Sherwin Williams Heron Plume SW 6070: Paint Color Review
A feather-light shade of off-white…
Have you been looking for a soft, warm neutral with whisper-like undertones? Well, you’re in the right spot. In my color reviews, I cover the most (and a few of the least) popular paint colors, including beauties like Sherwin Williams Heron Plume.
WHAT TYPE OF COLOR IS HERON PLUME? GRAY, TAUPE, OR GREIGE?
Heron Plume is a warm neutral paint color. However, it’s a toss-up whether it’s a warm gray or taupe.
Why?
With its subtle warmth, Heron Plume can easily lean into the taupe range, especially in rooms with warm southern or west-facing light. However, throw Heron Plume in a north-facing room, and you might see a warm gray look that’s a bit cooler than the previous approach. One thing it ISN’T is greige, and that’s because Heron Plume has no green undertones.
This chameleon color can also change depending on its immediate surroundings, meaning if you put it with cooler finishes, it could look warmer ‘in comparison.’
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S HERON PLUME’S LRV?
Heron Plume has an LRV of 75. If you don’t know what LRV is, it could save your sanity, and I suggest you read this. With an LRV of 75, Heron Plume is an off-white – not a super washed-out one, but it’s not dipping even close to my magical LRV number.
Compared to the previous photo (which got a good natural light), look at how noticeable Heron Plume looks on this living room wall without direct natural light…
WHAT ARE HERON PLUME’S UNDERTONES?
Heron Plume has subtle violet-pink undertones, so it has warm undertones. If you don’t like purple or pink, I highly advise you to choose a different color. If you’re okay with a soft, slightly noticeable taupe backdrop, you’re in business!
WHAT WHITE PAINT COLOR GOES WITH HERON PLUME?
When coordinating Heron Plume with white trim, I keep things simple, like Sherwin Williams High Reflective White – not warm, not cold, just a simple white. However, it also works with pure White, as shown in the previous image.
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
DOES HERON PLUME GO WITH WOOD TRIM OR CREAM CABINETS?
Heron Plume can be gorgeous with a wide range of woods—there’s hardly a stain it doesn’t love! However, without white trim to contrast with, it will act more like a soft white than an off-white.
As for cream trim, it’s the hardest no I can give – super hard.
The Best Paint Colors to Update Golden Oak & Warm Woods
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Heron Plume…
IS HERON PLUME GOOD? IS IT POPULAR?
Although Heron Plume isn’t popular, I feel it’s more due to its placement in the fan deck. Really, it’s just as gorgeous as some of its competitors, which we’ll be looking at shortly.
This said, many people are sensitive to purple and pink undertones, meaning a color like Heron Plume might not be on their list. If you don’t like these undertones, you’re looking at the wrong color; you may want to consider a green undertone.
WHAT PAINT COLORS ARE COMPARABLE/SIMILAR TO HERON PLUME?
There are several paint colors you should compare with Heron Plume, including:
- Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
- Sherwin Williams Egret White
- Benjamin Moore Silver Satin
- Sherwin Williams Incredible White
Benjamin Moore Silver Satin door sample with Chantilly Lace walls
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
WHAT COLORS GO WITH HERON PLUME?
Heron Plume can be beautiful in a room-by-room palette with many colors. Some of these work as accent walls, too!
- warm gray paint colors with purple undertones
- light to medium depth stormy blue-grays
- blue-greens can be beautiful for a coastal vibe
- darker navy blue paint colors, as well as medium to dark greens
READ MORE
The 11 Best Warm Paint Colors that AREN’T BEIGE!
The 8 Best Off-White Paint Colors for Kitchen Cabinets
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray: Paint Color Review
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing White Paint Colors
The 5 Best Off-White Paint Colors
Not sure which paint color is best for your room and its finishes?
Check out my Online Color Consulting; I’d love to help!
Chat soon,
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2019, UPDATED IN 2022
Hello.
I saw your video that you recommend heron plume for cherry oak floors to tone down the redness of them. So what should I paint my baseboards? Which white? What about doors?
Hi Sheema, I would check out Sherwin Williams Pure White or Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace for both 🙂
Hi, the information provided was very useful. I want to know what accent wall colors can go with heron plume. I want diff. Colors for bedroom and loving room. My living room is open concept with kitchen cabinets( anthracite and malibu white color shades). Please advise
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! My head is spinning as we need to decide on colors for our new home’s walls, cabinets, and trim and with limited color choices to boot! I was wondering if you would let me know if either of these combinations would work (and look GREAT!)
