Learn all about Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn exterior paint in this review and real project spotlight from the paint color consultants at The Color Concierge.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn is a soft charcoal paint color that we absolutely love using for exteriors. It’s a truly neutral dark exterior paint color perfect for siding, dark trim, and exterior doors.
Because this color is so neutral, it can pair with many other hues – perfect if you want to try a bold front door paint color to add a pop of color to your exterior paint color palette.
Keep reading to learn more about Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn and see it in a real-life exterior palette used on our client’s home.
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What Color Is Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn?
Peppercorn by Sherwin-Williams (Sample) is a soft charcoal paint color. It’s light enough that it won’t look black, but deep enough to still look dark and moody in the bright outdoor sunlight.
What is the SW Peppercorn LRV?
SW Peppercorn has an LRV of 10, which makes it much lighter than some of Sherwin-Williams’ popular black paint colors like SW Iron Ore (Article), Black Magic or Tricorn Black.
LRV stands for Light Reflectance Value – a measure of how much light a paint color reflects (100) or absorbs (0). Put simply, it’s a way of describing how light or dark a paint color is.
Is SW Peppercorn warm or cool?
Peppercorn is not overly warm or overly cool. It is truly one of the most neutral paint colors I’ve ever worked with in my decade as a paint color consultant. Ultimately, warm or cool will depend on the colors used next to it, because color is all about comparison. If you look at it next to a warm color, then it will appear cool. If it’s adjacent to a cool color, it will look warm.
What are the Peppercorn undertones?
Peppercorn is one of the few paint colors that really doesn’t have any undertones. It is incredibly neutral – even when used as exterior paint and viewed under bright sunlight.
While we don’t typically use the RGB color codes for paint, in this case, these values show just how balanced this color is.
RGB describes the exact mix of red, green, and blue light values used to digitally represent a paint color on screens. Peppercorn’s code is RGB: 88, 88, 88 – identical levels for each light value, making this color unusually neutral.
Sample SW Peppercorn
We always recommend testing paint colors on your home because lighting can completely change a color, both indoors and outdoors.
In the old days, this meant we painted a large poster board with sample pots and a huge mess.
Now we have a better way to test paint, with Samplize Peel-and-Stick samples!
- Samples pre-painted with 2 coats of real paint from the manufacturer.
- Large 9” x 14” samples to see the color better in the lighting.
- Delivered overnight
- Colors are accurate
- Less expensive than painting a large poster board with sample pots
- No mess, and no toxic paint to dispose of
I use these in my color consulting practice for exact results. Discover Samplize peel-and-stick paint samples:
Project Spotlight: Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn Exterior
The home featured in today’s post is one of our favorite exterior paint projects. It’s actually featured on our home page because we love it so much!
This gorgeous home is located in Oregon and surrounded by gorgeous green vegetation and flowers in the warmer months. We wanted an exterior palette that would really let those natural hues shine but still stand out.
SW Peppercorn Siding
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn siding was the perfect choice for this home. The color looks much lighter outdoors. It’s dark enough to still feel bold and moody but light enough not to feel overpowering in the neighborhood.
This Peppercorn exterior paint color palette completely transformed this home. You can see in the before picture below how its previous color scheme wasn’t doing anything for this home. It got lost and looked a bit dull among its green surroundings.
SW City Loft Trim
We chose Sherwin-Williams City Loft (Article) for this home’s white exterior trim (Article). SW City Loft is a light, warm, greige paint color with violet undertones. It looks gorgeous as an exterior “white” paint color.
SW Tricorn Black Shutters
We used a low-contrast, tone-on-tone look for this home with Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black (Sample) shutters. Tricorn is a darker, more true black that looks gorgeous as a low-contrast accent against the Peppercorn siding.
SW Moody Blue Front Door
The front door painted with Sherwin-Williams Moody Blue (Sample) gives this color scheme a much-needed pop of color. This one simple feature really brings this home to life!
Moody Blue is a muted, blue-green paint color that looks like a gorgeous aqua hue in the bright sunshine outdoors.
Sample the Exterior Color Palette
- Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn: Siding, lattice, soffits
- Sherwin-Williams City Loft: Trim, fascia, gutters, handrails, spindles, side doors, and garage doors
- Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black: Shutters, front railing
- Sherwin-Williams Moody Blue: Front door
Using Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn Interior Paint
While we love Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn exterior paint, it can be used for interior paint projects, too. Here are some of our favorite applications:
Can I try Peppercorn cabinets?
