The 6 Best Tan Paint Colors: Sherwin Williams
Popular Shades of Tan for Any Room (or Cabinet!)
If you’re searching for a warm paint color for your walls, one that’s not your typical shade of beige or cream, I’ve got you covered…in paint!
While tan isn’t nearly as popular as beige and cream, with warmer trends, it’s quickly earning its place.
However, if you’re unsure what the difference between beige and tan is, let’s do a little ‘long story short…’
BEIGE PAINT COLORS: Warm neutrals that center on an orange undertone. This can be orange-yellow, orange-pink, and the odd flash of green shows up.
TAN PAINT COLORS: Warm neutrals that center on a yellow undertone. This can be yellow-green (most common) or yellow-orange.
Now you know!
So, without further ado, let’s see what I’ve got up my colorful little sleeves…
1. SHERWIN WILLIAMS NATURAL TAN 7567
Natural Tan is one of the the best tan paint colors and one of the most POPULAR ones to hit the tan scene.
Unlike some of the tans and beiges from the early 2000s, Natural Tan is grayed out, giving it a more passive, classic approach to warmth. And while it can grab a rare flash of green, you’d hardly know it, as this gorgeous shade settles pretty darn neutral.
As for depth, Natural Tan has an LRV of 65, which is right in my happy place!
Here’s Natural Tan compared to other popular, warm neutrals, including Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White (mad love), Benjamin Moore Wind’s Breath, and Edgecomb Gray…
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Natural Tan
2. SHERWIN WILLIAMS NEUTRAL GROUND 7568
Neutral Ground is one of the lighter options on this page. With its LRV of 70, Neutral Ground winks demurely at the warm, off-white world while offering a bit more contrast with the right white trim. As for undertones, naturally, Neutral Ground is a tan with a lovely yellow undertone and only a touch of green for interest.
In this next photo, my client hired me to CHANGE Neutral Ground. While it was close, the yellow-green undertone clashed with her more taupe-inspired sofa…
So, while Neutral Ground is PRETTY in the above photo, it’s not the right color for this space. If you’re curious, here’s the ‘after’ with Sherwin Williams Egret White…
Sherwin Williams Neutral Ground: IMAGES, Info, & More!
3. SHERWIN WILLIAMS CANVAS TAN 7531
Canvas Tan is right up there with Natural Tan in popularity, but there’s one big difference – warmth.
Natural Tan comes in pretty subtly with its warmth, only winking at the wild world of tan. And it’s not that Canvas Tan is supersaturated; it’s just warmer than Natural Tan. This said, on the scale of ‘rich tan and beige paint colors,’ Canvas Tan barely registers, but you’re slightly more likely to see its yellow-green undertones.
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As for LRV, Canvas Tan has a depth of 64. This is a great depth for the average room with adequate lighting.
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan
4. SHERWIN WILLIAMS SANDBAR 7547
COME TO MOMMA! I love this color. Sandbar is a shade of tan with yellow-green undertone, tempered by a soft gray backdrop to tap back its warmth.
As shown in this kitchen remodel, Sandbar looks stunning on the painted cabinets, with white quartz countertops and on-trend slab backsplash. Also, notice the gorgeous Sherwin Williams Iron Ore on the range hood and island…
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As for depth, Sandbar has an LRV of 53, making it a light-medium depth shade of tan. With its super muted undertones, a color like this often gets mistaken for a beige, as its yellow-green is SO vague. This said, if you put it against a finish with more typical beige undertones (orange), you might be surprised at what you see!
This next kitchen shows Sandbar in a newly updated kitchen with warm white cabinets (Sherwin Williams Alabaster), granite countertop, white subway tile, and Sherwin Williams Iron Ore on the island (same as the last project)…
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FUN FACT: While you might be searching for tan, did you know that the majority of warm ‘beige or tan’ interior finishes prefer BEIGE (orange-pink undertone), not tan?
So, while you should sample your favorites from this blog post, you might want to explore some popular shades of beige, too!
Get your Peel & Stick BEIGE OR TAN Paint Color Bundle!
5. SHERWIN WILLIAMS OYSTER BAR
If you want a tan paint color with a bit more commitment to its undertones, without going wild and crazy, Oyster Bar might be for you.
Oyster Bar is a light depth shade of tan, making it a warm neutral. It has an LRV of 64, which is right in my happy place for the average room.
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Oyster Bar.
Compare Oyster Bar to Natural Tan and notice how it picks up more of the traditional yellow-green undertones found in tan paint colors. In fact, it makes Natural Tan look dang neutral and lacking undertone in comparison!
On the other hand, comparing Oyster Bar to Canvas Tan shows a more subtle shift, which could help you see how passive Canvas Tan is (and why it’s so popular).
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6. SHERWIN WILLIAMS WOOL SKEIN 6148
While I love Wool Skein in the right place, it’s one shade of tan that makes me nervous.
Why?
Wool Skein is a light shade of tan. However, when it comes to undertones, it commits much harder to yellow and green, along with a decent shot of gray (it’s not the gray that scares me, in fact, the gray is its redeeming feature).
The ceiling is a little too blue-purple for the Wool Skein walls (I didn’t choose the ceiling), but this space is gorgeous overall!
Here’s the thing: There’s nothing wrong with yellow-green undertones in rooms that suit them. However, in 95%(+) of my Online Color Consultations, when dealing with a warm interior finish like tile, carpet, or countertop, I suggest a range of beige paint colors, and certainly not tans as strong as Wool Skein.
However, if you’re hankerin’ for a tan with a noticeable yellow-green undertone, Wool Skein could be your perfect shade.
My Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Wool Skein
Lastly, as mentioned earlier, there’s a chance your interior finishes prefer BEIGE, not tan. If your room has finishes like these, you might want to explore some more colors…
READ MORE
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Would love to see a more in-depth review of Neutral ground, please. My entire house is painted with it, along with Pure white trim, which is so pretty in rooms with lots of sunshine. But I’m having a hard time finding a paint that goes for my cabinets in a north facing kitchen. I’m concerned the pure white will be too stark for cabinets and don’t want to clash with another white. Thank you for your site, it’s helped me in several projects!
Oh, I would LOVE to. Sadly, I don’t have a ton of images of it in action. Off the top, I’d say that it will be HARD to find any color between white and the depth of Neutral Ground. I suppose you could tryyyyy Neutral Ground 50% lighter, but it could end up dingy. In this situation, white often makes the most sense, or you need to jump into the medium depths!