Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition Review 2024

Interested in trying some of the best interior paints on the market? Read my full Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition paint review, written after using them for four years as a paint color consultant.

I originally posted a review of these paint colors when the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition Collection was first launched in early 2020. This was just at the start of the pandemic, so you can imagine it was a very quiet launch.

I wanted to update my review since I’ve been using these paint colors for four years, both in clients’ homes and in my own home. Keep reading to learn more about Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition paints and the pros and cons of this line.

*This post contains affiliate links for products I use and love. If you click on some links and make a purchase, I will get a small commission at no cost to you. This helps pay for the costs of the blog, so I can continue to offer great content to our readers.

What Is the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Collection?

The Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition collection features 200 beautiful colors with a crisper and brighter white base than other Sherwin-Williams bases. The whites in this collection have a wider breadth than the standard product, and the colors are crisper and cleaner because of the brighter white base.

Sherwin-Williams also claimed that the new paint and colors had much better “hide” than before.  This means that the paint covers surfaces in fewer coats. In my experience, that is true!

In our North American Market, the major paint companies do not frequently introduce new paint colors. Despite being four years old at the time of this review, these are still considered very new paint colors.

These paints aren’t available through the Sherwin paints available at Lowe’s, only at the Sherwin-Williams paint stores.

Sample colors

We always recommend that you test paint colors (article) in your home because lighting can completely change a color, both on interiors and exteriors.  

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 via the link below.

Can Emerald Designer Collection Paints Be Mixed with Other Sherwin-Williams Paint Grades?

Sherwin does not allow or approve these paints being mixed with anything other than the Emerald Designer Collection Paint. It is not available for other Sherwin paint grades. This is because the bases for paint grades like A-100, Super Paint, and Cashmere are so different and unavailable in the brighter white base used for the Emerald Designer Collection colors. 

The paint for Emerald Designer Collection colors is different from the standard Emerald interior paint because it has a special white base.

As of September 11, 2024, I found that some Emerald Designer Collection paints can be ordered from the Sherwin website as Duration Home Interior Paint.

Sherwin-Williams Storm Warning (SW 9555) can now be ordered as a Duration Home interior paint in quarts, 1-gallon or 5-gallon paint, in Flat, Matte, Satin and Semi-Gloss sheens.

Sherwin-Williams Cheviot (SW 9503) can also be ordered as Duration Home interior paint in 1-gallon or 5-gallon sizes in Matte, Satin, and Semi-Gloss sheens.

Are Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Exterior Paints Available?

The only exterior paint available with this collection of colors was the Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, which can be used for interiors and exteriors. Although some homeowners use this paint for exterior trim, it is not recommended for exterior siding.

I have not yet found this paint collection on the Sherwin-Williams website in any other exterior grade paints.

My Sherwin-Williams Emerald Paint Review

Now that we have a clear understanding of what makes Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Collection paints special, I want to share my own experience using these colors for the past four years.

Pros: Emerald Designer Collection Performance

I have used this collection in several projects, including my own home, with the Emerald Designer paint. The paint colors were beautiful, on par with Benjamin Moore. The colors were clean and had better hide than the standard colors, especially the whites.

I was especially pleased with SW White Snow, a clean white that is similar to SW High Reflective White. I was able to cover a back hallway painted with SW Cyberspace (a dark blue-black) with just 3 coats of White Snow. That would have taken 5-6 coats of High Reflective White.

Cons: Limited Availability

Unfortunately, this color collection didn’t have a strong uptake when it was first launched in 2020. The reasons for the poor uptake had nothing to do with the beautiful colors or performance, however.  

Instead, the limited availability restricted their adoption, and launching in early 2020, at the start of the pandemic, also affected the supply chain.

Some of the biggest challenges for this paint line included:

• The paint colors were only available with the special Emerald Designer Edition Interior Latex Paint (interiors), and Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel (exteriors and interior trims) and it wasn’t available for exterior siding.
• No paint testers available.
• Only available in one-gallon pails.

Painters have been frustrated that they couldn’t get 5-gallon pails, which is standard for most larger projects. Homeowners didn’t have access to testers unless they purchased a 1-gallon pail at the list price, but large peel-and-stick samples are thankfully available through Samplize and Sherwin-Williams.

Sherwin Williams Emerald Paint Price

Another factor contributing to the slow uptake of the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition Collection was the price. These special paints were the most expensive that Sherwin offered.

