Studio Clay lands somewhere between clay, greige, and taupe on the wall, and that crossing point is exactly what makes it interesting. It reads as a muted mid-tone brown with enough gray and taupe in the mix to keep it from feeling flat or purely earthy. The overall effect is refined and grounded rather than heavy, with a warmth that feels lived-in rather than rusty.
At an LRV of 27.1, this color sits on the darker half of the scale, absorbing significantly more light than it reflects. That means it fills a room with density and coziness, wrapping a space rather than opening it up. Rooms with good natural light will show it at its most nuanced. Rooms that are already dim will read even more intimate, which can be an asset in a bedroom and something to plan around in a windowless hallway.
The chameleon behavior reviewers flag is real and worth taking seriously. In natural light the color tilts warmer and clayier, leaning into its place in the Reds, Oranges and Terracottas family. Under artificial or cooler light it pulls back toward taupe and gray, feeling more like a sophisticated greige. That range is a feature if you want a color that moves with the day, but it means you genuinely cannot judge it from a small chip or a single lighting condition.
The published undertone read is warm and beige, and in practice the base warmth is always present. Reviewers consistently describe a brown-taupe-clay core that keeps the color from ever going cold. That grounded warmth is what places it in the earthy, transitional palette it serves best.
Where it gets more complicated is the secondary layer. Some reviewers see the gray pull as significant enough to call this a true greige rather than a clay, particularly under LED or north-facing light. Others insist the warm beige and clay read dominates and the gray is barely a whisper. Both camps have a point because the answer shifts depending on the light source, the undertones of adjacent trim and furnishings, and how much warm wood or terracotta is in the room. Pair it with creamy warm whites and the clay side wins. Set it next to a bright cool white and the gray-taupe character steps forward.
There is no consensus on whether the green tint sometimes noted in neighboring colors bleeds in here. Most reviewers do not mention green, and it is not part of the editorial undertone read, but anyone with warm gold-green accents in a room should do a larger test patch before committing. The safe read is warm beige with a taupe modifier, and that framing will serve most rooms accurately.
Studio Clay is versatile enough for whole-house use, and the research supports both interior and exterior applications. Inside, it shines in living rooms and bedrooms where that cozy, enveloping quality works in your favor. It gives a living room an anchored, earthy backdrop that feels current without being trend-chasing, and in a bedroom it wraps the space in warmth that genuinely helps the room read as restful.
Orientation and light exposure matter more than usual here because of the LRV 27.1 depth and the color's light-sensitive character. South and west-facing rooms with strong afternoon sun will keep the clay warmth alive throughout the day. North-facing rooms will pull it toward the cooler taupe-greige end of its range, which can still be handsome but will feel less like clay and more like a serious neutral. East-facing rooms get the warm morning read and the cooler afternoon shift, which many people find pleasant in a bedroom. Rooms with minimal natural light should be tested carefully, as the color will read dense and potentially darker than expected.
On the exterior, the earthy mid-tone character grounds a home in the landscape without being a conventional greige. It suits craftsman, transitional, and farmhouse styles particularly well. The 2025 Colormix Forecast inclusion signals that designers are using this shade as a warm alternative to flat gray or beige exteriors. On cabinets, accent walls, and front doors, the depth of 27.1 LRV gives real visual weight, which works well when you want one element to anchor a room.
In a living room, Studio Clay creates an anchored, earthy backdrop that feels warm and current without demanding attention. The 27.1 LRV depth gives the walls presence, so warm wood floors and natural fiber rugs feel like they belong rather than floating. Keep trim in a creamy warm white to let the clay character lead.
Studio Clay reads as genuinely restful in a bedroom, where the cozy density of a 27.1 LRV color works in your favor rather than against you. The shifting warm-to-taupe quality through the day adds life without being distracting. Pair it with warm linen bedding and natural wood furniture to keep the palette cohesive.
On an exterior, Studio Clay's earthy mid-tone grounds a home without defaulting to the flat gray or beige that has saturated the market. It suits craftsman, farmhouse, and transitional styles especially well. Test it in full sun and overcast conditions before committing, as the clay-to-taupe shift is just as active outside as it is indoors.
