Stardew
SW 9138 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Stardew
SW 9138
Subtle blue, a cool color
- Color family
- Blue
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
A blue-gray that many people read as gray first, Sherwin-Williams Stardew SW 9138 has an LRV of 43, deep enough to feel moody in a dim room and comfortable in one with good windows. By measurement its green and blue are nearly equal and both faint, so the wall reads as a soft, sea-tinted gray rather than a blue. It is popular in bedrooms and bathrooms and, increasingly, on kitchen cabinets.
Updated
Is Stardew warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans blue
Undertone
Subtle blue
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Stardew has just enough color to count as a blue, and only just: measured, the green edges out the blue by a hair and both are weak, so on a wall it behaves like a gray with a sea-glass tint. That is why it shifts so much with its neighbors. Beside a crisp white trim it looks blue-gray; beside a warm white or cream it looks bluer and cooler; beside warm oak or a terracotta accent the green comes forward and it reads almost aqua. Its close siblings Breezy SW 7616 and Uncertain Gray SW 6234 sit within a whisker of it, and Jubilee SW 6248 is a touch lighter and a touch bluer. None of them has enough color to read as a clear blue, Stardew included.
Stardew in north, south, east and west light
In a north-facing room Stardew loses its green and goes flat blue-gray, a color that can feel like a cloudy day on four walls; it still works there, but only with warm bulbs and warm wood to steady it, so sample the darkest wall first. South light is where the green shows and the wall looks most like the chip. East rooms get a soft aqua-gray in the morning that cools by afternoon; west rooms look dull until the late sun warms them. Bulbs at 3000K keep the balance; 2700K tips it green, 4000K tips it blue and cold.
Watch for
- Goes flat, cloudy blue-gray in a north room without warm wood or warm bulbs
- Reads almost aqua next to terracotta, brick or orange-toned oak
- Looks bluer and colder against cream or warm white trim
Best rooms and surfaces for Stardew
Stardew is a bedroom color and a bathroom color before anything else. On four bedroom walls it is deep enough to feel enclosed and restful without going dark, and it takes white bedding and walnut or oak well. In a bathroom it holds up beside white tile and marble-look surfaces; pair it with gray tile and cool LEDs and it turns cold. On kitchen cabinets it is one of the easier blue-grays to live with, because the low color reads as a soft gray from across the room and shows its sea tint only up close; a white wall and brass or black hardware finish it. A living room needs good daylight for it, and a north-facing living room is the one place to think twice. As an accent wall it reads simply as gray.
Stardew on an exterior
Sherwin-Williams sells Stardew for exterior use, and it is chosen for siding for the reason it is chosen inside: it reads as a gray with a hint of sea color rather than as a blue house. Full sun lightens it and brings the green forward; on a shaded wall it settles into a plain blue-gray. Crisp white trim such as Extra White SW 7006 keeps it from looking washed out, and a dark door in Waterloo SW 9141, from the bottom of its own strip, ties the scheme together.
Try Stardew on your own walls
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Stardew vs Debonair, Krypton, Upward and Sea Salt
DebonairStardewStardew vs Debonair SW 9139
Stardew is noticeably lighter; both have a subtle blue undertone.
Debonair SW 9139 is the next color down Stardew's strip and clearly darker, an LRV of 34 to Stardew's 43. It also carries more color: more green and more blue, so it reads as a real blue-gray where Stardew reads as a gray with a tint. Choose Debonair for a room with big windows that can take a deeper wall; choose Stardew where the room is smaller or the light is weaker.
Stardew vs Krypton SW 6247
Stardew is noticeably darker; undertone subtle blue vs faint blue.
People search Stardew against Krypton SW 6247, and the two are closer in feel than in depth: Krypton is a step lighter at LRV 52, and its blue and green are even fainter, so it reads as a plain cool gray. Stardew shows its sea tint where Krypton shows none. Krypton is the gray that will never be read as a color; Stardew is for when a hint of blue-green is the point.
UpwardStardewStardew vs Upward SW 6239
Stardew is much darker; both have a subtle blue undertone.
Upward SW 6239 is noticeably lighter, LRV 57 against 43, and it is a bluer color: blue leads, green follows, and the wall reads as a soft blue. Stardew flips that order and reads as a gray with green in it. Upward suits a light, airy bedroom or bath; Stardew suits a room you want moodier, or cabinets that should read gray from across the room.
Sea SaltStardewStardew vs Sea Salt SW 6204
Stardew is much darker; undertone subtle blue vs subtle green.
Sea Salt SW 6204 is far lighter, an LRV of 63 to Stardew's 43, and it is a green with a trace of yellow rather than a blue-green gray. The two are often shortlisted together for bathrooms. Sea Salt gives you a pale, spa-like wall that may flip blue in cool light; Stardew gives you depth and a steadier gray, better where the room is bright and you want the walls to recede.
Questions about Stardew
Does Stardew work on kitchen cabinets?
Yes, and it is one of the most searched uses for it. Because the color is faint, Stardew cabinets read as a soft gray from across the kitchen and show their blue-green only up close, which makes them easier to live with than a clear blue. Pair them with a white wall, a light counter and brass or black hardware, and use a satin or semi-gloss so the color does not go chalky.
Is Stardew a good bedroom color?
It is, especially in a bedroom with a decent window. At an LRV of 43 it makes the room feel enclosed and calm rather than dark, and white bedding, oak or walnut and a soft white trim like Mountain Air SW 6224 keep it from feeling cold. In a small north-facing bedroom it can turn cloudy; warm bulbs and a warm rug fix most of that.
Does Stardew look blue or green?
Both, depending on what sits next to it. Measured, its green and blue are nearly equal and both faint, so the surroundings decide: warm white trim, cream and cool bulbs push it blue; terracotta, brick, warm wood and south light pull the green forward. On its own against a crisp white it reads as a blue-gray with a hint of sea green.
What colors go with Stardew?
Sherwin-Williams pairs it with Mountain Air SW 6224 on trim and ceilings and names Patience SW 7555, a soft warm white, and Coral Clay SW 9005, a muted terracotta, as accents; the coral is the one that makes Stardew look its most sea-green. In practice it also sits well with walnut, white oak, brass and a deep blue such as Waterloo SW 9141 on a door or an island.
Is Stardew good for a bathroom?
Yes. It is deep enough to give a small bathroom some presence and gray enough to sit with white tile, marble-look counters and chrome. The trap is a bathroom with gray tile and cool LED bulbs, where it turns cold and flat; keep the bulbs at 3000K and add a warm wood vanity or brass fixtures to balance it.
What is one shade lighter than Stardew?
Niebla Azul SW 9137 is the next step up its fan-deck strip, a lighter version of the same blue-green gray, and Lullaby SW 9136 is the step above that. One step darker is Debonair SW 9139. Among its closest matches, Jubilee SW 6248 is a touch lighter and Mineral SW 9637 a touch lighter and grayer.
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 Stardew, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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