Sherwin Williams Silver Strand – Undertones, LRV and More
Oh, this one has haunted me for a while. Sherwin Williams Silver Strand, the gray that SUGGESTS one thing, yet turns around and does something else. But before we get into what it does and doesn’t do, let’s talk about what it IS.
Sherwin Williams Silver Strand
Silver Strand is a light, but not ‘washed-out’, gray paint colour – some MIGHT even call it a light green. But things are not always what they seem…
I’ve been watching this colour for a few years now on Pinterest and have been recommending it to my e-design clients here and there. So, when it came time to paint our master bedroom and ensuite bathroom for the sake of resale/mass appeal, it was my number 1 choice (and yes, we are selling – so exciting!).
Our master bedroom is south facing with a touch of eastern influence (tons of belly dancing), so it’s basically a warm and bright room all day.
Here’s what it looked like when we bought the house…heavy, dense and drab.
Here it is in the in-between phase…
The previous chocolate brown choice (shown above) was not Tim’s fave (and was super NOT trendy), but I loved it and that was what mattered because IT’S ALL ABOUT ME. Well, in our bedroom it is, so the brown stayed for a good year or 2 and Tim survived.
And here it is now (thanks to Details Painting, my uber-fave)…
And I’ll admit, that while the Silver Strand is generally speaking ‘not ma jam‘, I do love the soft, casual look of it. I also didn’t want to change our gold drapes, light fixture, accent chair, lamps, etc…so Silver Strand was a great option to integrate those pieces, yet give the room a fresh new face.
Anyway, let’s get back to this colour review.
The Undertones of Silver Strand
You will hear from some experts that colour is NOT subjective. And they are right, the colour itself is NOT subjective, but how it LOOKS is HUGELY subjective based on who’s looking at it! My Mom walked in and said, ‘oooh, what a beautiful gray/green’. I see a bit of blue, but really, I see mostly green.’ I asked Tim what colour HE thought it was (you guys KNOW what a chatter-box he is…), and he said, ‘blue/green’. Thanks for comin’ out Tim. When I walk in, I see a gray with a minor blue backdrop and a wee wink o’ green – so really, the OPPOSITE of my Mom.
You can also expect a big shift depending on your exposure, the time of day, your furnishings AND the interior lighting.
Check out Silver Strand in this photo, the colour has risen up considerably…
And in the master bathroom (which happens to be east facing), look at how grayed-out it looks…
And on a sunny morning, look at the reflection in the mirror – GREEN! Stuff like this excites me to no end (I’m easily excitable though…).
So I’ll say it again and forever and ever amen – paint colours are TOTALLY subjective.
Now when it comes to Silver Strand, it will generally show up to the party as a beautiful grayed-out green, but it can also EASILY flex into the blue range, to the point where one could call it a gray/blue/green blend. Why? A lot of grays do this because of the type of black that is used in their recipe, which can lean slightly to the blue side. So, let’s put some limitations on this colour so that you aren’t disappointed with the results…
- If you don’t like grays that can have a blue undertone, you probably won’t like this colour
- If you don’t like grays that can have a green undertone, you definitely won’t like this colour
- If you LOVE grays that have cool, flexible and versatile undertones – this is an UBER fab choice
- If you love grays that are NOT ‘traditional grays’ and pick up blue/green undertones – you’re going to love it
The LRV of Silver Strand
Silver Strand has an LRV of 59, which makes it a light – but not necessarily light and ‘fresh’ colour choice. My magical LRV number is 62 and Silver Strands falls about 25% shy of that – and I can tell as it has just a wink more contrast with white trim and shows up slightly darker as an overall wall colour, especially when compared to a soft, cool gray like BM Gray Owl or the soft warmth of BM Collingwood.
Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Paint Colour with LRV
A Closer Look
Like every colour on earth, Silver Strand changes its tune throughout the day. Our bedroom is south facing, leaning just a wee willy wink to the east. So while the morning light does cut the warmth back a bit, generally speaking, our bedroom is bright and warm looking throughout the day (and super hotsy-totsy at nite – wink wink).
