Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze: Undertones, LRV, & Real Home Results
By Kylie
January 2, 2023
Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze is a dark, warm greige paint color. It works well on kitchen cabinets, exterior surfaces like siding, trim, and doors, as well as interior accent doors.
Colors with low LRVs, like Urbane Bronze, can change their appearance depending on the amount and type of natural or interior light they receive.
Now, when Urbane Bronze showed up as the Color of the Year, I wasn’t surprised at all – it’s like I picked it myself! With its depth, undertones, and range of uses, it’s a GREAT color to try out – which should be the goal of any Color of the Year; it should get people excited to paint SOMETHING!
So, let’s dive into this bad boy and see if he could work for you!
IS URBANE BRONZE GREIGE, BROWN OR GRAY? WARM OR COOL?
Urbane Bronze is one of the more GLORIOUS WARM GREIGE paint colors. What sets it apart is its depth and undertones, both of which we’ll cover shortly.
If you have a north-facing space, Urbane Bronze can fall that bit more into gray while still holding a luscious passive warmth. However, if you have south-facing or afternoon western light, Urbane Bronze will lean into its warmth, picking up a subtle richness. I friggin’ love this color.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S THE LRV OF URBANE BRONZE?
Urbane Bronze has an LRV of 8, so while it’s not THE darkest color, it’s definitely getting down there. The LOW LRV of Urbane Bronze puts it on the slightly darker end of the DARK range – however, it’s not close to being black.
What is LRV? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE URBANE BRONZE’S UNDERTONES?
While Urbane Bronze has a GLORIOUS greige base, it does have a reasonable green undertone to consider.
Read more: The Best Paint Colors for Your Front Door
SAMPLING URBANE BRONZE WITH PEEL & STICK (SAMPLIZE)
Like with every paint color, I highly recommend using SAMPLIZE. Samplize is a peel & stick paint sample that you can easily move around your room for over HALF THE COST of traditional sample pots – and they deliver right to your front door!
Learn all about Samplize HERE
WHICH WHITE TRIM COLOR GOES WITH URBANE BRONZE?
Urbane Bronze is pretty flexible regarding coordinating white paint colors so it would depend on the application. Generally speaking, I would look at…
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
IS URBANE BRONZE A GOOD COLOR FOR EXTERIOR SIDING OR TRIM?
Heck, yes, Urbane Bronze can be awesome on the exterior, but you need some warm tones in your roof and flexible stones and/or brick to support the warmth and the green undertone.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
IS URBANE BRONZE A POPULAR SHADE OF GREIGE?
Yes, in the DARK world, Urbane Bronze is reasonably popular, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. What is Urbane Bronze great for? I think the question is, what ISN’T it great for?!
…and much more!
IS URBANE BRONZE GOOD ON KITCHEN CABINETS?
Definitely, Urbane Bronze can be just what you need if a standard darker gray paint color isn’t warm enough for your countertop and backsplash.
Before, this kitchen was dated, with late 90s and early 2000s finishes…
After, with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze as the foundation, this kitchen is 10x better!
See it ALL HERE
WHAT COLOR IS CLOSE TO URBANE BRONZE?
GOOD QUESTION! While there will never be a perfect color match, there are a few similar shades, making them great for comparison.
- Benjamin Moore’s Dragon’s Breath
- Sherwin Williams Ironclad
- Sherwin Williams Porpoise
- Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray
- Sherwin Williams Iron Ore, which is darker than Urbane Bronze but has a subtle warm green undertone
Urbane Bronze vs. 6 TOP GREIGE Paint Colors (including the colors listed above!)
REMEMBER, comparison is key to finding the best paint color.
WHAT PAINT COLORS GO WITH URBANE BRONZE?
It’s not hard to coordinate with Urbane Bronze, as he’s pretty darn easy to please.
- Urbane Bronze doesn’t love to be partnered with many cooler light gray paint colors
- This dark greige loves other greiges, including medium and light-depth versions
- many warm gray paint colors, especially those with a passive green undertone
- You can also check out some muted, neutralized cream paint colors as well as off-whites
Not sure if Urbane Bronze is right for you? Want a bit warmer or cooler? I’ve got more!
