Sherwin-Williams Anonymous is a beautiful color that’s hard to pin down. Is it gray? Brown? Green? Explore our full review to learn more about this paint color and see photos from a real client project.
The gorgeous house featured in today’s post was originally built in 1917. A renovation was done in 2010. As part of the renovation, the builders added a second story and pushed out part of the house. The home’s original two-toned brick was left, red-framed windows were added and an earthy palette was born.
The homeowners came to us in 2025 for help updating the home to a more modern color palette. We kept all of the original hard finishes but chose fresh paint colors. Sherwin-Williams Anonymous was the perfect earthy hue to anchor this gorgeous color scheme.
Read on to learn more about SW Anonymous paint and explore a full Sherwin-Williams Anonymous exterior color palette used on our client’s home.
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What Color is Sherwin-Williams Anonymous?
“Anonymous” is really the perfect name for this hue. If you were to ask someone what color it is, you’d likely get a few different answers. Some would probably say it’s a gray color. Others would probably say it’s brown. A lot of people call it a taupe. You might even get a few people saying it’s a green paint color.
As a professional paint color consultant, I’d call it a dark greige with strong green undertones. It is a very neutral color and super, super earthy.
The homeowner we worked with on this project pointed out that it looks different depending on the light, the angle you’re looking at the house and the environment around it – and they’re so right! Sherwin-Williams Anonymous (Sample) is a shape-shifting hue perfect for an exterior palette like the one we’re sharing today, which had a lot of different colors and hard finishes to work with.
What are the undertones of Sherwin-Williams Anonymous?
SW Anonymous has strong green undertones. These tones give the color its warmth and help it look earthy.
Is Anonymous a good exterior color?
Yes, absolutely! I love using Anonymous exterior paint because it looks so different in different lighting. It can look more like a warm taupe in sunny areas and a dark gray in shady areas. It’s also flexible enough to complement different kinds of brick and stone and work with many other types of hard finishes (like a roof, decking, natural wood elements and more).
Is Anonymous a good interior color?
It can be in certain situations. I wouldn’t use it as a whole-house wall color because it is so dark. I see it as an accent wall color, or perhaps a lower kitchen cabinet color, or kitchen island color.
What colors complement Anonymous?
SW Anonymous is a very earthy color, so it pairs well with other earthy hues. Its green undertones help it align with other green colors and other paint with green undertones. The undertones are also complementary with red hues and finishes because they’re on the opposite side of the color wheel. It also looks good with earthy blues like SW Sea Serpent and earthy greens like SW Rosemary.
Sample Sherwin-Williams Anonymous Exterior Paint
We always recommend that you test paint colors on your home because lighting can change a color completely, both with interiors as well as 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:
Project Spotlight: Sherwin-Williams Anonymous Exterior Color Palette
The client’s home featured in this post, originally built in 1917, is a renovated Denver Craftsman bungalow in an older neighborhood.
The home features two original types of brick that were prevalent in Denver at the time – red brick and buff brick. The buff brick is more of an earthy apricot brick. And the red brick (Article) is more burgundy than anything. They’re both beautiful.
The home’s window frames are actually an earthy red, very much like a Frank Lloyd Wright house. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright was famous for using red-framed windows.
The previous color scheme of this house was more of a dark beige. When the home was renovated in 2010, they essentially painted the siding a slightly darker version of the buff brick and used a slightly lighter version as the trim color. This palette looked nice, but the homeowners were looking for a refresh.
The homeowners reached out and we helped them pick this earthy, beautiful palette. We weren’t changing any of the hard finishes, so we knew we had to find paint colors that would work with them. The end result was seriously gorgeous!
Sherwin-Williams Anonymous Siding
Sherwin-Williams Anonymous (Sample) is the foundation of this earthy palette. It’s a very neutral color with green undertones. I knew I wanted a siding color with green undertones because they would make the red brick and the buff brick glow, and would also be opposite to the home’s beautiful red, earthy window frames.
When you pick a paint color for this type of house that has so many earthy finishes, we need to make sure that the color itself is earthy. Sherwin-Williams Anonymous absolutely fits the bill!
Sherwin-Williams Neutral Ground Trim
For the home’s trim, we needed a “white” exterior trim color (Article) that would continue the earthy palette. Sherwin-Williams Neutral Ground (Sample) was perfect. Neutral Ground is a very dark white with soft green undertones.
It was the perfect pairing for the SW Anonymous exterior paint and all of the home’ earthy red finishes.
Sherwin-Williams Sommelier Garage Door
This home also featured a detached garage, and we decided this was the perfect place to go a little bold and add a pop of color to the palette. We picked Sherwin-Williams Sommelier (Sample) for the garage door paint color, which was a match to the red window frame color.
This simple addition of color really goes a long way toward making the entire property feel cohesive and intentional.
Sherwin-Williams Pine Cone Wood Beams
This home also featured gorgeous wood beams in the front and back of the house. We used a warm brown solid stain called Sherwin-Williams Pine Cone (Sample) for these elements.
We picked a solid stain instead of a transparent or semi-transparent stain because it will hold up much better in the harsh Colorado weather. SW Pine Cone is a warm, midtone brown that looks very woodsy. It aligns with the earthy elements of the home and also matches the floor of the front deck, which couldn’t be painted because it was a composite deck. The front porch ceiling was left as is.
Natural Wood Front Door & Porch Ceiling
This home also featured some absolutely gorgeous natural wood elements, particularly in the front entryway.
We left the front door (Article) with its natural wood and it looked lovely with the new palette. We could have painted it SW Sommelier to align with the garage door. This would have looked nice, too, but could have made the front of the home feel a bit too busy.
The home’s front porch ceiling was also a warm, natural wood. This was one of my favorite features of this house and the new, earthy color palette really helped this existing element shine.
Sample This Swiss Coffee Exterior Palette
- Sherwin-Williams Anonymous: Siding
- Sherwin-Williams Neutral Ground: Soffits, fascia, gutters, downspouts and trim
- Sherwin-Williams Sommelier: Garage door and window frames
- Sherwin-Williams Pine Cone: Wooden corbels
Key Learning Points
Sherwin-Williams Anonymous is a flexible dark greige paint color with warm green undertones.
- SW Anonymous is a very earthy neutral. It pairs well with other earthy hues and warm finishes like brick and natural wood.
- SW Neutral Ground is an earthy, dark white paint color that is perfect for this color palette.
- Adding a pop of color to the garage door is a simple way to tie an exterior paint color together without making a home feel busy.
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
Still need help picking the best paint colors? Discover our Online Color Consulting Package.
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- 19 Best White Exterior Trim Colors
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
3 Responses
Fabulous, one of your best yet. Gives my hope for my hot mess.
Beautiful. Could you use a darker beige trim with Anonymous?
Hi Michele,
We tested so many whites and beiges. We wanted a “white” that was dark and earthy enough to go with the brick. We found that as we went with darker beiges, they didn’t provide enough contrast with the red window frames.
Theoretically you could use a darker beige with green undertones, but it would depend on your hard surfaces such as brick or stone and the windows.
Michelle