Sherwin Williams Natural Tan: Undertones, Lighting, Real Home Use
By Kylie
May 2, 2026
When it comes to the best tan and beige paint colors, Sherwin Williams is in the lead. While Benjamin Moore has beautiful, popular shades like Manchester Tan and Grant Beige, they don’t have a color as gorgeous as Natural Tan (personal opinion).
WHAT TYPE OF COLOR IS NATURAL TAN?
Natural Tan is a warm, beige-tan paint color. Popular for its more subtle approach to temperature, Natural Tan has become hot on walls, cabinets, exteriors, and more. Less warm than many of the popular beige and tan paint colors on the market, it can be a great happy medium between greige-taupe and the much warmer end of things.
Why?
Because Natural Tan has an awesome gray backdrop calming it down – LOVE IT! However, if you’re looking for a more noticeable warmth, you might find it too subdued, and you should check out other shades of tan.
If you have north-facing light or afternoon eastern/morning western light, you may see Natural Tan leaning a bit grayer or flatter. However, with south-facing or afternoon western sunshine, Natural Tan can offer a gentle warmth to what can be an overwhelmingly warm-looking room.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
THE LRV OF NATURAL TAN
Natural Tan has an LRV of 65. With this higher-than-average LRV, Natural Tan is a ‘light’ depth paint color. This number is great as lighter shades can wash out in bright rooms, and darker shades can look heavy depending on the natural light. 65 is right on the money, honey.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
That said, being an earthy, muddy neutral, Natural Tan can look a bit flat and drab in darker rooms – its LRV isn’t enough to save it. You’ll want to improve your interior lighting to bring it to life.
WHAT ARE NATURAL TAN’S UNDERTONES?
Natural Tan is very neutral and subtle in its look. Some find it appearing a touch pinkish or taupe in some lighting, whereas its warmth can come up in other spaces, bringing a very vague green hue. That’s the challenge with colors like this – when a color doesn’t COMMIT to an undertone, it can easy slide into others.
Get your Peel & Stick sample of Natural Tan HERE!
WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE TRIM COLOR WITH NATURAL TAN?
With Natural Tan on the walls, I lean into…
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Sherwin Williams Extra White
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
This said, Natural Tan can also be used on trim and cabinets. This bedroom below shows Sherwin Williams Taupe Tone on the walls and Natural Tan on the trims and door…
The Best Medium, Stone-Inspired Taupe, Greige, & Beige Colors
IS NATURAL TAN A GOOD EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR?
With its subtle warmth, Natural Tan could be a nice exterior option, considering it will look CONSIDERABLY lighter and more washed-out when natural light hits it (due to its higher LRV). I might choose a cleaner white paint color for the trim to amp up the contrast.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
Natural Tan works very well with white trim and windows, but as shown above, can be striking with black windows, too.
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO NATURAL TAN?
Every color has its particular look, and trust me; there will be no perfect match—you’ll see shifts in undertones, temperature, and depths, but you could check out…
- Benjamin Moore White Sand is a really great alternative, as is the ever popular, Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray (shown below)
- For a bit more depth and body, check out the lovely Sherwin Williams Sandbar.
- Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige offers a bit more depth and a touch less warmth.
By the way, if you’re thinking of color matching between brands (e.g., getting Benjamin Moore to make a Sherwin William’s paint color), you might want to read THIS first.
WHAT COLORS GO WITH NATURAL TAN?
White Sand is a reasonably flexible neutral paint color and suits a variety of colors, such as some…
- SOME GRAYS: Grays that are the same depth or darker than it
- SOFT, WARM WHITES: Soft whites can be gorgeous, so long as they aren’t too creamy
- OFF-WHITES: Some flexible off-whites, as long as they aren’t orange or pink-toned
- BLUE BLENDS: Blue-grays and blue-green blends
- GREENS: A wide range of green can look wickedly pretty in a palette with Natural Tan, everything from light-medium shades to darker, accenting greens
READ MORE
The 11 Best Warm Neutral Paint Colors That AREN’T BEIGE!
