Sherwin-Williams Stardew SW 9138: The Ultimate Blue-Gray Paint Color Guide

Navigating the vast world of paint colors can be surprisingly challenging, especially when you’re searching for that perfect shade of blue-gray. What seems like a straightforward choice often leads to a dizzying array of soft blues, stormy grays, and subtle undertones that can make any homeowner feel overwhelmed. Many of us have been there, sifting through countless samples, trying to pinpoint a hue that offers a sense of calm and sophistication without appearing cold, dull, or overly vibrant.

This comprehensive guide is designed to simplify that journey, focusing on one standout color: Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138). If you’re considering this captivating blue-gray for your home, you’ve come to the right place. Stardew has garnered significant attention for its versatile appeal, offering a harmonious blend that adapts beautifully to various lighting conditions and design aesthetics.

Within these pages, we’ll take a deep dive into Stardew’s unique characteristics. We’ll explore how it transforms in different rooms, examine its subtle undertones, and see how it stacks up against other popular blue-gray shades from Sherwin-Williams. More importantly, we’ll uncover the best color pairings, trim suggestions, and hardware finishes that will truly make Stardew shine in your space. By the end, you’ll have all the insights needed to confidently decide if Sherwin-Williams Stardew is the ideal choice to create the serene and stylish environment you envision for your home.

Stardew (SW 9138) by Sherwin-Williams: An Overview

Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138) is a wonderfully balanced blue-gray paint color that evokes the peaceful feeling of a misty morning sky or a tranquil, overcast day. It’s a cool yet inviting hue, characterized by its soft gray base infused with a distinct, cloudy blue. This particular combination gives Stardew a fresh, quiet, and sophisticated vibe, making it an excellent candidate for spaces where relaxation and serenity are paramount. From cozy bedrooms and spa-like bathrooms to welcoming kitchens and serene living areas, Stardew effortlessly brings a sense of calm to any interior.

The beauty of Stardew lies in its remarkable adaptability across various design styles. Whether your home leans towards coastal charm, classic traditionalism, or modern transitional aesthetics, Stardew integrates seamlessly without ever feeling out of place. It provides that coveted peaceful, ethereal look without crossing into icy or flat territory. Instead, it offers a grounded coolness, making rooms feel both open and intimate at the same time. Its subtle complexity ensures it remains interesting and dynamic, responding beautifully to its surroundings.

Basic Color Profile: Understanding Stardew’s Core Attributes

To truly appreciate Stardew, it’s helpful to understand its fundamental color data points:

HEX code: #A2B6B5 – This hexadecimal code provides a precise digital representation of Stardew, useful for designers and digital applications.
LRV (Light Reflectance Value): 43 – Stardew’s LRV of 43 places it in the mid-range of colors. An LRV of 0 is absolute black, and 100 is pure white. At 43, Stardew is deep enough to offer good depth and presence without making a room feel dark. It reflects a moderate amount of light, contributing to a soft, diffused glow rather than a bright, reflective surface. This makes it ideal for creating a cozy yet airy atmosphere.
Color family: Blue-gray – As its classification suggests, Stardew perfectly straddles the line between blue and gray, ensuring neither color completely dominates the other.

Stardew is also a proud member of the Living Well – Unwind collection from Sherwin-Williams, a curated selection of colors designed to promote relaxation and well-being. Its inclusion in this collection underscores its soft, muted presence and its ability to foster a calming environment. It masterfully walks the line between airy lightness and grounded depth, making it incredibly versatile for use across different styles and lighting situations, from vibrant sunlit rooms to more shaded, intimate nooks.

Unveiling Stardew’s Undertones: A Subtle Dance of Hues

The true magic of Stardew lies in its nuanced undertones. It possesses an authentic blend of blue and gray, but with a barely-there whisper of green that peeks through under specific lighting conditions. This subtle green prevents Stardew from leaning too purple or becoming overtly icy, a common challenge with many cool-toned paints. It’s this delicate balance that makes Stardew so approachable and universally appealing, avoiding the starkness often associated with cooler shades.

