Our Review of Heron Plume by Sherwin Williams

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Selecting the right exterior paint color is a critical decision as it sets the tone for your home’s overall look, feel, and style. Sherwin Williams Heron Plume is a shade that offers a subtle elegance, making it a top contender for those seeking a soft, neutral hue. Its versatility keeps us coming back and it’s such a stunner that Sherwin Williams named it their color of the month for July 2024.

Keep reading as we share all the details and explain why Heron Plume is a great choice for your home’s exterior.

Looking to transform your home with just paint? Wait no more, we have the perfect tool for you. Our paint color visualizer package is great for those looking to see their home transformed with paint only. If you do need help with other aspects of your exterior, we’ve got you covered there too. We offer various exterior design packages and can assist with visualizing design elements such as garage doors, shutters, and much more. Learn all about our virtual exterior design services.

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Digital rendering of a stucco beach home painted in Sherwin Williams' Heron Plume with white windows and black accents.

Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume: The specs

Heron Plume has an LRV of 75, meaning it will reflect plenty of light, making spaces appear brighter and more expansive. Heron Plume is excellent for brightening exteriors, especially in shaded areas. It will never be too bright for a sunny environment.(Curious about LRV? Learn more here, including why LRV is so important to keep in mind when choosing the perfect paint color for your home.)

This neutral hue is incredibly versatile, making it easy to coordinate with other colors, whether you’re looking for a seamless blend or a striking contrast. Unlike cooler neutrals, Heron Plume has a subtle warmth that makes exteriors feel cozy and welcoming.

WE ALWAYS RECOMMEND SAMPLING AND TESTING PAINT COLORS BEFORE COMMITTING. FACTORS SUCH AS NATURAL LIGHTING, UNDERTONES, AND YOUR PROPERTY’S FIXED ELEMENTS WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HOW A COLOR WILL APPEAR ON YOUR EXTERIOR. OUR FRIENDS AT SAMPLIZE OFFER EXTRA-LARGE 9 X 14.75 INCH PEEL-AND-STICK PAINT SAMPLES OF THE COLORS WE LOVE FOR EXTERIORS. ORDER YOUR ‘REAL PAINT, NO MESS’ SAMPLES FROM SAMPLIZE HERE.

Virtual rendering of a farmhouse painted in Sherwin Williams' Heron Plume with black windows, stained wood lintels and columns, and a steeply pitched black roof.

What is the undertone of Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume?

Heron Plume by Sherwin Williams features soft beige undertones that give it its inviting feel. It is considered a light neutral, but the undertones prevent it from reading too stark or cold. Beige allows Heron Plume to be incredibly adaptable, able to pair well with numerous color families from earthy moody hues to cooler grays and blues.

Digital rendering of a traditional home painted in Heron Plume by Sherwin Williams with black windows, wood cladded entry, and black lighting fixtures.

Recommended applications for Heron Plume

Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume is adaptable to various exterior applications, allowing you to create a beautiful and cohesive look without much effort. It works amazingly well as the primary color for your home’s exterior, offering a light and airy feel. Yet, as an accent color, it’s just as appealing. If you’re not ready to commit to it as the central hue, consider using Heron Plume on shutters, doors, or window frames for a subtle touch of the shade.

Furthermore, Heron Plume is especially good at softening harsh lines and angles on modern and contemporary homes. It’s wonderful with variated stone colors in grays, beiges, and tans, as well as different wood stains.

The best part about Heron Plume? It looks good on pretty much any home style because its versatility allows it to effortlessly blend into many different design styles and trends.

Cape Cod style home with dormer windows, a wood front door, and a bluestone walkway.

What colors pair well with Heron Plume?

Pairing Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume with the right complementary colors can elevate its own impact. For a soft and classic look, try Heron Plume on the shutters and door with warm whites like Sherwin Williams’ Creamy or Alabaster as the central color. This color combination would look gorgeous on a colonial or traditional brick home like the design above. This home’s brick is painted in Heron Plume, while the trim and soffit is painted in Simply White by Benjamin Moore. To complement the charcoal gray roof shingles, a walkway in bluestone was added. Copper light fixtures and a mahogany door pull the warm undertones from Heron Plume, and add contrast to the façade to complete the design.

For a grounded, more organic feel, consider pairing Heron Plume with earthy colors like Sherwin Williams’ Homburg Gray Urbane Bronze, or Pewter Green . These pairings could work really well on homes settled in nature, and homes with stone or wood accents.

Digital rendering of a traditional home painted in Sherwin Williams' Heron Plume with gray stone cladding, wood columns, and black windows,

The rendering above shows Heron Plume on the siding, stucco, and trim. The fascia and soffits are painted in Sherwin Williams’ Tricorn Black. Black windows, shingles, porch railings, and light fixtures continue black as the accent color and modernizes the home’s exterior. To prevent the home from feeling drab, rich warm elements were included in the lintels, columns, and front door. The stone cladding provides textural and visual interest and gives this home a subdued mountain retreat feel.