READ MORE
The 6 Best DARK Greige & Taupe Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray
Urbane Bronze vs. 6 TOP GREIGE Paint Colors
The 8 Best DARK Greige & Taupe Paint Colors: Benjamin Moore
The Best Paint Colors for Kitchen Islands & Bathroom Vanities
Not sure which paint color is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2020, UPDATED IN 2023
Chat soon,
Share this!
Meet Kylie
Do you need help, but aren’t quite sure what ‘help’ looks like? Are you drowning in paint samples and decision fatigue?
Does every colour you like at the paint store look terrible in your lighting or pick up a funky undertone? I’d love to help.
Hi, I’m Kylie
For over 24 years I’ve helped 12,000+ homeowners and renters make more confident decisions on paint colours and affordable home updates using real home examples and practical, experience-based advice. My goal is simple: help you love the home you have.
Do-it-yourself, the smart way
Grab one of Kylie’s guides
Affordable, downloadable shortcuts to the colors and combos I’d pick for you. Yours to keep, forever.
Homeowner’s Guide: White Kitchen Cabinets
This isn’t another ’10 Best Cabinet Colors’ list, because there is no SINGLE best white for every home and every kitchen.
The best white cabinet color is the one that goes with your home, your finishes, your lighting, and your style.
Stop second-guessing every paint chip and choose your cabinet color with less guessing, fewer samples, and a whole lot more color confidence.
$34.95Accent Colors
This isn’t about plastering your home in the ‘Color of the Year’ or following the latest trends (unless you really want to).
It’s about finding accent colors that work with YOUR home, YOUR style, and YOUR comfort level.
Because the best accent color isn’t one you love on a paint chip, it’s one that makes everything around it look better.
$34.95
Homeowner’s Guide: Exterior Paint Colors
This isn’t a list of the ‘best exterior paint colors’, as the best color is the one that suits your home. Instead, you’ll learn how to look at YOUR roof, YOUR windows, YOUR brick (or stone) and YOUR home as a whole so you can understand what colors make sense, and confidently throw the others in the burn pile.
Whether you’re repainting an outdated exterior, working around finishes you can’t change, or creating a color palette from scratch, the goal is the same: less guessing, fewer samples, and a lot more confidence before gallons of paint go on your home.
$44.95Exterior Trim Paint Colors
This isn’t a list of ‘the best trim colors’, although you’ll get a ton of links to great shades, you’ll learn how to look at your home and understand whether it needs contrast, repetition, connection, or a little visual peacekeeping to pull it all together.
Because trim might seem like a small detail…
…but spread it around all four sides of your home on multiple surfaces and it suddenly has a pretty big job.
$24.95
Comments
-
My walls are agreeable gray. I’m thinking of painting my cabinets alabaster. Would urbane bronze work as the color for my kitchen island?
-
Hi Leslie, I would recommend cleaning that white up a bit to SW Pure White :).
-
That’s exactly the combo I’m thinking of painting. Did you do it and how do you like it?!
-
-
What color gray is used with the urban bronze front door? It looks amazing!
-
Thank you Holly, that’s Sherwin Williams Colonnade Gray!
-
-
Hello Kylie!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing your design knowledge and expertise with all of us! I was feeling so lost and confused until I found you:)
Your kitchen looks gorgeous and the Urbaine Bronze is stunning. If I painted my island in the Urbaine Bronze, would BM white dove look ok on the upper cabinets? What about BM silver satin?
TIA for your help🙏-
You’re most welcome Heidi!
I think White Dove could be stunning with UB (I have it on my walls and trim in my recent paint escapades), but I wouldn’t do Silver Satin. Also, make sure it all jibes with your backsplash/countertop!
-
-
Thanks for sharing your ideas! So helpful. Looking to paint Urbane Bronze on a raised panel accent wall in my bedroom. My furniture is a lighter brown. I’m looking for an idea to paint the color of the other three walls. Something neutral, more lighter browns, rather than grays.