The 6 Best Tan Paint Colors: Sherwin Williams
The 12 Best Beige and Tan Paint Colors
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan
Get the best paint color advice with Kylie M’s Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
Lightly updated with images and content in 2026
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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.
Learn how to choose a white cabinet paint color that works with your countertops, backsplash, flooring, trim, lighting, and home—so you can rule out the wrong whites, sample fewer colors, and choose with confidence.
158-page PDF – Instant Download
$34.95Accent Colors – And How to Use Them
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.
118-Page PDF – Instant Download
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Homeowner’s Guide: Exterior Paint Colors
Painting your home’s exterior is a BIG investment and choosing a color based on a tiny paint chip, a trend or the house down the street can be an expensive mistake.
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.
The goal? Less guessing, fewer samples and a lot more confidence before gallons of paint go on your home.
206-page PDF – Digital Download
$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.
118-page PDF – Instant Download
$24.95
Comments
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Kylie do you always paint the ceilings white? I have open concept floor plan with crown molding through out and plantation shutters. I like the walls & ceiling all accessible beige or natural tan. Didn’t know if it would be to dark.
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While white is definitely the MOST common choice, I’ve done many non-white ceilings. It all depends on the wall colour and the space. Rooms with high or vaulted ceilings often handle a non-white better than low ceilings. White is also better long-term if you’re someone who likes to change things up on the walls as a non-white ceiling will be VERY LIMITING! Long story short, if you like it and it suits your space, have fun with it!
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Kylie,
We are painting our walls natural tan and we have 12 foot ceilings in our main areas. We also have crown molding around the ceiling. If we did not want to paint the ceilings white, what color would you recommend to compliment Natural Tan?
Thank you
Susan
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I painted the main area of my home Sherwin Williams Natural Tan. I used Dunn Edwards White Picket Fence for ceilings and trim, which is very similar Sherwin Williams White Snow. I have all northern exposure except for one window upstairs that faces east and I would say that it stays pretty neutral, if I had to choose an undertone other than yellow it would probably be pink, but if so it’s nominal. I’m really happy with my choice.
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Thank you Tess, I love to get this feedback as it totally helps other readers too!
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Hi Kylie,
I love this color, but I’m wondering if it goes with auburn toned hickory laminate flooring? I can’t seem to find many suggestions for paint online for a north facing room with reddish brown flooring. It’s not super red just a hint of it. Almost mahogany but not quite as red.
I hope this natural tan color will work for me. 🙂 any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Tiff -
Would this color work with beige pink/orange tilled?
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Nope~it might look a touch greenish in comparison, but it CAN depend on the tile.
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Hi Kylie-
I painted my open floor plan living area SW Natural Tan. I have tons of northern exposure ( large windows, lots of trees) with some east and west smaller windows. My walls look blush most of the time. I hate blush. For a few minutes, early morning and noon-ish, they soften to a gray. I was going for a light tan with soft light cream/brown undertones. Boy, did I miss that. Read a lot of your articles, especially regarding light coming in from different directions. I am now thinking of SW Natural Canvas or Creamy Tan.. Any other suggestions?And yes, I painted a 3′ x 5 piece of drywall and moved it around the room for several days before moving forward. My hubby thinks I have lost it and says it looks fine. I disagree. It is too cool. Did I tell you I hate blush?
Thanks for any suggestions and I am glad I stumbled upon you and your informative articles PS I hate to admit this but I am a commercial designer! The doctor’s kids are always sick…-
You, I’m a believer in gut instincts, and when something doesn’t FEEL right, it probably isn’t! Check out Sw Neutral Ground, and see if it adds a bit more warmth for you. I also love BM Ballet White/White Sand. And don’t worry, I can do colours ALLLLL DAY LONG, but I can’t do commercial design – we all have our strengths!