In abundant natural daylight, Stardew tends to reveal more of its blue character. It feels crisp and fresh, reminiscent of a clear sky, yet it maintains its muted quality, preventing it from appearing overly bright or dominant. The natural light highlights its cleaner, cooler aspects.
Under warmer artificial lighting or in low-light environments, the gray tones within Stardew become more prominent. This shift softens the blue, transforming it into a cozier, more lived-in color. The hint of green also becomes a bit more noticeable, adding to its organic and comforting feel, making the room feel snug and inviting.

Because this color is so responsive to its environment and the quality of light it receives, it is absolutely essential to test Stardew in various spots throughout your room. Observe it at different times of the day, with both natural and artificial light sources, before committing to painting an entire space. This crucial step will ensure that the color appears exactly as you envision it, harmonizing perfectly with your home’s unique conditions.

Stardew in Real Spaces: A Versatile Hue for Every Room

Stardew’s versatility is one of its greatest assets, allowing it to complement a multitude of areas within the home. Its balanced blue-gray nature makes it equally effective in expansive, open-concept spaces as it is in smaller, more intimate rooms. This adaptability means it can effortlessly integrate into diverse styles, accommodate varying lighting conditions, and meet a wide range of design needs, proving its merit as a go-to color choice.

Living Rooms: Cultivating Serenity and Style

In living rooms, Sherwin-Williams Stardew introduces a wonderfully soft and breezy touch, creating an atmosphere of understated elegance and calm. It serves as a sophisticated backdrop that pairs beautifully with classic white trim, inviting beige or linen-colored couches, and the natural warmth of light-toned woods. The result is a color that possesses enough character to hold its own against other elements, yet it consistently maintains a mellow and open feel in the space. Stardew encourages relaxation and conversation, making your living room a true sanctuary. Consider adding textured throws, soft rugs, and natural elements to further enhance its serene charm.

Bedrooms: An Oasis of Restful Calm

For bedrooms, Stardew is an exceptional choice, known for its ability to instill a profoundly restful and quiet ambiance. It works beautifully whether applied to all four walls, creating an enveloping cocoon, or used as a serene accent behind the bed, defining a focal point. To maximize its soothing potential, style Stardew-painted bedrooms with warm, diffused lighting, such as bedside lamps with soft glow bulbs. Layering textures through plush throws, decorative pillows, and off-white or cream bedding will prevent the room from feeling too cool, instead promoting a luxurious and comforting environment perfect for unwinding after a long day.

Bathrooms: Freshness and Spa-like Tranquility

Stardew is a particularly effective choice for bathrooms, where its light-reflecting qualities create a soft, fresh, and exceptionally clean feeling. It pairs effortlessly with classic white subway tile or sleek modern porcelain, allowing these elements to pop. Chrome or matte black fixtures offer sophisticated contrast, while fluffy white towels and natural wood accents amplify the spa-like atmosphere. Stardew helps bathrooms feel bright, balanced, and immaculately clean, making morning routines and evening wind-downs equally pleasant.

Kitchen Cabinets & Islands: Subtle Charm with Character

In the heart of the home, the kitchen, Stardew offers a subtle yet distinctly noticeable presence. It’s an ideal choice for cabinets or islands when you desire a soft wash of color that feels inviting and fresh without being overwhelming. To achieve a clean, coastal-inspired, or contemporary look, pair Stardew cabinets with crisp white walls, elegant brass hardware for a touch of warmth and sophistication, and natural wood accents like butcher block countertops or open shelving. This combination creates a kitchen that feels bright, airy, and effortlessly stylish.

Exterior Use: A Shifting Canvas of Nature’s Hues

When applied to exteriors, Stardew demonstrates its chameleon-like ability to adapt to varying natural light and weather conditions. On bright, sunny days, it might present as a soft, ethereal gray-blue, reflecting the openness of the sky. Under cloudier skies or in the shade, it can take on a more grounded, slightly deeper blue-gray character, offering a sense of stability. It pairs beautifully with crisp white trim, providing a classic contrast, and looks particularly stunning alongside natural stone accents or striking black shutters, which further enhance its architectural presence. Stardew helps homes blend harmoniously with their natural surroundings, offering a timeless and inviting curb appeal.

How Lighting Affects It: Stardew’s Dynamic Nature

The direction and intensity of light are paramount in shaping how Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138) truly appears in your home. Its cool undertones can be significantly influenced, shifting its perception from warmer to cooler depending on the time of day and the orientation of the room. Understanding these dynamics is key to predicting its final look.