-
Hmmm, what about something along the lines of SW Natural Tan? As long as it doesn’t look at ALL pinkish in your room compared to the green in Urbane.
-
-
Hi I just love listening and reading of your tips and knowledge about beautiful colors!!
We are deciding between Kendall charcoal or urban bronze for our kitchen island and pairing that with our perimeter cabinets in anew gray most likely -but also considering agreeable gray.
We will have a lot of light coming in from the East in the morning and a ton of afternoon light later.
What are your thoughts?
Tremendously appreciate your
opinion!!
Much thanks !!
Julie-
Hi Julie, it actually 100% depends on your countertop/backsplash and which one really best suits those. Make sure you have big samples in satin finish, as the sheen affects how colours like (whereas a lot of sample pots are just matte or eggshell). In general, I PREFER Urbane Bronze as it’s warmth could be beautiful with Anew Gray/Agreeable.
-
-
I found this info super helpful. I have a south and west facing living/dining room. Has a large south window so it gets plenty of light, although I live in Cleveland Ohio. Ceiling is standard height, not high. I’m thinking of painting the ceiling – yes – the ceiling Urbane Bronze. It’s approx. 15×30 ft., so won’t be easy. Am I crazy?
-
I don’t think you’re crazy at ALL, assuming your ceiling is flat, not textured. However, I WOULD suggest having some crown moulding to really hit the spot (and use flat finish paint 🙂
-
-
I have samplize in my picks- those came in satin I assume. I’ll bring them to pick out the counters -most likely quartz and the backsplash. Thanks for your guidance!
Julie-
Anyone ever paint the entire kitchen urban? Am I crazy?
-
You aren’t crazy AT ALL! If my kitchen suited it, I wouldn’t bat an eye! I think it could be very striking.
-
Hubby thinks it’s too dark at night. Our kitchen is big with 33 cabinets and 17 drawers. Walls are agreeable gray, lots of sun, brown, gray, beige counters we can’t afford to replace and Alabaster for backsplash. Painters are coming 3/28 and I can’t pick a color. My immediate thought is off-white but I keep reading how dated that is and everyone I know has white or beige cabinets. I was hoping we could at least do the island a different color but don’t know what. Our kitchen living room is open concept. Rest of house is grays, navy’s, greens
-
-
-
-
Love this. Thinking of going with urbanize bronze for our island. We have busy granite (I THINK it’s yellow river) and the urbane matches really well with some of the color in the stone. Would chantilly lace cabinet color pair okay with the urbane island?
-
Hi RJ, Urbane is pretty flexible, as is Chantilly (although I’d lean towards a slightly softer/warmer white with Urbane, ie: BM White Dove). HOWEVER, it’s more important that Chantilly makes sense with your countertop and its degree of warmth, which I’m thinking it could be shockingly white for!
-
-
Kylie, I love your website! It’s always a pleasure to read your article, they are super fun and informative. I was wondering if you would share the level gloss you went with for your door in the urbane bronze? Thank you!
-
Hi Lacey, thank you! That’s a satin finish 🙂
-
-
Hi Kylie,
Excellent info on Urbane Bronze, I find your website super useful also!! I am thinking about doing an accent wall-northern room though. Not a lot of light in this room and am afraid that this will come off very very dark. Can I offset the darkness with using a lighter color on the other walls such as Creamy or? Have dark cherry floors and am not sure if this is a good choice for this room based on the dark floors and northern exposure.-
Hi Julie! What about bumping it up a bit to Porpoise????
-
-
Would BM simply white be okay to pair on adjacent walls with SW Urbane Bronze ?
-
You bet!
-
-
Hi! I recently moved into a house with a 2006 Tuscan style kitchen 🤪 you have inspired me to work with the uba tuba counters… instead of cringe at them. I’m thinking about using Urbane Bronze for the island (which is a distressed cream color at the moment). Thoughts? Does this color work with the uba tuba? I did get a sticky sample and have been moving it around. They seem happy or is it just my wishful thinking?!
-
Monica, I’m SO happy to hear this, thank you!
