Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent Color Review

Learn all about Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent (Sample) in this color review.  This dark muted blue-green paint color is a gorgeous option for exteriors with red brick or warm stone colors.  It looks much brighter outside than on the screen or the Sherwin fan deck.  This color is also an excellent option for interiors.

SW Sea Serpent is a Navy Blue with slight green undertones. The first time I saw a house painted this color I pulled over and looked for the color in my Sherwin-Williams sample deck. This stop-and-stare color is a Color Concierge client favorite.

Please note that all the photos in this post are from Color Concierge projects.

*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 LRV of Sea Serpent?

The LRV of Sea Serpent is 7, which makes it a dark navy blue that will look much more colorful outside than inside. LRV (Light Reflectance Value) is a measurement used to identify how light or dark a color is.  The scale goes from 1 (pure black) to 100 (pure white) and indicates how dark or light a color is.

What are the SW Sea Serpent undertones?

Sea Serpent is a blue paint color with green undertones, which give this color a beautiful touch of warmth. It’s one of my favorite navy blue paint colors because it doesn’t feel too cold – just deep, dark and beautiful.

Is Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent warm or cool?

Like most blue paint colors, Sea Serpent is cool. But because of its green undertones, it has more warmth than some other blue colors that don’t lean toward green.

Sample SW Sea Serpent

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 and sample Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent (Sample) via the link below.

Sea Serpent for Exteriors

Outdoors is one of the best places to use Sea Serpent paint for your home.

Use Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent as an exterior paint color, with a darker white trim color to keep the contrast high. If you use a very bright white it can look stark. 

This red brick house was completely transformed with SW Sea Serpent for the siding and SW Egret White for the trim. Sea Serpent is one of our favorite dark paint colors for red brick homes (Article).  You can also use a Sea Serpent front door and shutters with lighter palettes.  If you have shutters, consider using SW Attitude Gray when the siding color is Sea Serpent.

And check out this transformation!  Our homeowner was really brave to trust us with this transformation, but now this house looks updated and transformed.

This was the back, after and before.

You can see that we simplified the corner trim in the back.  We also changed the downspout color to the body color to make the downspouts disappear.

What are Best Exterior White Trim Colors for Sea Serpent?

I would stick with white trim colors with an LRV between 70 and 75.  We used SW Egret White (LRV=70) for the trim here, but we also could have used Oyster White or Pearly White.  A very light white would have been too stark a contrast.

TIP:  When using dark paint colors consider a darker white or light greige so that the contrast doesn’t look too stark.  Check out the sweet diamond accent on the peak!  We often see those on houses painted the same color as the roofline.

Best Front Door Colors with Sea Serpent and Red Brick

We used a beautiful cherry-red called SW Stolen Kiss that contrasted with the blue-green paint color and brightened up the brick entry.  And, I love the name!  You could also use SW Tricorn Black (black), or SW Attitude Gray (green-gray) as front door colors (Article).

Sea Serpent Front Doors and Shutters

We love Sea Serpent front doors, and it makes a perfect and versatile shutter color.  This photo was from another project where we paired with Iron Ore siding in the SW Iron Ore paint color review. It looks amazing with red brick.

Sea Serpent for Interiors

This paint color is nice in rooms with tons of natural or artificial light.  If you don’t have enough light, it will look black.  You can also use it as an accent wall or an interior front door.

Can I use Sea Serpent kitchen cabinets?

You can absolutely use this color for cabinets.  If you want to use it for both upper and lower cabinets, make sure that you install soft white countertops and a white backsplash to keep the look light and balanced.  You can also use it as a lower cabinet with white upper cabinets in a tuxedo cabinet palette (Article). Ideally the upper cabinet white should be the same as your white trim color.

At my former home, my kitchen had SW Cyberspace (Color review article) lowers that look really lovely with white upper cabinets. Sea Serpent would work in a similar way.

Would a SW Sea Serpent bathroom work?

Sea Serpent could definitely be used in a bathroom. I love the idea of a Sea Serpent bathroom vanity, but you could also use it for an accent wall – or even a whole-room color – as long as it’s balanced with lots of white in the rest of the bathroom space.

My master bathroom is currently painted with SW Cyberspace walls, which you can see below. Sea Serpent is a bit lighter and a bit greener than Cyberspace, but could definitely be used in a similar application.

Should I paint a Sea Serpent accent wall?

Accent walls are one of the best uses for dark paint colors like Sea Serpent. I love the idea of using a Sea Serpent accent wall in an office, library or even dining room. In a room with lots of warm light, its blue-green undertones would look really beautiful. 

DESIGNER TIP:  Make sure that you test the color in the room.  If you don’t have enough light, it will look black.  We affectionately call this when a color “blacks out” do to insufficient light to help it come to life.

Best Interior White Trim & Ceiling Colors with Sea Serpent

Use warmer whites such as SW Greek Villa, SW Alabaster, or BM White Dove.  If you pick a trim color that is too creamy, it can start to look yellow.

When To Avoid Sea Serpent

For interiors, avoid rooms with low light unless you have LOTS of natural light or artificial lighting.  For exteriors it’s pretty versatile, but as always you should always test your paint color (Article).

What is the easiest way to test Sea Serpent?

You should always sample and test your paint colors. The easiest way to sample SW Cheviot (and any paint color for that matter) is via SAMPLIZE. 

Their peel-and-stick paint samples are easy to use and true to color.

There is no mess, and the cost is less expensive than purchasing a sample and a white poster board. Since you don’t need to dispose of the paint, it’s also environmentally friendly!

With SAMPLIZE, 9X14″ Pre-Painted peel-and-stick paint samples you can easily see how different shades look on your unique wall.

Check out the SAMPLIZE website.

Comparisons with Other Dark Blue Paint Colors

Naval vs. Sea Serpent

Sea Serpent is more muted than SW Naval (Sample), and has more green.  When you get it outside, Naval is cooler, bluer, and more crisp than Sea Serpent. They are both beautiful, but it’s just a matter of preference.

BM Hale Navy vs. Sea Serpent

Although Sea Serpent is much warmer than Hale Navy (Sample), it’s the color I turn to if a client wants Hale Navy but has to use a Sherwin-Williams branded color.  If you place them next to each other you can see the green in Sea Serpent, but the overall effect will be similar.

SW Charcoal Blue vs. Sea Serpent

Charcoal Blue is much more purple than Sea Serpent and much cooler.  One of my painters called Charcoal Blue (Sample) a “blurple” (blue-purple) color, which makes sense when you see it.  Both colors are lovely, but Sea Serpent is warm and Charcoal Blue is very cool.

Which Benjamin Moore Colors are like Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent?

I would say Benjamin Moore Hale Navy (Color review article) because it gives a similar effect.  We never recommend paint matching unless you are willing to spend a lot of time going back and forth with the paint company.

Learn about the pitfalls of matching paint colors in our post, Are Paint Color Matches Accurate?

Key Learning Points

Sherwin-Williams Sea Serpent is a dark navy blue with green undertones. You could almost call it a dark blue-green, but not quite.  The most similar color is BM Hale Navy.  Sea Serpent is most often used as an exterior paint color but would look fantastic as an interior accent color or a wall color in a well-lit room.

No matter what, don’t forget to 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. We love to test with SAMPLIZE peel-and-stick samples.  Click this link to check out the SAMPLIZE website!

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. Read this post to see results from paint matching.

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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, our Online Color Consultations will help you pick your paint colours. Thank you for your understanding.