Silver Strand in the mid-morning, sunny day
In the above photo…
- You can see in the middle of the wall how the natural light TOTALLY washes this colour out, which is what happens when light-ish colours are hit with a solid dose of natural, direct sunlight. If this window were bigger, the effect would cover more wall space
- In the upper portion of the photo, you can see how the LRV of 59 makes it a bit darker than you might think a ‘light’ paint colour would go, in fact, it reminds me a bit of BM Stonington Gray in its storminess
- Compared to some of the other photos on this page, it seems pretty darned gray – with very little undertone at all
Read more: The 10 Best Gray and Greige Paint Colours
And in the above photo…
- When the sun isn’t shining directly on the wall but is still offering some residual light, you can see how everything evens out a bit more. This is more or less what I see on a daily basis
I also had one of my Online Colour Consulting clients use Silver Strand in her bedroom and it turned out GORGEOUS!
And it’s a great example as where my bedroom was south-facing, hers was north/north-east facing, so you can see how hard it leans into the blue in this exposure!
So there you have it, Silver Strand. Hopefully, these tips helped you figure out if it’s the best gray paint colour for you!
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Chat soon,
I am looking forward to my color consult!
I’m looking forward to it too – I’m liking the look of that stone fireplace of yours!
Hope you talk about SW Silvermist sometime. Not very good looking on the color sheet but is a super chameleon on the wall. Silver Strand on steroids! Thanks as always for the post.
You are SO right, Silvermist IS like Silver Strand – just totally jacked up! Mad love for it…
In my northwest facing dining room it looked purple-ish so i went a completely different direction. You have opened my eyes to undertones and how the direction a room faces can make or break a paint color. I will use this color in my SE facing bedroom and it’ll be perfect!
I suggested this color to a friend about a year ago for her entire main floor. It looks fantastic in all the rooms, looking more blue gray than green. We also used it in one of the showrooms where I work and it looks perfect there as well. We used a lot of galvanized, wood and black accents. Again, it leans more gray blue than green. It also changes as the daylight wanes. Much richer as the sunlight fades. A beautiful color. It definitely is a color. It has been well received by most. I really wasn’t sure exactly how it would present, but it definitely did not disappoint. Most people find it soothing. Again, ilike you stated, if you’re not into the blue-green gray deal then keep looking lol. Thanks for another informative post. Best of luck on the move!
I can’t help but notice how your rearranged the furniture. You used to have the bed in between the windows, but then moved it to the way the previous owners had it. Any particular reason?
That color looks great in there! I love the way that you used the gold accents with it. Very soothing space.
You recommend Silver Strand three years ago for our master bedroom and I still love it every time I walk into the room!
Hey Holly! It is so pretty isn’t it! And like I said, it’s not really ‘ma jam’ as I’m not so much into the cooler lighter end of things, but I have to say it’s TOTALLY growing on me!
Hi Kylie, I wanted to say how much I love your blog. It is so informative and entertaining. I have learned so much from it.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you Meredith! I’m glad you’re enjoying it 😉
This could just be the one for our MBR as well. Love how it pairs with the gold-beige rug, which we have too. I’ve been wanting to find a grey that will work with that tone and was willing to go a little bluer in the MBR. Thanks Kylie!
Where did you find the round silver framed mirror, it’s beautiful? I like how you kept the same curtains and it goes well with the brown toned carpeting.
Thank you Mark! I’ve actually had that mirror for a few years no, I’m SURE it would have been Home Sense (as that’s really the only place to shop in Nanaimo!).
Hi Kylie!
I did my living room in Magnetic Gray (one shade darker than Silver Strand). My living room windows that face the north and east. It looks totally blue at all times of day (no hint of green, and I don’t see any gray – even at night). Lighting is so bizarre!
Your bedroom looks great! Curious, with all the different paint colors you have (and had in your home), do you change the ceiling color and trim color? Do you have the same ceiling color and trim throughout your home? Which one(s) did you use?
Also, I can’t tell from the pictures, do you have some sort of blinds on your bedroom/bathroom windows?
