Requisite Grey Living Room

Requisite Grey Living Room

The Top 4 Warm Gray Paint Colours that are ALMOST Greige

Partner post to How to Make Gray Feel Warmer

Warm gray. The two words are opposite each other, meaning when they're mixed they should create the perfect happy place – but they don't. Gray is not a warm colour and I don't want you to confuse the word 'warm' with the look and feel of actual warmth. A warm gray is still gray, even if it has warm roots.

I come across this a lot with my online clients who request a 'warm gray', hoping for something softer and cosier than the average blue, green or purple-toned gray. And sure, there are warmER grays, particularly in comparison to cool grays, but your room will not be typically 'warm' looking…by any stretch of the imagination.

It's important to recognize that gray itself is not a warm colour – don't confuse the words warm gray with the look and feel of actual 'warmth'.

You can certainly add enough warmth to a gray so that it becomes a greige paint colour. However, at that point, you're dealing with a chameleon colour that shifts its loyalty between gray, greige, or even beige, on a wall-to-wall basis (and still isn't typically 'warm'). What I'M talking about here are grays that are GRAY, albeit warmer looking than the average gray…but still gray.

So, today we're going to look at what I fondly call…

1. Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029

This is my fave warm gray BECAUSE it's really a greige. Confused? Let me explain. In northern light, Agreeable Gray leans HARD into gray, dropping the warmth almost entirely, while having just a whisper of beige to soften it up. Will your walls look warm? In comparison to a cool gray, yes. Overall though, Agreeable Gray will look like a soft warm gray unless it's in a south-facing room, where it can lean more into its passive warmth and looks a bit more like a greige.

See the range of Agreeable Gray in these photos below…

And btw, I rely 100% on photos from my E-Design clients. This gives readers a REAL life view of rooms that aren't overly edited or altered.

For this next photo, I worked with the lovely Rachel of Gingham and Grace to come up with the perfect paint colour. Of the three options I suggested, she chose Agreeable Gray (via my Online Consulting/E-Decor).

• Agreeable Gray has an LRV of 60, meaning it's going to add decent energy and life to a room, but won't make a dark space look brighter (Read more about LRV here)
• Agreeable Gray can pick up ANY of the three cool undertones, depending on the exposure, interior lighting and the finishes its partnered with, although it mildly favours purple
• Agreeable Gray has a subtle warm undertone. Not enough to take over and it really just stops this colour from flashing too cool. Read this explanation re: the differences between gray, beige, greige and taupe from 10 Rooms Design or my blog post re taupe/greige
• I find that the deeper I go with Agreeable Gray (Anew Gray/Mega Greige/Warm Stone) the warmer it looks. Agreeable Gray is the ONLY depth where it looks more like a warm gray than a greige
• Does this colour have beige in it? Yes, that's what's warming it up. However, it's not enough to shift it into the full-blown greige range for this gal
• In a north-facing room, Agreeable can pick up a slight gray/blue look or even a wink o' green

Read more:E-Design – An 'Agreeable' Dining Room Makeover

2. Sherwin Williams Worldly Gray SW 7043

Worldly Gray and Agreeable Gray are like kissin' cousins. Why? Well, they have a similar foundation, but Worldly Gray can pick up a wee flash of green. Overall though, you'll get a warm, softened gray look.

Kylie M Interiors E-Design

Worldly Gray has an LRV of 58, so it's a smidge darker than Agreeable. If this bugs you, have it lightened by 25% to bring it back up a bit, but keep in mind, this CAN affect the undertones slightly.

• In a south-facing room, you may notice the green a bit more. It will also lean a bit warmer
• With no natural lighting or in the evenings, the greige/warm undertones may come slightly forward
• Like Agreeable Gray, Worldly Gray is really stuck in between the warm gray and greige world

Click HERE on the above image to view available packages

3. Sherwin Williams Repose Gray SW 7015

Repose Gray is undoubtedly the grayest of the bunch. And because comparison is one of the BEST ways to pick a paint colour, place this colour next to Agreeable Gray to see the shift.

This next room had extreme northern light and a decent amount of it…

We also used Repose Gray in this next room to complement the darker wood flooring. See how the colour looks a bit more shaded with the reduced natural light.

Kylie M Interiors E-Design

The LRV of Repose Gray is 60, so it's close to Agreeable Gray for reflective value. Remember, you can usually lighten or darken a paint colour (25% does the trick in most cases), but keep in mind, the undertones can shift slightly when you do this.

• Repose Gray is definitely the grayest of the bunch, just pay attention to its slightly purple undertone which can ALSO lean a touch green at times
• Repose Gray is WELL-known for picking up cool undertones from the environment, so pay attention to your exposure!

Read more: Paint Colour Review of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray

Let's take a quick break to talk about paint samples…

Undoubtedly, you'll be heading out in the near future to grab paint samples – stop right there! I want you to check out SAMPLIZE . Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more AFFORDABLE, EASIER and more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY than traditional paint pots. Here are just a FEW reasons why I recommend Samplize to my clients…

• Samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in 1-3 business days, depending on location
• At $6.99, they're more affordable than the samples pots/rollers/foam boards that are needing for traditional paint sampling
• If you keep the samples on their white paper, you can move them around the room

Visit the SAMPLIZE website HERE

4. Sherwin Williams Colonnade Gray SW 7641

This fella is very (very) similar to the ever-popular Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. Same gray, same subtle warmth, similar depth. However, the subtle green you'll find in both of these colours is WAAAY more passive in Colonnade Gray. When it shows up, you actually have to convince yourself it's there (whereas RP is slightly more obvious).

• Colonnade Gray has an LRV of 52, great for a well-lit room, but a touch dull for a darker one
• There is a very good chance you'd never know this colour had green in it unless I spilt the beans – which I DO love to do
• If you are sensitive to green, don't pick your nose and don't pick this colour. I've found that folks like you can see it even when it's not there, so let's not encourage things
• Colonnade Gray is SUPER comparable to Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter – minus the muddy green. To learn about the difference between these two colours, check out this post… Colour Review: Collonade Gray vs Revere Pewter

So, there you have it. If those are just too gray for your tastes, then you probably need to start dabbling in the Wild World of Greige. And if you're stuck? You know who to call…

Not sure which paint colour is best for your room?

Check out my Online Color Consulting and E-Decor Services

KYLIE M INTERIORS E-DESIGN, E-DECOR AND ONLINE VIRTUAL PAINT COLOR CONSULTING    SPECIALIZING IN BENJAMIN MOORE AND SHERWIN WILLIAMS PAINT COLOURS

READ MORE

The 10 Best WHOLE HOME Gray and Greige Paint Colours

The 8 Best WHOLE HOME Warm Neutral Paint Colours

Requisite Grey Living Room

Source: https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-4-best-warm-gray-paint-colours-sherwin-williams/