North-facing rooms: These rooms typically receive cooler, indirect light throughout the day. In such environments, Stardew will lean more pronouncedly into its gray side, appearing more muted and sometimes slightly deeper. The cool light emphasizes its subtle green undertone, giving it a calm and composed feel.
South-facing rooms: Bathed in abundant, bright, and often warmer sunlight, south-facing rooms will cause Stardew to warm up slightly. Here, its blue-green aspects become more evident, making it feel a touch more vibrant and less subdued. The warmth of the light brings out its more inviting qualities.
East-facing rooms: Morning light in east-facing rooms is often bright and clear. This early light will vividly bring out Stardew’s fresh blue side, making it appear crisp and energizing. As the day progresses and the light shifts, its gray characteristics will slowly emerge.
West-facing rooms: Rooms facing west will experience soft light in the mornings, but more intense, warmer, and often golden light in the afternoons and evenings. This evening light can bring surprising depth to Stardew, making its gray tones more visible and grounding the color, creating a cozy and reflective mood.

Given these constant shifts, the advice bears repeating: always test Stardew in different spots within your chosen room and observe it at various times throughout the day. This careful consideration will reveal its true character and ensure it aligns perfectly with your desired aesthetic and the unique lighting conditions of your home.

Stardew vs. Other Sherwin-Williams Colors: A Detailed Comparison

Sherwin-Williams offers an impressive array of soft blues and sophisticated gray-blues, making the selection process quite nuanced. To help you distinguish Stardew, let’s explore how it compares to some other highly popular shades, highlighting their subtle differences in undertone, LRV, and overall feel.

Stardew vs. Upward (SW 6239)

Upward (SW 6239, #C0CAD3), Sherwin-Williams’ 2024 Color of the Year, is notably lighter and considerably airier than Stardew, boasting a higher LRV. Where Stardew carries a more grounded gray base, Upward leans distinctly towards a soft, ethereal sky blue, offering a brighter and more uplifting presence in most rooms. It has a cleaner, less muted feel. Pick Upward if your goal is a space that feels crisp, overtly bright, and light-filled, perhaps aiming for a delicate and airy coastal or minimalist aesthetic. Stick with Stardew if you desire a color with a bit more depth, a slightly moodier character, and a more pronounced grounding effect that can provide a tranquil backdrop without feeling overtly blue.

Stardew vs. Jubilee (SW 6248)

Jubilee (SW 6248, #ACB3B6) is a richer, more saturated blue-gray compared to Stardew. It is slightly darker and leans more heavily into its gray components, giving it a more serious, dramatic, and undoubtedly moodier feel. Jubilee works exceptionally well when you’re looking to introduce greater depth and a more pronounced statement in a room, evoking the feel of a stormy sky or deep ocean waters. Choose Jubilee for a bolder, more intense, and distinctly stormy look that commands attention. Go with Stardew if your preference is for something softer, more balanced, and gently calming, maintaining a subtle presence that enhances rather than dominates the space.

Stardew vs. Krypton (SW 6247)

Krypton (SW 6247, #BAC2C5) is a cooler and noticeably sharper blue-gray than Stardew, characterized by its higher LRV (Light Reflectance Value) which makes it appear brighter. It has a more pronounced crispness, and its undertones can lean quite icy or steely under certain lighting conditions, especially in rooms with cooler natural light. Krypton is an excellent choice for modern, contemporary spaces that embrace a cooler-toned palette, or for areas where a sharp, clean, and invigorating blue is desired. In contrast, Stardew offers a touch more warmth and significantly greater versatility, avoiding the potential iciness of Krypton and maintaining a softer, more inviting demeanor that works across a broader range of styles.

Undertone and LRV Comparison Table

A quick glance at this table summarizes the key distinctions between these popular blue-gray shades, helping to highlight Stardew’s unique position:

Paint Color	Undertones	LRV	Warm or Cool
Stardew (SW 9138)	Blue-gray with subtle green	43.00	Cool (balanced)
Upward (SW 6239)	Clear blue with cool gray	57.00	Cool (lighter, airier)
Jubilee (SW 6248)	Deeper blue-gray	45.00	Cool (moodier, richer)
Krypton (SW 6247)	Blue with icy gray	52.00	Cool (crisp, sharp)

While all these colors share a generally soft, relaxed, and cool feel, their individual nuances are critical. Therefore, it’s always advisable to test samples of Stardew alongside any of these comparisons directly in your space to see which one perfectly complements your specific lighting, existing furnishings, and desired aesthetic.