My Favorite Sherwin-Williams Emerald Paint Colors

As I’ve worked with a variety of SW Emerald Designer Edition paint colors the last four years, I’ve really fallen in love with these gorgeous hues. This stuff is gorgeous! The following paint colors are some of my favorites:

Sherwin-Williams Cheviot

I think of Cheviot (sample) as Sherwin-Williams’ answer to Simply White. It is clean, crisp and luminous on the wall and looks beautiful in many different spaces.

Sherwin-Williams Cheviot (Color Review) has really soft yellow undertones that help this color look warm on the wall. When I say it has yellow undertones, I don’t want you to think the color looks yellow, just soft and slightly warm.  It has enough yellow in it to brighten up a room with low light, but it stands up well to the bright sunshine without washing out or looking too yellow.

This is a great paint white paint color option for rooms with low light (read post).

Sherwin-Williams Grey Heron

Sherwin-Willaims Grey Heron (sample) is a light greige paint color. It typically looks much lighter than it really is on the wall but has enough depth to hold up even in spaces with lower lighting.

Grey Heron (Color Review) has violet undertones. Like other gray paint colors, its undertones are not always obvious. The color is so clean and crisp that it looks much lighter than it is on the wall while still offering a good amount of depth. Don’t be fooled when I say it has violet undertones. This color won’t look fleshy or violet, just a nice soft light version of an elephant-colored gray.

It looks especially beautiful in North-facing rooms with cooler light, and can even be used as a whole-house color!

The closest and almost identical Benjamin Moore color is Balboa Mist (color review).

Sherwin-Williams Mortar

Sherwin-Williams SW Mortar (sample) paint is a light and airy warm greige that can be used in place of a traditional white paint color in many applications, including interior rooms and exterior trim. 

SW Mortar (color review) has soft, invisible green undertones. It reminds me a lot of Benjamin Moore Classic Gray (color review), although the undertones are slightly different. Sherwin-Williams has taken the best of Classic Gray, without the flashes of violet undertones, and made Mortar.

Unlike many white colors, Mortar really stays true to its color and doesn’t change much with different lighting throughout the day. It is always soft and light and lovely.

I used this paint color for my parents when they moved in with me. My dad said he wanted a soft warm paint color that was pleasing throughout the day, and this was it!

Sherwin-Williams White Snow

Sherwin-Williams White Snow (sample) is a bright, clean white paint color with nearly invisible warm undertones that keep it from looking too stark.

This color filled a gap in the Sherwin-Williams offering with an LRV of 90. It’s not quite a true white but very bright and covers beautifully. I like to think of it as a modernized version of High Reflective White. It’s almost as clean and has much better hide, needing fewer layers of paint for good coverage.

White Snow is one of the best Sherwin-Williams white paint colors because it is not overly warm or cool. As a result, it’s a very versatile color that can pair well with both cool and warm paint colors, flooring, and other hard finishes. It’s a great color to use as a clean base comparison with other whites.

We wrote about SW White Snow in Best Sherwin-Williams White Paint Colors (article).

Sample the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Collection

Don’t forget to always sample your paint colors. Use the links below to order Samplize samples for each of our favorite Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Collection paint colors.

Samplize offers peel-and-stick samples made with real paint, so you can easily test any color in any space in your home.

Buy 8 samples and get 2 free – no coupon code required! Order today and get samples tomorrow!

Key Learning Points

Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition Collection paints are high-quality, beautiful paint colors with excellent coverage. Like any paint, however, they have some pros and cons.

• The Emerald Designer Edition Collection paint colors are beautiful and, as promised, have better coverage than other Sherwin paints.
• This collection features a specially formulated bright white base, which is crisper and brighter than other Sherwin-Williams bases.
• This is primarily an interior paint, available in flat, eggshell, satin and gloss sheens.
• Exterior colors are only available in exterior Emerald Urethane trim paint. They are not generally available in Emerald Exterior paints for siding.
• SW Emerald Designer Edition paints can only be mixed with SW Emerald paint, which is more expensive than other Sherwin paint lines.
• I’ve had reports from Sherwin stores, clients, and local painters that this color collection is available in some areas with Duration paint.

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.

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Related Posts

• Best Sherwin-Williams White Paint Colors
• SW Cheviot Paint Color Review
• SW Mortar Paint Color Review
• SW Grey Heron Paint 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 specific answers to your paint questions.  If you want more specific advice, our Online Color Consultations will help you pick your paint colors. Thank you for your understanding.