Can’t wait to see what you do with you next home – is flipping homes your thing?
Christy
Hey Christy! Ooo, I do love Magnetic Gray and that doesn’t surprise me as it’s basically like a slightly darker version of Silver Strand – they are ninjas!
And yes, it’s like a revolving door or colours around here with paint colour and there are actually 3 things I rarely change – trim, ceilings and closets! I would die if I did. Now when we bought our house, all of the closets were crazy colours – so I’ve had them all painted neutral at some point and now, I just leave the closets when I do the rooms. All the trims were painted (a few years ago now) BM Cloud White, so that I didn’t have to mess around when I changed wall colour as Cloud White is so versatile and seemed a decent match to the ceiling (which I’ll never know the colour of as it’s original). The EXCEPTIONS are the girls rooms and my office, where I did ‘white’ trim so that everything was super clean and crisp looking, as their wall colours are a bit different from the main part of the house.
So long story short, generally no – I don’t change the trim 🙂
As for the bedroom, we have some pleated blinds on the bedroom windows that offer privacy and nothing on the bathroom, it’s a textured glass.
And you know, it seems that Tim and I have a 4 year expiry date. We’ve had all of our homes for approx 4 years – and then I’m ready for something new and fun! So no, not flipping. Our intention is always to stay, which is why we make choices that are maybe a bit nicer/personalized, but then lo n’ behold – we get antsy and want to move!
Chat soon 🙂
~Kylie
I loved the chocolate brown room!! I have been wanting to do that in our master and am trying to get hubby on board. What color was that brown?
Hi Kylie,
I love love LOVE your blog! We’re in the process of building a new house and I have found so many helpful tips here for picking colors. Thank You! I do have one question though… Is there a BM gray that would be darker than Gray Owl, but still coordinate? We are using Gray Owl in our kitchen and dining room, but I was looking for something a little bit darker for our living room. It is all open, so you will see both at the same time. Any ideas?
Thanks
Hi Kaitlyn! Gray Owl is a tricky one as it’s a bit of a chameleon. It can look gray, it can look blue, it can look green, it can look like all of those things! If you choose a gray that doesn’t have that same flexibility, you can risk the undertones clashing. The safest bet would be to play around by darkening it by 50%. Yes, this can change how the undertones rise up/settle down, but you are still working off of a comparable base colour. You can also look at BM Sea Haze, which is the next down in the colour sequence, but I do find the green comes up a touch more.
Loved working with Kylie! I highly recommend her! Silver Strand definitely changes color! Kylie recommended I try Silver Strand along with some other updates she was helping me with. I’ve been amazed at how it can look so different depending on the lighting. Mine turned a bit more green than I had hoped, due to the lack of natural light in my living room. It makes it hard to decorate around Silver Strand at times–due to the changing color in different areas. But it does look pretty next to certain oak finishes in my house. I have a love/hate relationship with this color:-).
I love your carpet and color. Can you tell me where you got it?
Hi Stacey, unfortunately it was original to the house when we moved in, so I don’t know – sorry!
Love your blog!
I have sliver strand in my open plan, north/east/south – east facing, family room and creamy in other half kitchen/breakfast nook area. I love different tones of Silver Strand through out the day.
I am planning to use it for my master bedroom, facing north ( a long narrow window) and east (2 windows), room is just above the family room. I am thinking of lighting it 25%, as I find the color little towards darker shade. Two walls in the Bedroom are 16’ feet high, what do you suggest, 25% lighter will work?
I am planning to get the sample and try in the room but I had read in one of your blogs that higher walls make color lighter in a room, so my concern. Waiting for your response.
Thank you,
NIdhi
I painted two walls of the room with Sherwin Williams Pearl Gray and rest of the walls SW creamy.
Pearl gray has more green accent but not screaming green color.
I tried Silver Strand at 75% strength but did not like it.
I wanted a blue green grey but this post scares me that silver strand would wash out in our south facing master bedroom. I went with SW Silverpointe and love it! I’m thinking of painting it in other parts of the house. Have you used this color much? Thanks!