Sharing is caring!

Sherwin Williams Krypton (SW6427) is a cool blue gray paint. It is a highly sought after blue shade of paint with strong gray undertones. If you like a coastal feel to a room without overdoing it, this shade of soft blue adds a tranquil vibe without being too in your face nautical themed.

**Keep reading to see how we used Krypton, including real life unedited photos of our home with the paint color!

Sherwin Williams Krypton Is The Perfect Blue With Gray Undertones

Afraid of baby blue? The undertones of gray in Krypton keep it refined. You usually will want a gray undertone in your blue paint to give the blue sophistication, and Krypton offers this.

The blue paint plays well with others. You will find it pairs beautifully with brass or polished nickel, and feels grounded with matte black. This makes it easy to use on cabinetry with various finishes, or near door hardware.

Kryton is a punch of color that plays well with neutrals! It gives a coastal feel to a space, but you don’t need to have a coastal home to use Krypton.

As you can see on the card, Sherwin Williams Krypton is actually a very blue paint, although it looks like a medium gray in the deck. North Star (right above Krypton) looks gray here, but reads a little purplish blue in on walls. Beware of the deck! It will trick you.

Where To Use (And Where Not To Use!) Krypton

Because Krypton is a crisp, cool color, I recommend mixing it with warmer tones (warm whites, woods, or brass finishes!) that will balance out the coolness of the space. Especially since in 2022 warm colors are trending (read about the Top Kitchen Trends of 2022 here), you want a balance of warm and cool in a room together.

Observe your space – how much light does your room receives? Which direction do the windows face?

Generally speaking, Krypton looks best in south, east or west-facing rooms. Those directions get the most warm sunlight throughout the day, warming up the cool notes in Krypton.

The more light you have, the better the color will look. The reflectiveness of the paint will bounce light around, helping your space feel brighter, and more spacious.

Look at the coolness of this light blue paint (color unknown) against the warmth of the rattan chairs in the above photo. Without it, the room would feel cold. That warmth is so important to the success of the room!

When Krypton is used in North facing, darker rooms, more of the coolness will come out.

Stay away from using too many cool tones in a dark room together. I wouldn’t recommend Krypton in a dark room. At the very least, bring in plenty of warm colors to mix in. Brass hardware, warm hardwoods, rattan, a jute rug or warm textures, etc.

How We Use Krypton In Our Home

Originally we built our home with an all white kitchen. When we were having work done later on, I had a last minute idea to paint the island and bring in some color! The white cabinets on white backsplash was so crisp and clean, I wanted some interest.

Our very white kitchen, below:

Our painter needed the name of what I wanted the very next day, because true to form I announced this decision at the 9th hour.

I spent the morning in the Sherwin Williams store, agonizing over all the best blue gray paints in their deck.

(You might also like my post on Sherwin Williams Extra White and Ice Cube)

Sherwin Williams Krypton On Our Kitchen Island

These were two inspiration pictures I kept coming back to. None of them are painted Sherwin Williams Krypton, but I liked the shade of these blue gray paints.

How cute are those director’s chair barstools? You can find them here:

I went for it. We hired this job out and got the island painted SW Krypton, in a semigloss finish. When you paint cabinets, you want to use gloss or semigloss for a washable, hard finish. Our painters recommend using an oil paint sprayer. The job was fairly affordable all things considered (between $500 and $1000).

Get The Look:

The rattan is so warm and lovely agains the cooler Krypton paint! The gray in our stools look fresh as well, so if you have a muddy gray in a room already it will flow nicely. Our shiplap and trim in our kitchen is Sherwin Williams Extra White.

Krypton In Real Life, No Filter

Source: our affordable brass handles | vintage rug from this shop

And at night, under warm artificial lighting:

Update: There years later, I have been asked how the painted island held up to our family of six. It looks beautiful! Chips in the paint? None. We have nicks on the 4 bottom corners, but you would truly have to inspect to find them. I promise, no noticeable flaws. Hire out expert painters and you’ll be happy.

See how I used Sherwin Williams Extra White in my home and on our exterior here!

Sherwin Williams Krypton On Our Pantry Door

After living with our blue island for a few months I got that itch again. I wanted to paint the pantry door too. Don’t you know how one thing leads to another? This was my inspiration that convinced me it needed to be done:

I don’t know what paint color they used here, but I like how the blue door made the space pop.

I was nervous to paint our pantry door myself, but a door is really no big deal to repaint if you change your mind! It ended up taking me one afternoon and then brief touch ups a few days later. This took a little extra time because I used oil based paint.

Before:

It was a risk, because there was nothing really wrong with the before. I just was itching to get my hands on the paint brush, and I love photos of pantry doors matching a kitchen island.

Here is the  “After” of painting our pantry door with Sherwin Williams Krypton:

Get The Look:

We love what the color did to our kitchen! And because the paint is oil based, it’s easy to wipe off smudges. Krypton is such a easy, calming shade of blue paint- it is perfect for a lot of areas in your home.

We later switched out the nickel pulls for brass. Here is a real life unedited photo:

>Blue lovers: See also 15 Blue Kitchen Islands for more ideas on classic shades of blue on kitchen islands!<<

7 Complimentary Sherwin Williams Colors To Krypton

All of these will pair beautifully with Krypton.

1. Agreeable Gray
2. Network Gray
3. Camel Back
4. Alabaster
5. Pure White
6. Extra White
7. Reflection

If you are looking for help with your ceiling, trims, or other moldings in the room – I recommend trying a sample of either SW Extra White in sunny, well lit rooms, or SW Pure White in other areas. In dark rooms where you need a warm white, consider SW Alabaster or SW High Reflectance White.

Here’s a tip – I recommend using just one shade of white for trim, ceilings and moldings unless you have a specific reason not to. Why complicate it? Using various sheens of the white paint will differentiate the spaces, For instance, use the same white paint in a flat on the ceiling, semigloss on the trim, etc.

Tips For Choosing The Perfect Blue-Gray Paint:

• When selecting blue paints, the more sophisticated blues you want to paint your home with actually look mostly gray on the deck. Unless you are intentionally looking for a true baby blue, or something bright, look for paint chips that looks mostly gray. Once on your walls it will read blue, but without screaming BLUE in your face. It is not just a blue, it has a pale gray color to it.
• Always take a paint chip or something that you love that will be in the room. I took a sample of our backsplash to make sure it would look good together. If this was our living room, I might have taken a sofa pillow cover. It helps to put the two side by side. If I using Krypton on the drywall, I would have taken a sample of Sherwin Williams Extra White (the color of our trim).

Technical Details To Note

• The Light Reflectance Values (referred to as an LRV) is a value that determines how light or dark the paint is, ranging from 1-100. Sherwin Williams Krypton has an LRV of 52, so it is a true middle ground!
• The RGB (the red, green, and blue amounts used when mixing paint, on a scale of 0-255) are: Red 184, Green 192, and Blue 195.

Now you are a Sherwin Williams Krypton expert! And remember… the little paint samples are your friends!

You Will Also Love:

15 Blue Kitchen Islands

Sherwin Williams Extra White & Ice Cube In My Home

A Comparison of Bistro Stools and Knock Offs 

Our Playroom

Pin Now, Read Later:

Sharing is caring!