If you like more contrast, Heron Plume looks lovely with light or dark grays and greiges like Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray or Gauntlet Gray by Sherwin Williams. Both of these colors add depth without overwhelming Heron Plume.

Looking to go bold? Deep blues also look amazing with Heron Plume, creating a show stopping contrast. We think Heron Plume could look absolutely amazing with Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy. Even dark greens like Sherwin Williams’ Greenblack would look great with Heron Plume. The wide variety of color pairing options is one reason we love Heron Plume so much.

A cottage with dormer windows, white window trim, a brown roof, and a diamond paver walkway.

The cute cottage home above is an outstanding example of Heron Plume’s ability to accentuate virtually any home style. Sherwin Williams’ Extra White can be seen on the trim, columns, and railing. The brown in the copper gutters and pendant light is the perfect accent color to complement the brown roof.

Moreover, this design does a fabulous job at incorporating black and brown together. A black front door combined with the metal roofing just above the porch is just enough contrast to keep the façade light and warm with a simple modern touch. Furthermore, the stone skirting has varied gray and light beige to white tones. These tones play into the black accents as well as the undertones of Heron Plume.

Digital rendering of a modern style home painted in Heron Plume by Sherwin Williams with black accents, wood cladding, black windows, and a modern garage door.

Pros and cons of Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume

PROS:

  • A perfect neutral warm white
  • Looks great on modern and traditional home styles
  • Works as the central or accent color

CONS:

  • May be too warm for some that prefer a crisper white

Heron Plume alternatives

Without a doubt, Heron Plume is an excellent choice for an exterior paint color. However, we’ve provided a few alternatives below.

Traditional style home with large windows, double hung front doors, and a bowl roof.

Sherwin Williams’ Shoji White vs. Heron Plume

Shoji White is a warm, off-white color with an LRV of 74, making it a smart choice for exteriors that need a bright and airy feel. Its subtle warmth comes from its beige undertones, giving it a serene and calming vibe without being too yellow. It’s incredibly versatile and works splendidly on a wide range of architectural styles, including farmhouses and traditional homes.

Shoji White pairs well with both cool and warm tones, allowing for tons of flexibility in design choices. For a crisp, clean look, try pairing it with pure whites like Extra White on trim and accents. For a light contrast, consider Sherwin Williams’ Dorian Gray, or other soft grays and greiges.

The difference between Shoji White and Heron Plume lies mostly in their undertones. Heron Plume has a warmer profile which gives it a richer, more inviting appearance. On the other hand, Shoji White is better for a brighter, crisp exterior that feels clean and refreshing. Both colors are light and neutral, however, Heron Plume is a bit more substantial allowing it to make more of a statement. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either one.

A rancher style home with a decorative vertical wood, wood doors, and a stone and paver walkway.

Sherwin Williams’ Dover White vs. Heron Plume

Significantly brighter than Heron Plume at an LRV of 83, Dover White by Sherwin Williams is a fantastic and popular choice for a white exterior paint color. It has light buttery yellow undertones that give it a sunny warmth, perfect for any home to feel like a space that embraces you. It’s often used on farmhouses, but our designers have applied it to Mediterranean style homes, Southwestern, traditional, and more with amazing results.

Next to Dover White, Heron Plume takes on a greige appearance. Their undertones may both be warm, but their overall look is totally different in these two paint colors.

Southwestern style home with a clay shingle roof, black windows, and a solid brown garage door.

The bottom line on Heron Plume

In conclusion, Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume is a versatile and elegant neutral that adds a welcoming touch to any home exterior. Whether you’re looking to brighten your entire home or to add contrast as an accent color, Heron Plume offers the perfect blend of lightness and warmth. Finally, its ability to complement a wide array of colors and materials makes its an excellent choice for homeowners seeking a refined yet approachable exterior.

Ready to see how Heron Plume can enhance your home? We can help with all your exterior design needs. All we need are your answers to our short questionnaire for our designers to get started creating a custom design. We’ll even provide a shoppable resource list so getting started is as easy as clicking a few links. Get started here.

Author

Originally from Tennessee, Ami currently lives in South Carolina, which has been home since leaving the military in 2016. Interior and exterior design has always intrigued Ami, especially the styles and characteristics seen in other countries as an avid traveler and photographer. She lives for the renewal of older or historic homes that maintain their character, and regularly creates her own mood boards and virtual designs for inspiration or to help others with their spaces. Having always had a passion for design and following their work for years prior, Ami was excited to be brought onto brick&batten’s team of writers. Her writing endeavors actually started in an academic/scientific setting, then in a regulatory aspect. Writing about paint colors, emerging or current trends in exterior design, and so much more revolving around something she’s always enjoyed was a fun and welcomed change!

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