The Best On-Trend Sherwin Williams Gray Paint Colors!!
Honestly, something that typically scares a lot of people is a fan deck—its crazy how people will exhaust themselves going back and forth, "I don't want a color that's too purple... too blue... too green... or with a hint of pink."
Well, let me take some of the guess work out of your life by...
Calling out a few simple tips to keep in mind from the start,
Identifying four categories of gray paint colors to consider (with their Sherwin Williams swatch/color numbers), and
Adding a little bonus content on beautiful Sherwin Williams white trim paint colors!
Oh... don't miss your free download at the end!! :)
Tip #1: For starters, if you don't already have a fan deck, you normally can check them out or purchase them from your local Sherwin Williams store for about $12.50.
Tip #2: While I'm not going to get too deep... on the back of each swatch you'll see a little explanation of each color, including the "light reflective value" (LRV). The higher the number for the LRV, the more light is going to be reflected—so pure white is 100, and then as you go down, an off-white might be something like 78, etc.
Tip #3: Keep in mind if you paint a wall color and trim color that are both 78 LRV (for example), you will have no contrast. This is definitely something to avoid.
Tip #4: Before making your color selection, consider your existing/current trim color and general surroundings; including, your flooring (including carpeting and/or hardwoods) and your furniture (including both your colors and style). Especially when you're dealing with a cream, yellow, or wood-tone (blond or honey) trim color, think about using a lower LRV (maybe 35-45) wall color to increase the contrast. Additionally, avoid mixing two different color families, which can result in an awkward clash.
By this I mean... you don't want to go with a blue/gray wall color if your trim is a very rich yellow cream. A blue/gray isn't going to match. Instead, you would want to go with a warmer gray.
Tip #5: Painting trim is a much more difficult and time-consuming project... it can be done, but it's a lot easier to change the color of your walls to compliment your trim. ;)
Alright, so here are the four categories of gray paint to frame our conversation...
Warm Neutral Grays
Neutral Grays (less warm)
Pale Neutral Grays
Cool Grays
To get us started—almost right in the middle of the deck—for your Warm and Neutral Grays, which are the hot/on-trend grays getting so much attention and that everybody is painting on their walls right now...
Warm Neutral Grays—Swatch #243: Really popular ones that I recommend are... Agreeable Gray (SW-7029), Anew Gray (SW-7030), and Mega Greige (SW-7031)
Warm Neutral Grays—Swatch #245: I also love... Worldly Gray (SW-7043) and Amazing Gray (SW-7044); although, I steer clear of Intellectual Gray because it turns a little bit "green."
I would say my favorites—"Top 4" warm neutral grays are:
Anew Gray
Agreeable Gray
Worldly Gray
Amazing Gray
Neutral Grays—Swatch #244: If you're wanting to step into a little more of a true gray (not pulling to a "green" or a "blue"), probably the most popular are... Repose Gray (SW-7015), Mindful Gray (SW-7016), and Dorian Gray (SW-7017).
I often pull from these when I'm working on projects. :)
Pale Neutral Grays: Two ultra pale gray-undertone wall colors that look almost white (but not stark white) are... Eider White (SW-7014) and Incredible White (SW-7028).
Note: Eider White is slightly cooler than Incredible White, so if you have a light/bright white trim, then I would go with Eider White.
Cool Grays: Lastly, these aren't blue—they are true grays... Zircon (SW-7667), Knitting Kneedles (SW-7672), Big Chill (SW-7648), and Silverplate (SW-7649).
Finally, on beautiful white trim paint colors (bonus content)... these are my favorites:
Alabaster (SW-7008)
Snowbound (SW-7004)
We currently have Snowbound in our home, and I choose that with Repose Gray on most of our walls.
Alabaster is also a beautiful choice, it has a little more warmth—it's what Joanna Gaines uses in most of her homes. ;) It's that classic, timeless white that you'll never get tired of. (In fact, we've used it in previous homes.)
***Okay, as promised, here's your FREE PDF download of all of the paint colors mentioned in this post!! :)
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