An accent wall in Studio Clay delivers real visual weight thanks to its 27.1 LRV without reading as dark paint. One wall behind a bed or sofa gives the room an earthy focal point that doesn't need art or decoration to feel intentional. It pairs well with the other walls in a warm greige or creamy white.
Studio Clay on kitchen or bathroom cabinets reads as a warm, sophisticated alternative to the gray cabinet trend. The depth at LRV 27.1 gives cabinets real solidity, and the clay undertone plays well against natural stone countertops and brass or unlacquered hardware. Avoid pairing with cool white upper cabinets, as the contrast will pull the gray-taupe side of the color forward.
Studio Clay pairs most naturally with colors that either warm it up further or give it a clean contrast without fighting its earthy character. Nuance (SW 7049) works as a lighter, softer companion that shares the warm neutral territory and reads well on trim or adjacent walls. Natural Linen (SW 9109) brings a creamy, off-white warmth that lets Studio Clay's clay side dominate while keeping the overall palette light and airy where you need it.
Beyond the coordinating palette, Studio Clay responds well to deeper browns and terracottas as accent colors, warm wood tones in furniture and flooring, and soft muted greens. Creamy whites are a better trim choice than bright cool whites, which can make the gray undertone in Studio Clay read more prominently than intended. If you want contrast, go deeper into the warm brown family rather than jumping to a stark white or a cool gray.
All comparisons are matched against Studio Clay at LRV 27.1.
Pairing Studio Clay with a stark or blue-toned white on trim pushes the gray-taupe undertone in the color to the front, making it read colder and flatter than it naturally is.
In a room with no natural light and only cool LED bulbs, Studio Clay at LRV 27.1 can feel heavier and dingier than intended, losing most of its warm clay character and reading as a flat muddy gray-brown.
At this depth and with an undertone that shifts with light, a high-gloss wall finish will amplify every light change and make the color look inconsistent and patchy across a large surface.
Studio Clay is a warm, grounded medium neutral that reviewers describe as crossing between clay, greige, and taupe. It has a muted brown-clay base with subtle taupe and gray modifiers that keep it from reading as a flat earthy brown. Its hex is #958D7F and its RGB values are 149, 141, and 127.
The primary undertones are warm and beige, with a clay-brown base that stays present in most lighting conditions. A secondary taupe-gray layer surfaces more noticeably under cool artificial light or in north-facing rooms, which is why some reviewers call it a greige and others read it as distinctly clay. Both are fair descriptions at different times of day.
Studio Clay is fundamentally a warm color. Its base is earthy clay-brown and it sits in the Reds, Oranges and Terracottas family. Under natural and warm artificial light it reads clearly warm. Under cool LEDs or in north-facing rooms the taupe-gray modifier can make it feel more neutral, but it never crosses into genuinely cool territory.
Studio Clay has an LRV of 27.1, which places it on the darker half of the value scale. It absorbs considerably more light than it reflects, giving rooms a rich, cozy, enveloping quality. This also means it can make a small or low-light room feel more intimate and potentially smaller, so testing in your actual space before committing is important.
Studio Clay pairs well with Nuance (SW 7049) and Natural Linen (SW 9109) from its coordinating palette. Creamy warm whites work better on trim than bright cool whites, which pull the gray-taupe side of the color forward. Warm wood tones, deeper terracottas, muted soft greens, and natural fiber textures all reinforce its earthy character.
Studio Clay's Sherwin-Williams code is SW 9172. Its hex is #958D7F and its RGB values are 149 red, 141 green, and 127 blue.
Yes to all three. On the exterior it reads as a warm earthy alternative to flat gray or standard greige, suiting craftsman, transitional, and farmhouse styles. On a front door the 27.1 LRV depth gives real presence without going dark. On cabinets it provides warmth and solidity that plays well against natural stone countertops and warm metal hardware. In all three uses, test it under both direct sun and overcast conditions since the clay-to-taupe shift applies outdoors too.