Best Color Pairings for Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138)

Sherwin-Williams Stardew truly excels when paired with complementary colors that either enhance its serene qualities or provide a gentle contrast. It has the remarkable ability to remain subtly sophisticated or to make a more confident statement, depending on how thoughtfully you layer your color palette. Building a cohesive look around Stardew involves selecting the right trim, accent colors, furniture, hardware, and flooring.

Trim and Ceiling Suggestions: Framing Stardew Beautifully

Choosing the right white for trim and ceilings is crucial for defining Stardew and enhancing its character. Here are some top recommendations:

Pure White (SW 7005, #F8F8F6): This is a highly popular and versatile white. Its crisp, clean nature provides a strong, undeniable contrast against Stardew, making the blue-gray appear even more vibrant and fresh. It helps keep the entire space feeling bright, modern, and impeccably tidy. Pure White is a fantastic choice for a contemporary or coastal aesthetic.
Alabaster (SW 7008, #EDEAE0): Sherwin-Williams’ beloved warmer white, Alabaster, offers a softer, creamier complement to Stardew. Its gentle warmth adds a beautiful layer of softness and balance, preventing the overall scheme from feeling too cool. This pairing is excellent for creating a cozier, more traditional, or transitional atmosphere that still feels light and airy.
Extra White (SW 7006, #F4F4F4): For those who prefer a cool, bright, and almost stark white, Extra White creates a very sharp and striking contrast with Stardew. It frames the blue-gray with undeniable clarity and precision, emphasizing its color. This is an ideal choice for a very clean, minimalist, or highly modern design where crisp lines are paramount.

For ceilings, using any of these whites in a flat finish is generally recommended. A flat finish helps to absorb light, reducing glare and ensuring a seamless, unobtrusive transition from the walls, making the room feel more expansive and complete.

Accent Wall and Furniture Colors: Curating Your Palette

Stardew’s versatility extends to its compatibility with a wide array of accent and furniture colors, allowing you to tailor your space to your desired mood:

For a soft, cozy, and inviting palette: Consider pairing Stardew with natural, earthy tones such as warm beige, soft taupe, muted greige, or even a delicate blush pink. These colors introduce warmth and comfort, creating a serene and harmonious environment. Think linen sofas, natural wood coffee tables, and blush-toned decorative pillows.
For contrast and visual interest: Introduce bolder, deeper hues like classic navy blue, sophisticated charcoal gray, rich deep walnut wood tones, or elegant matte black. These contrasting colors provide definition and drama, making Stardew feel even more vibrant by comparison. An accent wall in navy or a striking charcoal fireplace can truly pop against Stardew walls.
Upholstery ideas: For balance and understated elegance, opt for upholstery in neutral tones like oatmeal, natural linen, creamy off-white, or light gray. If you desire a touch of warmth or a bolder statement, consider rich leather furniture or a deep navy sofa to add a sophisticated pop of color and texture.

Hardware and Flooring Compatibility: The Finishing Touches

I’ve observed that Stardew harmonizes beautifully with a diverse range of materials, but thoughtfully pairing it with the right metal finishes and flooring selections is paramount to truly bringing out its soft, inviting character and completing your design vision.

For hardware, brushed brass offers a touch of luxurious warmth and instantly imbues Stardew with a polished, welcoming, and slightly traditional or transitional edge. Its golden tones create a subtle but effective contrast against the cool blue-gray. If your aesthetic leans more modern and sleek, polished chrome is an excellent choice; it maintains the crispness and brightness of the space, reflecting light beautifully and creating a clean, contemporary feel. For those who prefer a bolder, more dramatic contrast, matte black hardware stands out strikingly against the soft blue-gray, adding strong definition and a sophisticated, contemporary flair, perfect for industrial or farmhouse-inspired looks.

