I love greige walls as much as the next gal, but sometimes you just want a true gray. Not brownish, not greenish, not purplish. Just a beautiful, soft grey. It can actually be a little tricky to find a 100% pure gray paint color (even a few of the ones below have a hint of another tint to them which I will explain) but these are pretty darn close.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS LATTICE (SW 7654)
You may recognize that living room! Indeed it is from our first house (the Brooklyn House) right before our tenants moved in. I would say out of all of the paint colors I will go over in this post, SW Lattice is the purest grey I have found so far. In fact, after seeing this in our house, my brother used this color in his own house. Brian's boss asked us for a recommendation on a gray paint color and ended up choosing Lattice in the end (and loves it). I highly recommend this gray paint color in really any space. It is light enough to work extremely well in rooms without a ton of light (such as a basement) but also looks lovely in natural light (like our living room here). Lattice is a great neutral backdrop and looks pretty fabulous with bright accents or a more natural decor. It is so versatile; you really can't go wrong with this color.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS MINDFUL GRAY SW 7016
Mindful Gray is another favorite of mine. It looks really dark in comparison to the other grey paint colors in the chart above, but I promise it is not super heavy or dark. I have used this a couple of times: in my parent's powder room makeover on the vanity and also on our little sewing table turned coffee bar that now lives in our pantry. I also plan on painting our brick chimney stack in the master bedroom this color soon! Mindful Gray first came into my life when I saw it used in an episode of Fixer Upper. It is one of those colors where you have to take a double-take to truly determine what color it is. It can have these beautiful chameleon-like effect under different lighting. To me, it has the slightest green undertone. But, I would never EVER look at it and think "green". I would absolutely still classify this as gray. I think SW Mindful Gray looks great with rooms with a lot of trim. Jamie of Mindfully Gray (I think her blog might actually be named after this color!) used it beautifully in her dining room, kitchen, and living room. Look how pretty it is with wood tones!
SHERWIN WILLIAMS REPOSE GRAY SW 7015
Do you love the tone of Mindful Gray but looking for something a little lighter? Well them, friend, be sure to check out SW Repose Gray. This is the the next color up on the color swatch strip (so similar tone, just a lighter paint color). You can see in this adorable girl's room that it is a great neutral gray color and pairs perfectly with blue and pink. I like to recommend a gray like this to friends, family, and clients who have just moved into a new place and are painting the entire house, but aren't quite sure what each room will end up being used for. That way, if they end up having a baby in the near future, they can easily add pops of color to personalize the baby's new room. We used this color in one of our flip houses (see photos of it in the Living Room and Dining Room) and it looks dreamy with dark wood trim.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS FRONT PORCH SW 7651
I may or may not have picked this paint color to include on this post largely because I really like the name. Just kidding. Kind of. SW Front Porch is the lighter cousin of Lattice (and the darker cousin of Silverpointe which I will go into below) and is a fabulous gray. There is just the slightest hint of a bluish/purple undertone, but I would still 100% call this pretty color a true gray paint. Yet again, Front Porch also pairs well with white trim. I couldn't find a ton of room photos with this paint (maybe it is newer to the Sherwin Williams paint line?) and while the photo above is a little dark, you can still see how nice the paint color looks with dark floors and accents. I have not tried this one before in any of my projects but it is going in the paint swatch library, for sure!
BEHR DOLPHIN FIN 790C-3
I originally found this paint color from an Instagram post by the blog Newly Woodwards. She had posted the above photo and I immediately took a screenshot so that I could reference back to that color. This gray paint color, to me, seems so calm and soothing. I can just imagine waking up to this color in morning light. In the swatch, there seems to be the slightest hint of purple, but in the room shot you see none of that - just a clean, pure gray. I have actually been waiting for someone to request a gray paint color so that I can whip this swatch out. Maybe the name is influencing me (they tend to do that) but I think this would also be lovely in a coastal home. It reminds me a little bit of the ocean during the gray, winter months.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS SILVERPOINTE SW 7653
AT HOME IN ARKANSAS VIA HOUZZ
This silvery-gray paint color was featured as Sherwin Williams "Color of the Month" for December 2016. As I mentioned, this is a lighter version of Front Porch and Lattice so you will get similar hues as those two paint colors. With all of the photos I have seen with this paint color, it seems to me that the wall color will tend to look like whatever you pair it with. For example, if the wall color is with a blue duvet, it will tend to look more blue. If it is used with lavender drapes, it will look more purple in hue. Another chameleon of a paint color, for sure. SW Silverpointe is also the lightest of the pure gray paints listed here, so keep this one in mind for townhomes, apartments, and basements where there is not a ton of natural light.
I hope this gray paint guide is helpful for you guys! I always recommend getting a paint sample for your own home before deciding for sure. Look at the paint on the walls in all different kinds of lighting (morning light, afternoon sunlight, nighttime, and with lamps on) to make sure you love it before committing to the gallons.
