Sharing my top picks for the best gray paint colors, along with real-life examples of these colors in homes!
Today’s post comes as a highly requested reader post: my top picks for the best gray paint colors! Along with each of my selections, I’ll be sharing a color breakdown as well as examples of each paint color in a real-life setting.
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The Best Gray Paint Colors
Admittedly, I don’t prefer gray paint colors in our home. We have a lot of windows, which paired with gray tones, can sometimes feel rather cool and uninviting. But, I love a good gray when I see it done right in other homes! The challenge with gray paint colors, similar to whites and other neutrals, is that they can look very different from home to home, depending on the natural light sources. Gray has a tendency to read purple or blue if the right tone isn’t chosen.
So today, I’m going to share some of the most fool-proof gray paint colors out there. As always, it’s best to grab a sample and test each color in your home’s natural lighting throughout multiple times of day! If you’re looking for something a bit more warm, be sure to check out my post dedicated to The Best Warm Gray Paint Colors. There may be some slight overlaps from that post, but I’m planning to share more “true” gray colors today.
If you’re wanting to try large, pre-painted samples, I’d definitely look into Samplize for picking the perfect gray color for your home! Their large peel and stick samples are made with real paint (not dyed to mimic the color) so it can definitely help narrow down your top picks.
Now, on to my top picks for the best gray paint colors!
Benjamin Moore Paper White
Benjamin Moore describes Paper White like a fresh sheet of paper, with a touch of blue-gray that lends a clean, crisp feel to this appealing white. It’s a soft white that has a hint of gray that can work well if you’re looking for the lightest of gray paint colors! You’ll find this color to look especially gray in a room that is north-facing or one with low light, or even if your trim is a true, bright white as shown below.
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
Our guest bedroom is painted Benjamin Moore Classic Gray on the walls that meet up to the board and batten. The trim in this room is Behr Swiss Coffee, not a true bright white, but you can see Classic Gray pairs well and is a great warm gray color.
SPRING GUEST BEDROOM SOURCES: Cane Bed | Nightstand | Sea Glass Sandbar Art (also available here) | Bench | Bead Chandelier | Hand-Knotted Rug | Duvet Cover | Linen Pillows | Striped Tassel Pillow | Plaid Lumbar Pillow | Lamp | Faux Fern (similar here) | Linen Drapes
Behr Silver Drop
Our dining room has been a variety of gray colors over the years. In fact, it started as Restoration Hardware Slate which I loved, but it also felt a bit too moody in our home after a few years. The next step was Behr Silver Drop. It was such a pretty color and worked well for another few years. However, the trees continued to grow outside the room and I suddenly wanted everything white to brighten it up again (it’s currently Benjamin Moore Simply White). But I love that Behr Silver Drop was a chameleon color, looking both warm and cool depending upon lighting conditions. I would say overall though, it definitely had more of a gray than beige vibe. The trim here was also Behr Swiss Coffee at the time.
DINING ROOM SOURCES: Dining Table | Linen Dining Chairs | Striped Rug | Chandelier (look for less here) | Velvet Table Runner | Hutch Details | Art: old – One Kings Lane | Olive Leaf Topiaries & Wreath: old – World Market
Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray
Did you know that Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray has historically beat the famous Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter in terms of popularity? It’s an all-purpose silvery gray with relatively neutral undertones. The color pairs beautifully in the room below featuring white board and batten and a door painted Benjamin Moore Bayard Blue.
Benjamin Moore Gray Owl
One of the more popular Benjamin Moore Gray colors, Gray Owl has also been a top seller for them for awhile. It’s a very versatile light warm gray paint that can work well in a variety of homes! The image below shows how it can look on walls.
You can also see the color in use on built-ins in this stunning remodel from Studio McGee!
Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
Sherwin Williams Repose Gray is a warm gray with fairly neutral undertones. It’s a color that tends to be universally flattering in most homes! My mom and dad actually used this color on their entire main level and it’s such a beautiful neutral! If you’re looking for a fairly similar color by Benjamin Moore, I’d recommend Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (which will be less gray).
Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray
Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray is a handsome gray with rich brownish-violet undertones. In the image below, designer Erin Gates paired her Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray bathroom cabinets with Sherwin Williams Eider White on the walls. The combination is stunning paired with gold hardware!
Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal
If you’re looking for a darker tone of gray, Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal may be the perfect option! With its rich, varied undertones, this dark neutral works beautifully with a wide spectrum of colors. I love it used on these front porch doors shown below!
Benjamin Moore Stormy Sky
Blue undertones bring depth to this mid-tone hue, channeling storm clouds on the horizon.
Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart
A deep, dramatic charcoal, this saturated shade features cool blue undertones. Cheating Heart is also a great option if you’ve considered a black paint, but can’t quite commit to it fully!
Additional Paint Color Inspiration
If you’re looking for even more paint color inspiration, be sure to check out these other posts by clicking on their titles below:
- The Best Warm Gray Paint Colors
- The Best Brown Paint Colors
- The Best Black Paint Colors
- The Best White Paint Colors for Interiors
- The Best Exterior White Paint Colors
- The Best Navy Blue Paint Colors
- The Best Blue Green Paint Colors
- The Best Blue Gray Paint Colors
- The Best Green Paint Colors
- Whole House Paint Colors & Printable Paint Color Organizers
- How To Pick the Perfect Paint Color and My Top Five Neutral Paint Picks
- Paint Colors In Our Home (and Every Color We’ve Ever Used)
Free Paint Color Organization Printables
If you frequently paint your home like I do, it can sometimes be difficult to keep all your colors (and paint cans) organized! That’s why I’ve created a free paint color organization printable set that I think you will all love!
Here’s how I use each of the pages:
- Page 1 – I print on white cardstock to complete and keep handy around our home or near where we store our paint.
- Page 2 – I print on these labels and add them to the paint cans for easy identification.
- Page 3 – I shrink to fit on an index card to keep in my purse, or print as is and fold up to carry with me at all times. I simply add a drop of paint and the room name.
Simply complete the form below and I’ll email the PDF files over to you to start using today! It will also subscribe you to my email list, however, you can easily unsubscribe at any time if that isn’t your thing.
I hope you found these ideas and the best gray paint colors helpful! Any other colors you’re on the hunt for?
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We painted 90% of our 4000sq home in Stonington Gray in 2016. it is lovely! In March 2022 I picked up a new can of paint to do some touch ups here and there around the house, and was shocked to find that 2022 Stonington Gray is NOT (even remotely) the same as 2016 Stonington Gray. The BM store where I bought the paint gave me a replacement can- still didn’t match!! They did a color match from a actual chip off the wall and it STILL didn’t match. In fact my color sample that I saved in my paint file from 2016 is not even remotely the same as the color sample on displays now. I spent the next 6 weeks with Benjamin Moore customer service and their field rep telling me that they don’t guarantee color for 6 years, because the base of the products are changed, that the color changes over time based on environment, and touch ups are never the same color because the paint will lose sheen over time (and much such smoke blowing). They admitted they changed the formula of the color when they changed the components of the product in 2018, but couldn’t seem to understand why I was upset that the new SG was three shades lighter than the old SG. (Having renovated and remodeled a half of dozen houses in my adult life I’ve never had something like this happen. I’ve literally been able to take an unknown chip of 10+ years old paint color off a wall, take it to home depot and have it matched, and 100% of the time it matched). Unlike everyone at BM who were basically unapologetic, the very sweet local store owner was the nicest man and we worked from the original 2016 formula of paint and gradually added color to get a match. This took weeks of adding a little bit of this, going home trying it, letting it dry, taking pics, going back and adding a little bit of that until we were able to get it to match, I tell you all this nightmare because while having a lovely paint color chart for your home is helpful, please note even “high quality” paint companies do not guarantee their colors and be prepared to paint the entire room/house when you need a touch up.
I would very much like to see other serious companies included in the comparison such as Little Greene, The Crown Paints, Dulux, Levis, and etc EU trademarks with tradition and endless choices of shades of greys with different undertones. These are the paints that we use in Europe. We rarely use Benjamine Moore and we haven’t even heard about the rest.