Wall: Heron Plume
K Cabinets: Agreeable Gray or Snowbound
Trim: Extra White only other option is Shell White
Our only other choice is
Wall: Snowbound
K Cabinets Agreeable Gray
Trim: Extra White only other option is Shell White
Thank you in advance!
Kathy
Hey Kathy, it’s hard to say as without seeing your finishes I would be shooting in the dark completely! You’re welcome to check out my E-Design packages where I can look at your space :). https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/hire-kylie/
We painted our living room SW Heron Plume. Would love to send you pictures. How do I do that?
Hi! Would Heron Plume be a good exterior trim color with the exterior house painted Anew Gray? We have white windows and a black roof. We face West.
I would definitely sample it, and make sure you’re okay with the contrast/color of it against your white windows :).
I painted my foyer and upstairs hallway Heron Plume. It has an ever so soft grey undertone/tint to it that I love and was exactly what I wanted. This area gets lots of natural light (SE exposure). I also used it in the entryway from the garage and a small hallway into the kitchen which both flow into the foyer but do not have much natural light and it pulls that same soft grey undertone. I have a small downstairs bath (5×5.5 ft) with no natural light. It pulls pink in this room – yikes! The light fixture over the vanity uses three 40 watt bulbs. They are LED clear Edison style, 2700 K with a CRI of 90. What can I do to get rid of this pink undertone and achieve the same soft grey as in the other areas? I really can’t add accessories other than perhaps a small rug and a couple of towels. I tried so many whites but Heron Plume was the only one that had the same tint to it as the white in the shower tiles. The samplize I used looked perfect in the room with the tiles/floors/countertops. I used extra white SW all purpose primer to prime the walls and that remained white. When I take a picture the walls look white but when I enter the room and turn on the lights it all looks so pink. HELP!!
Oooo boy, that’s a tough one! I mean, at its heart, Heron Plume has a bit of violet undertone, and given that it’s a warm tone, that violet could lean a bit pink with encouragement. I do know that Edison bulbs are tough as it can be a harsh light compared to the softer light given from frosted white shades. Also, I’m thinking the 2700 could be influencing things as well, as that’s a pretty warm white (yellow-orange), which combined with the natural undertones of Heron Plume could be pulling that extra pink on you! Maybe try 3000-355 and see if that helps?
I love all your information about undertones! But now you have me petrified I’m choosing the wrong color to paint my downstairs…ha! I have dark, stained kitchen cabinets with a hint of red/cherry and Calacatta Delios quartz countertops and backsplash which has a cool white background. My kitchen is open to the den with an Austin Stone fireplace. Will Heron Plume work with all of three of these udertones (cabinets, quartz, fireplace)??? Side note… I will be painting walls, ceiling and trim all the same color for simplicity. Thank you for any advice!!!
Oh gosh, Tracy, with all of those considerations it would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to say yes! I’d really need to see multiple photos of your home to say for sure, and understand it’s exposure/quality of light/etc. I do have an Online Color Consulting service, but am closed right now for a much-needed break :).
For a kitchen/family room/front hall painted Heron Plume, what color of metal accents would be best? (Lighting, picture frames, etc.) My hardware such as kitchen faucet, doorknobs, etc. are satin nickel but I’m wondering if I can have lamps and picture frames that are soft gold. Thank you, Kylie!
Hi there, I’ma new subscriber and find this all very informative. I’m curious what color the blue gray door is in two of your pics. I love the combo!
Hey Anna, while i might LOOK a bit blue-gray in these photos, that’s actually BM Kendall Charcoal!
Thank you! I would never have come up with that in my own.🙏
Hi, I want to update my home but have alot of medium cherry wood in various rooms and it would be too expensive to replace it all. For paint all around my main floor I am deciding between Heron Plume and Incredible White. I want an off white that will DOWNPLAY the cherry wood because it feels so outdated. Problem is I have a bright south facing side and a darker north facing side, so I am scared of seeing pink/purple in one of them. Which of these colors would you recommend? Also, I’ve heard you recommend High Reflective white and Pure White for trim paired with these colors so please also steer me toward trim/ceiling color. I once painted a house with Alpaca, which I love, but in some rooms it looked really pink so I’m kind of traumatized by that 😉 Thanks!
Welllll, Incredible White always makes me nervous as it can be quite committed to its purple-pink – I’d be nervous. I’d say that Heron Plume could be a more flexible hue – doing what you want it to without overcommitting to undertone, you know? I also love it with Pure White which is that bit softer than HRW. Long story short, I wouldn’t paint any of my rooms Incredible White even if I had cherry wood :). I also love Egret White and City Loft, which can be pretty with cherry woods!