When selecting flooring, light wood options such as white oak or light maple are superb for keeping the room feeling open, airy, and inherently breezy, echoing Stardew’s refreshing qualities. These lighter woods contribute to a spacious and contemporary ambiance. Alternatively, medium brown tones, like those found in walnut or certain engineered wood options, introduce a sense of richness and depth, making Stardew feel more grounded and cozy, ideal for a more traditional or rustic setting. If you’re considering tile or natural stone, gravitating towards soft grays with similar subtle undertones as Stardew will foster a subtle, cohesive, and sophisticated look, ensuring the flooring blends seamlessly with the wall color rather than clashing.

Regardless of your specific choices, the golden rule of design always applies: meticulously test samples of all materials—paint, fabrics, hardware, and flooring—together in your actual space. Stardew is a quiet yet remarkably responsive color, and the interplay of natural and artificial lighting, along with adjacent materials, can significantly alter how everything harmonizes together, ensuring your final selection is truly perfect.

Paint Finish Recommendations for Sherwin-Williams Stardew

The chosen paint finish plays a critical role in how Sherwin-Williams Stardew presents on your walls and how practical it is for different areas of your home. The sheen level affects both the visual depth of the color and the durability of the surface.

Matte: This flat, non-reflective finish is superb for bedrooms, formal living rooms, or ceilings. Matte paint absorbs light rather than reflecting it, which keeps Stardew’s tone exceptionally soft, muted, and sophisticated. It’s excellent for hiding minor wall imperfections and creates a velvety, luxurious appearance, enhancing the tranquil atmosphere.
Eggshell: Offering a slight, subtle sheen, eggshell is a versatile, all-purpose finish ideal for living rooms, dining rooms, and hallways. It provides a bit more durability and washability than matte, making it practical for higher-traffic areas while still maintaining a soft, elegant look. The gentle sheen adds a touch of life and dimension to the color without being overly reflective.
Satin: With a noticeable, smooth sheen, satin finish is highly recommended for kitchens, bathrooms, and cabinets. Its increased durability and resistance to moisture make it perfect for areas that require frequent cleaning. Satin also provides excellent color clarity, allowing Stardew to appear slightly richer and more vibrant, while still being soft enough not to look glossy.
Semi-Gloss: While less common for entire walls, semi-gloss is often used for trim, doors, and baseboards. Its higher sheen provides excellent durability and makes these architectural features pop, creating a crisp contrast with Stardew walls.

As with color, always try your chosen finish in a test patch on your wall. The interplay of lighting, surface texture, and the chosen sheen can subtly shift Stardew’s final appearance, ensuring you get the exact look and functionality you desire.

Sampling and Buying Options for Sherwin-Williams Stardew

Before making a significant commitment to painting, the most crucial step is to test Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138) in your own home. Its nuanced tone is highly responsive to ambient lighting and surrounding elements, and what looks perfect online or in a store might differ once applied to your walls. Testing ensures that the color truly harmonizes with your unique space.

Where to Get Peel-and-Stick Samples: Convenience and Accuracy

Peel-and-stick samples are an excellent, mess-free way to test paint colors. They allow you to easily move the sample around different walls and observe it in various lighting conditions without the commitment of painting a physical swatch.

Samplize: A highly recommended option, Samplize ships large (12″x12″) peel-and-stick samples featuring real Sherwin-Williams paint. These samples provide an accurate representation of the color without the need for brushes or clean-up.
Sherwin-Williams stores: Visit your local Sherwin-Williams retail location. They offer traditional small paint chips and typically sell small, affordable sample jars of paint. These allow you to paint a swatch directly onto your wall or a piece of poster board.
Hardware stores: Many larger hardware stores, such as Lowe’s or independent retailers, may carry Sherwin-Williams color chips or offer their own brand’s color-matched testers (though direct SW samples are always best for accuracy).

Once you have your samples, stick them in several different spots around the room—near windows, in corners, on both light and shaded walls. Observe them morning, afternoon, and night to fully appreciate how Stardew evolves throughout the day and with different light sources.

Where to Buy the Paint: Your Purchasing Options

After you’ve confidently chosen Stardew, purchasing the paint is straightforward:

Sherwin-Williams.com: The official website allows you to conveniently order your paint online. You can choose to have it delivered directly to your home or opt for in-store pickup at your nearest Sherwin-Williams location.
Sherwin-Williams stores: Visiting a Sherwin-Williams store offers the benefit of personalized advice from color experts, who can guide you on quantities, finishes, and any specific project needs. You’ll also have access to their full range of paint products and accessories.
Local hardware stores: While not all hardware stores are direct Sherwin-Williams retailers, many are equipped with tinting machines that can accurately mix Stardew using official Sherwin-Williams formulas. Always double-check to ensure they use the correct formula for precise color matching.

