Asked on Oct 11, 2015
Gray paint looks blue
by
Kimberly B
+16
We bought 3 years ago and am finally getting around to painting all the heavy wood throughout my house. I love gray accented with black and white!! I have been searching for the perfect gray for the walls. I think this gray looks blue. I want a true gray. Not much light in the foyer. Eastern exposure. The picture is pretty true to real life.
Before...heavy wood look
painted trim white and didn't like it.
Had to go back and paint trim black...SW lazy gray walls with black trim
13 answers
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I had the same problem finding the right gray. I did a custom mix. Its a light dove gray. Its 72 drops of black in 1 gal of paint. No other colors or tints.
Kini
on Oct 11, 2015
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Love the black...It looks super with your wood and will look great with the grey (whichever one you find). I had a lot of adventures with grey this year...went through a dozen sample pots before I found ones that worked for us. Lots of unexpected undertones! Cindy's tip seems very helpful!
EmDirr @ DustandDoghair.com
on Oct 11, 2015
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I do not know what paint you purchased,however I know Home Depot sell samples of Behr paint which then gives you an option of testing instead of repainting every time.Unfortunately light always distorts color. My taupe walls look gray.
Janet Pizaro
on Oct 12, 2015
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I painted my sister's bathroom cabinets gray at her request. The paint looked baby blue. I offered to repaint, but she declined. My next visit, I noticed the cabinets were the gray she wanted. I asked if someone had re-painted them. They hadn't...it took a couple of weeks for the paint to cure, and it turned from baby blue to gray on its own!!!
Trudi Vecchione
on Oct 12, 2015
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Its all about the undertones. If you want a gray this is not blue look for paints that have some red (warm) undertones.
Susan
on Oct 12, 2015
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I had the SAME problem in our home- every GREY color I purchased looked blue- or purple according to my husband. I even repainted the trim & doors upstairs (ultra white) to go with the new GREIGE by Sherwin Williams- to no avail- still blue/purple. I gave up and went back to a very light white/beige. Hope you find the right color.
Ksranum
on Oct 13, 2015
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I had the SAME issues! Darn grey paint!!
Ksranum
on Oct 13, 2015
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What you are seeing is the blue undertone in that particular gray. All paint colors you look at have undertones because they are made by mixing different amounts of different colors, even whites, grays, etc.. From your picture, it looks like you have some orange in your floor tiles and that is picking up on the blue undertone in your paint. Not to bore you too much but complimentary colors (like blue and orange) will do that when placed close to each other. Try looking for a gray that has a warm color undertones like red and that should help solve your problem. Always buy a small test jar and bring it home to try it out to be sure.
The Redesign Habit
on Oct 13, 2015
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May I suggest Sherwin Williams' Pediment? I painted my living room SW March Wind--turned out too blue; painted my downstairs bedroom Pediment & love it. This room does not get a lot of light and Pediment gives warmth without being too dark or too blue. It is a warm greige.
Debi53
on Oct 13, 2015
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All colors are derived from the primary colors.Red,Yellow,Blue, Green. Decide what color u could live with showing thru slightly. Look at the cards they have and choose from the brown if u want darker or choose green if u can live with a slight green tinge. All & all, your paint dealer should be able to tell u which will take away the blue look. Green has a nice Lt grey ( #1311G) or dk grey(Gunnel#1312) Good Luck.
Anne fenske
on Oct 14, 2015
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I had the same problem when I painted my entry door gray. It looked gray on the outside but a bright blue inside. My husband actually told me the reason. It was the entry light.In natural light it is gray but artificial light makes it gray. Whatever the reason,I repainted it .
Anna Houghton
on Oct 16, 2015
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It appears your stair carpet is a light grey... Can you cut several yarns and take them to Home Depot or Ace for computer color matching? With the tinting recipe ask the paint colorist to increase the saturation for a darker version. My other thought is your floor tile appears a red brown ... a Warm Dove Gray would complement rather than clash with it. I too do not like the cool battleship gray paint test patch on the wall.
Andeanna Farnes
on Oct 16, 2015
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Here is an update. Went ahead and painted the entire thing SW morning fog. I like the Evening Shadow recommendation and just adding black to white. I am in love with grey so I am determined to find the perfect color. My house has so many different lighting angles I am anticipating the same color looking very different in each room. Which is a little exciting!
Kimberly B
on Oct 17, 2015
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