What Color Is Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray Paint?
Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray 7022 is one of the lesser known greiges but worth exploring because of its ability to morph into different shades depending on the color palette and lighting in a room.
Is it a taupe? A gray? A greige?
The answer is, it depends. If you have enough light in your space to support this color, and you coordinate it with the right colors and finishes, Alpaca can be the perfect choice for you.
Let’s get acquainted with this color together and find out how it looks in different light and various rooms so you can decide if it's the right neutral paint color for you.
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What Color Is Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray?
Generally speaking, Alpaca paint color is considered a greige with a reputation for being a bit of a chameleon with some tricky undertones.
Sherwin Williams Alpaca undertones
Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray has complex undertones that can’t make up their mind. Alpaca can look purple or blue or brown depending on the lighting situation and what trim colors, finishes and even decor are present.
Overall Alpaca has the strong purple undertones of a taupe. But as you go down the Alpaca color strip, it tips toward muddy brown giving it a slight pink or beige look. Confusing, huh?
If you’re looking for a safe color, Alpaca by Sherwin Williams with its tendency to waffle between beige and taupe may not be the best choice for you.
You can save yourself a ton of wrong paint grief by knowing this trick to figuring out neutral paint undertones!
Is Alpaca warm or cool?
Like the animal it's named for, Alpaca’s color is warm and cozy. The brown undertones in this paint color definitely make it a warmer greige paint color than most other greiges. In fact, you'll see later in this post that when placed next to other popular neutral greige colors, it looks beige.
What is the LRV of Sherwin Williams Alpaca 7022?
LRV (light reflective value) is a scale to tell how light or dark a color is. The scale goes from 1 (blackest black) to 100 (true white).
Alpaca Gray LVR sits at 57 which is on the light side of medium but lower (darker) than most of its greige cousins. It will hold its richness under even the brightest light conditions. Be careful using it in a small room with limited light though, as it may look flat or dull.
Alpaca Gray Sherwin Williams will look cooler and more gray in north facing light because the light coming in is cool and will bring out those parts of the color. In south-facing light that is naturally warmer however, Alpaca nods more to those purple undertones.
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Examples of Rooms With Alpaca
Let’s see this paint in action in some real life homes.
Alpaca kitchen and dining room walls
The way this color can change depending on the lighting and other colors in a space is very obvious in this 1950s home remodel by Kadilak Homes. SW Alpaca on the kitchen walls is paired with white cabinets and appears as a warm gray. But in the dining room which faces a different direction, it swings toward the beige side. Either way, it looks gorgeous.
Sherwin Williams Alpaca kitchen cabinets
Alpaca Gray cabinetry pairs beautifully with a deep rich blue (Salty Dog SW 9177) in this bold statement kitchen. Another contemporary modern kitchen pairs Alpaca cabinets with sleek black countertops for a different look.
Alpaca Gray Living Room
This living room features warm gold accents with a monochromatic color scheme. SW Alpaca paint on the walls provides an understated backdrop with just enough contrast against the white trim but still allows the furniture to stand out, which clearly is the star of this show.
Alpaca bathroom
Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray in this neutral interior bathroom is paired with white countertops, doors, trim, and even light. Consequently Alpaca shows as a very soft almost creamy gray.
Alpaca Sherwin Williams bedroom
When Angela of Simply Beautiful decided to refresh her white board and batten wall, Alpaca paint was her choice out of a variety of contenders. Alpaca brought warmth and coziness to the bedroom and you can really see its beige/taupe undertones played up here.
Alpaca Laundry Room
No one has fun in a laundry room but we can at least make the room pleasant and stress-free. Alpaca did just that on this wall where it's nicely paired with a muted pattern wallpaper and white appliances.
Alpaca vs Other Greige Colors
SW Alpaca vs Agreeable Gray
A serene gray with an LRV of 60, Agreeable Gray is one of Sherwin Williams’ most popular colors and is more flexible in its undertones, making it a lighter, cooler, and safer choice than Sherwin Williams Alpaca. Alpaca is darker with those purple undertones, but if you have a roomy space with lots of light and other tones that will pair well with that purplish hue, Alpaca is still a great choice.
SW Alpaca vs Repose Gray
Repose Gray is also a popular neutral and has a similar LRV to Alpaca at 58. Repose also has purple undertones but since it has more gray and less brown it's softer and reads a more straightforward greige. Alpaca is warmer than Repose but it’s not quite as versatile.
SW Alpaca vs Mindful Gray
Mindful Gray’s hint of blue and LRV of 48 put it on the cooler, darker side of Alpaca. Both colors would be a tough sell in a small dark room so you’ll want to be careful where you place them.
Once you've narrowed down your choices to Sherwin Williams Alpaca and several other paint colors, it's smart to test them on your walls to help you make the right decision.
Looking to test paint colors but don't want to paint? Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples from all major paint brands delivered to your door so you can put them up on the wall with no mess.
Other Greige Colors to Consider
Alpaca Coordinating Colors
Whatever color you pair SW Alpaca with, be very careful with the undertones so you don’t end up unhappy with the results. When working with Alpaca you have to decide upfront whether to minimize the undertones of purple and warm brown or play them up and then design your space around that choice.
Like most neutrals with both warm and cool undertones, when paired with lighting and other color choices that are warm, the warm undertones in the color will be more obvious. Whereas when paired with lighting and other color choices that are cool, the cooler undertones will show through more.
What colors go with Sherwin Williams Alpaca?
As you saw in the examples above, Sherwin Williams Alpaca Gray color goes nicely with cool colors like blues and blacks but adds a bit of warmth to the color palette.
At the same time it pairs nicely with warm wood tones or warm metal finishes too adding to the warmth of the space.
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