Many stores now also offer convenient curbside pickup or local delivery services, making the paint purchasing process smoother and more efficient than ever before.

Paint Equivalents in Other Brands: Similar Colors to Sherwin-Williams Stardew

If you’re already committed to using a different paint brand or simply exploring options, there are several similar colors that capture the calming and versatile essence of Sherwin-Williams Stardew. While no two paint colors are ever exact duplicates across brands due to differing pigment formulations, these options come very close in terms of hue, saturation, and overall feel.

Benjamin Moore Alternatives:

Benjamin Moore offers a sophisticated palette, and these shades approximate Stardew’s blue-gray charm:

Boothbay Gray (HC-165, #B5BEBD): This is often cited as one of the closest matches to Stardew. Boothbay Gray is a soft blue-gray with similar depth and a comparable LRV, offering a very similar tranquil and sophisticated tone. It shares Stardew’s ability to shift gracefully with light.
Silver Gray (2131-60, #C6D1D2): A slightly lighter option than Stardew, Silver Gray still delivers that desirable airy blue-gray feel. It’s a bit more ethereal and less grounded than Stardew, perfect if you want a lighter touch while retaining the cool, serene quality.

Behr Alternatives:

Behr provides a strong selection of accessible and beautiful colors. Here are some options that align with Stardew’s aesthetic:

Intercoastal Gray (MQ 5‑23, #CBD4D2): This color is a very near match to Stardew in terms of its soft blue-gray tones. It shares a similar brightness and overall feel, making it an excellent alternative if you’re working with Behr paints.
Shadow Blue (N480‑3, #BACBD0): For a slightly richer, more saturated, and moodier blue-gray, Shadow Blue is a compelling option. It offers a deeper tone without drastically shifting the cool temperature, providing a more impactful presence while retaining Stardew’s calming essence.
Hazy Skies (PPU 14‑12, #CBDBDC): As its name suggests, Hazy Skies is a lighter, fresher rendition of the blue-gray theme. It maintains Stardew’s signature softness but introduces a little extra brightness, making it suitable for spaces where you desire a touch more luminosity while keeping the tranquil blue-gray character.

It is always, always recommended to test these alternative samples side by side with a Sherwin-Williams Stardew swatch in your own space. Even with similar descriptions, paint formulas vary significantly across different brands, and the subtle nuances can result in a final look that shifts. Your lighting and existing decor will play a major role in how these colors ultimately appear.

Conclusion: Embracing the Serenity of Sherwin-Williams Stardew

If you’ve followed this guide through to the end, you now possess a comprehensive and solid understanding of what Sherwin-Williams Stardew (SW 9138) truly offers to a room. You’ve delved into its serene blue-gray character, explored its subtle green undertones, and learned how its appearance gracefully reacts to the ever-changing light throughout your home. We’ve compared it to popular similar shades like Upward, Jubilee, and Krypton, highlighting Stardew’s unique balanced appeal, and you’re now equipped with insights on what colors, trims, hardware, and finishes work best to complement and enhance its natural beauty.

Stardew is more than just a paint color; it’s an invitation to create spaces that feel both refined and incredibly calming. Its ability to adapt to various design styles—from coastal and traditional to modern transitional—and its consistent delivery of a peaceful, misty-morning look without feeling cold or flat, solidifies its status as a top contender for those seeking a sophisticated blue-gray hue.

Before you pick up that brush, remember the single most important piece of advice: always, always try a sample of Stardew directly in your own home. The unique interplay of your home’s natural light, existing textures, and nearby materials will invariably influence the final look, ensuring that the color you choose is precisely the color you love. We hope this guide empowers you to make a confident decision and transform your space into the serene sanctuary you envision.

If you’re still exploring other color possibilities or need further inspiration for your next painting project, be sure to check out our other detailed color guides on the website. They follow the same in-depth format, offering extensive insights to help you choose with confidence and bring your design dreams to life.