Tidal Salt → Farrow & Ball
The closest Farrow & Ball matches for Sherwin Williams Tidal Salt (SW 9162), ranked by perceptual color distance.
Finding a Farrow & Ball Equivalent for Tidal Salt
If you love Sherwin Williams Tidal Salt but need a Farrow & Ball alternative, you are not alone. This is one of the most common cross-brand paint matching searches, whether you are working with a painter who prefers Farrow & Ball, your local store does not carry Sherwin Williams, or you simply want to compare prices across brands before committing.
Tidal Salt (SW 9162) is a light blue with soft blue-green undertones. A very light blue-green gray. Coastal and airy. To find a good Farrow & Ball match, we need a color that captures not just the right depth (LRV 66) but also that specific undertone character. That is where Delta E color science comes in.
We calculated the perceptual color distance between Tidal Salt and every Farrow & Ball color using the CIE2000 Delta E formula, which measures how different two colors look to the human eye. A Delta E under 2 means most people cannot tell the colors apart. Between 2 and 4, you might notice a difference in certain lighting. Above 5, the difference is clearly visible side by side.
The good news: there is a strong Farrow & Ball match for Tidal Salt. Pale Powder (No.204) comes in with a Delta E of 2.3, which puts it in the "excellent match" range. Pale Powder is the closest Farrow & Ball option at LRV 68. Very close match with F&B's signature chalky depth.
Farrow & Ball Matches for Tidal Salt
Pale Powder is the closest Farrow & Ball option at LRV 68. Very close match with F&B's signature chalky depth.
| Tidal Salt | Pale Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| LRV | 66 | 68 |
| Hex | #D2D9D6 | #D5DDDB |
| Undertone | Soft Blue-Green | Pale Blue-Gray |
| Family | Blue | Blue |
Undertone Comparison
Tidal Salt has soft blue-green undertones. A very light blue-green gray. Coastal and airy.
Pale Powder has pale blue-gray undertones. An ultra-light, powdery blue-gray. One of F&B's most popular bathroom colors. So light it barely registers as blue, yet it adds a cool, fresh quality that pure white cannot.
The undertone difference is worth paying attention to. While they are close in overall appearance, the different undertones mean they may diverge in certain lighting. Tidal Salt's soft blue-green quality may read differently than Pale Powder's pale blue-gray character, especially in rooms with strong directional light or colored accents that could pull out one undertone more than the other. Test a sample in your specific room before committing.
How These Colors Behave in Different Lighting
Tidal Salt in Your Room
Shifts between blue and green. Very light and calming.
Pale Powder in Your Room
The blue is barely there. In most rooms, reads as a cool, fresh off-white. In bright natural light, the blue whisper shows. Always calming.
LRV and Brightness
Tidal Salt has an LRV of 66, while Pale Powder has an LRV of 68. These two colors reflect a very similar amount of light, so you should not notice a significant difference in room brightness when switching between them. The room will feel approximately the same in terms of light and space, which makes this a smoother transition.
Best Rooms for Tidal Salt
Sherwin Williams recommends Tidal Salt for: bathroom, bedroom, nursery, hallway. With an LRV of 66, this is a light color that is in the medium-light range, reflecting enough light to keep rooms feeling open while adding more color and depth than a white or off-white. It works well in living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways where you want warmth and character without darkness.
Pale Powder is recommended for: bathroom, bedroom, nursery, hallway, laundry room. Both colors are recommended for similar applications, which confirms that this is a practical cross-brand match. You can use Pale Powder in the same rooms you planned for Tidal Salt.
Tidal Salt in Other Brands
Looking for Tidal Salt equivalents in other brands besides Farrow & Ball? We have matches across all major paint brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
The closest Farrow & Ball match for Tidal Salt (SW 9162) is Pale Powder (No.204) with a Delta E of 2.3, which rates as a "excellent match" match. Pale Powder is the closest Farrow & Ball option at LRV 68. Very close match with F&B's signature chalky depth. Delta E measures perceptual color distance on a scale where under 2 means nearly identical, 2 to 4 means close with subtle differences, and over 5 means clearly noticeable.
No, they are not identical. Tidal Salt is a Sherwin Williams color with soft blue-green undertones and an LRV of 66. Pale Powder is a Farrow & Ball color with pale blue-gray undertones and an LRV of 68. With a Delta E of 2.3, the difference is subtle and mainly visible in direct side-by-side comparison. Paint formulations differ between brands, so even colors with similar values can look slightly different due to pigment concentration, binders, and finish.
With a Delta E of 2.3, these colors are close enough to use in separate rooms of the same house without a jarring difference. However, avoid painting them on adjacent walls in the same room, as even subtle differences become apparent at a hard edge where two paints meet. For the smoothest result, use one brand consistently within each connected space and reserve the other brand for rooms that are visually separated.
There are several practical reasons to look for a Farrow & Ball equivalent. Price differences between brands can be significant on large projects. Availability matters if your nearest paint store or home center specializes in Farrow & Ball. Some painters have strong preferences for one brand's formula based on coverage, dry time, or workability. And if you are touching up existing Farrow & Ball work, matching within the same brand gives you the best consistency for seamless results.
Match calculations use Delta E (CIE2000) computed from Lab color space conversion. Color data sourced from manufacturer specifications. Last reviewed: March 22, 2026.