
What is one shade darker than Softened Green?
One step down strip 213 is Clary Sage SW 6178, noticeably darker at LRV 41; one step up is Liveable Green SW 6176 at 61. Among the closest matches, Cascade Green SW 0066 is a touch darker, and Soft Sage SW 9647 and Grassland SW 6163 are near siblings at nearly the same depth.
Is Softened Green a good bedroom color?
Yes, and it is one of the few light greens that stays green in a north-facing bedroom instead of turning blue. On four walls it reads as a soft sage that takes white, oatmeal and pale wood. Use a neutral white on the trim and ceiling, and a 3000K bedside bulb; a very warm bulb pushes the walls yellow at night.
Is Softened Green a good bathroom color?
It is, with one condition: keep cream out. Against white or gray tile and chrome, Softened Green reads as a clean sage and its yellow side stays quiet. Against cream tile or a cream vanity the yellow doubles and the room goes celery. A cool-white vanity bulb suits it better than a warm one.
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 Softened Green, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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- Delivered next day
- Peels off clean
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