Okay, so I think Urbane Bronze would be too warm for the countertop, but not by much. I wonder if you might look at Sherwin Williams Grizzle Gray as a bit lighter, but interesting alternative? Once you get the sample of it, why don’t you send me some photos of them up. I recommend getting just a little paper chip samples of SW Tricorn Black and tape it on them, as it helps ME get a better frame of reference for how they’re settling in. Send photos of your samples up, hanging right beneath the countertop ledge in several different areas (low light rarely works, natural light is BEST!). Just make sure your subject line says ‘KYLIE SAID SHE’S LOOK AT MY GRANITE’! This way your email will get to me ;). kylie@kylieminteriors.ca
-
I am struggling with uba tuba also :(. Was wondering what you decided based on Kylie’s suggestions? I have been at a standstill for months with this uba tuba.
-
-
Your blog has been so helpful as I’m trying to work with my 2006 Tuscan style kitchen as well. My countertops are st Cecilia I think. Was thinking alabaster on uppers and something dark on lowers like urbane bronze or iron ore to pick up on the granite. Would I be crazy to also consider a navy that looks almost black like BM Mysterious? Or SW Cyberspace.
-
Not SUPER crazy, but I would lean more into Urbane Bronze for sure :).
-
-
I have 2008 Tuscan style kitchen with Baltic Brown granite. I was thinking of painting the island Urbane Bronze and the other cabinets my off-white trim color. But my wall color is a warm medium beige with a pink undertone. Do you think the Urbane bronze will be okay? I was also thinking of using it on the inside of the front door and on bathroom cabinets with Venetian gold granite. Same wall color throughout…
-
We are excited to paint our exterior Urbane Bronze and think Tennessee Fieldstone would be a nice accent. But now we need to find pavers for the front porch and walkway. We don’t want to go with too many colors. Do you have any recommendations?
-
My bright 1990’s kitchen has colorful Baltic Brown granite. Would you suggest Urbane Bronze or Chelsea Gray for the cabinets with White Dove walls?
-
I am painting our master bath vanity. We get tons of morning light in our bathroom and the walls and floor are covered in travertine with a dark green accent tile. Painted the walls SW neutral ground, and our trim is SW Dover white. I would love to paint the oak vanity in something dark to contrast how light the room and walls are. Most of our home is painted in a lot of greige colors. Do you think Urbane Bronze on the vanity would work with the travertine?
-
I never leave comments but I am on day 2 of painters here and need some help.
Walls are Classic Gray, Chantilly Lace on baseboards, closets, door etc..
10ft kitchen island – cararra quartz countertop
23 cupboards- all white (was painted previously but looks clean and crisp) also cararra countertop
Hardwood floors are a darker brown. Changing them in a year or two.
Want to paint the island either a sage green, dark gray, black or navy! What would you recommend? Would urbane bronze be a good choice or do you think something else would flow better?
-
Ooooo, I’d be eyeing up BM Cheating Heart if it were me! OR I’d stick with the classic look of white on the island as well :).
-
-
Hi! This page is so helpful! I’m thinking of painting my (mostly) stucco house shoji white and doing the trim and wood accents (battenboard accents in the peaks) in Urbane bronze… my only concern is my driveway and sidewalks- we are getting ready to put new ones in with a colored/stamped concrete that is light gray with dark gray borders… does the “doesn’t play well with cooler grays” apply to the concrete? I don’t want the whole house to look a mess of conflicting grays!
-
Yup, while some concretes can have a subtle green undertone, more often than not, I see a lot of violet hues that can clash with the look of Shoji. They can work with Urbane as a DARK green undertone is a pretty accent to violet, but yes, Shoji would have me a bit worried :). I mean, this is all without SEEING your home, but those are my first thoughts.
-
-
Hi Kylie, I’m considering using Urbane Bronze as the exterior colour for a new build (mid-century modern architecture). I have considered using Tricorn Black as the trim colour and would love to add a pop of colour for the front door (which is flanked by 2 side lights and a glass panel above the door). What do you think of SW Tassle for the door – or do you have any other suggestions for something in the yellow/orange/rust family? Would love your thoughts on all of this, as I’m a little worried about how the black trim will look with a bright door.
Leave a Reply