Absolutely! Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn would be a gorgeous paint color for lowers in a tuxedo kitchen cabinet (Article) color scheme. It would also look beautiful as a kitchen island paint color.
Is a SW Peppercorn office a good idea?
An office painted with Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn would be lovely. While I have not used Peppercorn specifically, I love painting offices (Article) with black paint colors. Dark walls are very restful for the eyes, especially if you’ll be on the computer all day.
The office below is painted with Benjamin Moore Onyx (Article), a similarly neutral black paint color. BM Onyx is darker than Peppercorn, with an LRV of 5, but this office is still a good example of how Peppercorn walls could look.
Is Peppercorn a good interior front door color?
Yes, it is! We love to paint interior front doors (Article) a dark paint color. It’s such a simple way to add a pop of color to a space. In the photo below, an interior front door and entry closet door are painted with BM Wrought Iron (Article).
BM Wrought Iron is slightly darker than Peppercorn, with an LRV of 8.17, but looks similar in place. Peppercorn will look a bit more gray.
The Best SW Peppercorn Alternatives
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore (Sample) is a darker, warmer hue than SW Peppercorn. It has an LRV of 6 and invisible green undertones, making it look warmer in place.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Wrought Iron
Sherwin-Williams Wrought Iron (Sample) is a darker, cooler hue than SW Peppercorn. It has an LRV of 8.17 and cool blue undertones, making it look cooler in place. Wrought Iron is a good substitute for Peppercorn if you need a switch to Benjamin Moore. Learn about Wrought Iron (article) in our color review.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Benjamin Moore Tricorn Black
Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black (Sample) has similar neutral undertones to Peppercorn, but it’s significantly darker, with an LRV of 3. Tricorn is much closer to a true black hue, though slightly cool and blue.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Black Magic
Sherwin-Williams Black Magic (Sample) is another darker black paint color compared to SW Peppercorn. It has an LRV of 3 and warm green undertones.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Grizzle Gray
Sherwin-Williams Grizzle Gray (Sample) is slightly lighter than Peppercorn, with an LRV of 13. Grizzle Gray has an LRV of 13 with clear green undertones. It looks much greener in place than Peppercorn.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Outerspace
Sherwin-Williams Outerspace (Sample) is a blue-gray version of Peppercorn. It has a similar LRV (12) and is similarly muted. But Outerspace has strong blue undertones that make this color look much cooler in place. You can definitely see the difference below.
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn vs Sherwin-Williams Perle Noir
Sherwin-Williams Perle Noir (Sample) is another similar hue to SW Peppercorn. Perle Noir is a bit darker, with an LRV of 8, and has violet undertones, which keep it looking warmer in place than Peppercorn.
What Is The Best Benjamin Moore Peppercorn Alternative?
Want the look of Peppercorn but prefer Benjamin Moore paints? Don’t try to color match! Instead, opt for a Benjamin Moore alternative: Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain (Sample).
Iron Mountain (color review article) has a similar LRV as Peppercorn, at 10.96, and is similarly muted. But it has warmer, green undertones that make it look a bit earthier.
Key Learning Points
Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn is a muted, dark charcoal paint color perfect for exterior paint projects.
- SW Peppercorn is one of the most neutral paint colors you’ll ever see. It is not overly warm or cool, just wonderfully neutral.
- Peppercorn is a fantastic exterior hue, including for siding, dark exterior trim or exterior front doors.
- Pair Peppercorn paint with almost any other hue, thanks to its neutral undertones.
Remember: NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens. Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching here.
No matter what, always test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test they turn out wrong. Learn how to test your paint colors here.
Online Color Consulting
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Related Posts
- Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain Exterior
- Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore Color Review
- Best Dark Exterior Trim Colors
- Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron Color Review
About the Author
Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color for their home – whether it’s a whole-house paint color scheme or ideas for a single room.
Since The Color Concierge was founded in 2017, we have completed over 3000 color consultations, both online and in-person. I am a Certified Color Expert with 7 years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give out specific answers to your paint questions. If you want more specific advice, please consider purchasing a color consultation. Thank you for your understanding.