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could it be your lightbulbs?
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This happened to me too!! I found out later that my painter got the paint from Lowe’s and thought that they could color match it. I don’t understand why he didn’t just go to SW like he should’ve. So I went to sw and got another sample of SW natural tan and put it up on the walls and sure enough there was no pink. I wish I could post a pic to show you the difference in the paint color.
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My whole family is obsessed with your blog! My daughters follow your advice on just about everything they paint and can carry on in depth conversations on LRV’s thanks to you! 😉 We’re having our kitchen cabinets painted White Dove and am considering repainting all of my SW Pure White trim White Dove as well. (Per your blog). We have Natural tan walls in our surrounding rooms and am wondering if the White Dove trim will look ok with it or should I keep the pure white trim? I know you said white trim colors and white cabinets should be the same! Thank you for your advice!!
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I had Accessible Beige in my small living room for the last year. Although it was a beautiful color I always felt the room was dark and closed in. Yesterday we repainted in Natural Tan and almost instantly the room felt lighter and fresher. Thank you for your insights about this color
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Ahhh, i SO love to hear this – thank you!
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What is a gray color to paint my 2 story fireplace with natural tan? Much like one of your pictures.
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I want to paint my living room natural tan, except for one shiplap wall. I know you recommended Pure White for trim, but on a large shiplap wall, I’m concerned Pure White would be to stark white. I was considering either Greek Villa or Alabaster White. What are your thoughts? Thank you.
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Greek Villa and Alabaster are both warmer, more yellow based whites. Greek Villa is actually the exact same depth (LRV 84) as PUre White, it’s only that it has more yellow to it. Alabaster is a touch darker (LRV 82) and has a creamier warmth. I do PREFER Pure white with Natural Tan, overall.
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Thank you, Kylie. Another color I was considering for my living/dining room/kitchen was Benjamin Moore’s Elmira White. Have you ever reviewed Elmira White? I imagine SW Pure White trim would be nice with that as well.
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Hi Kylie,
I love your reviews, thank you for them!! I would like to piant my whole main part of the house in one color. That includes north and south facing rooms. I like tan/beige tones. so confusing! Every time i review another color, I like it haha. suggestions please?-
Hey Dawn! It would be impossible for me to say without seeing your home and its finishes! There are some lovely ones out there, but the ones that are BEST for your home depends on your home’s specific needs!
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How do you feel about natural tan with a medium-dark green such as SW Pewter Green or SW Rosemary?
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Yup!!!
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Would Natural Tan be a good color choice for an open-concept space with east- and west-facing light, dark cabinets, and flooring with a red undertone?
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It could be pretty – the idea doesn’t scare me as long as the floor isn’t OVERLY red.
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I’ve been debating endlessly about the color to repaint my interiors for a freshen up. Currently the house is Universal Khaki that looks like a warm gray in the space. I want lighter and have been debating between Natural Tan and Accessible beige with ivory lace trim. Whatever the wall paint is will also be the kitchen cabinet. Most of my windows face northeast though the living room and bedroom face southwest. Predominent undertone of decor is camel/gold and greens with blue, green, and white in the bedroom. Golden oak hardwoods throughout.
Which is the better route?
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Kylie,
I painted a built-in in my living room accessible beige. I was between natural tan and accessible beige but because the living room has 2 story windows I went with accessible beige so it wouldn’t wash out. I still love natural tan however, and think it is the better color in my kitchen. Would it be okay to use natural tan in an adjoining room after using accessible beige (which is only on a built in) but the rooms are open concept to the each other. The walls in the living room are alabaster.
Thank you
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This shouldn’t be an issue as I’m sure your natural and interior lighting shifts things a bit ;).
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Hi Kylie,
Such great content! Thanks!
What color wood floor would look good with natural tan walls (with pure white trim). Would you go dark/darker like in the pics in your article? Or could light or midtone wood floors work?
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