10 Best Gray Paint Colors for Interiors
See my top picks for the best gray paint colors for interiors, along with real-life examples of these paint colors in actual homes!
Gray is one of the most versatile colors you can choose when it comes to painting the interior of your home. I absolutely love using gray paint on everything from walls to doors – even kitchen cabinets!
So today’s post is all about my top picks for the best gray paint colors for interiors! Along with each of my choices, I’ll be sharing a color breakdown as well as examples of each paint color in a real-life home setting to help you see each colors full potential.
How To Choose The Best Gray Paint
But before you run out and buy a gallon of fabulous gray paint, let me share a few tips for choosing the right shade of gray for your home.
You definitely want to consider your paint’s undertones and test the shade before committing. Undertones are the warm or cool colors added to paint to provide complexity and nuance. While they might not jump out at you initially, they can often make a surprise appearance on your walls.
So your goal when choosing the perfect color of gray is to focus more on the undertone of the color and the lighting in the space rather than the paint chip/sample itself. Most all of my top picks have warm undertones rather than cool undertones. If you find this post helpful, I could write another post all about my favorite cool grays! 🙂
Oh – and 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 you narrow down your top picks.
And hopefully you’ll choose the right color, the first time. 🙂
The Best Gray Paint Colors for Interiors
So now let’s talk more about my top 10 best gray paint colors!
Cheating Heart
A big misconception when using a darker shade like this gray is that it will make your room feel smaller. So not true! A dark color makes the walls seem to disappear and adds incredible drama to a room.
Cheating Heart has just the right amount of brown in it to add a nice warmth. It’s as gorgeous on walls as it is on millwork and trim as seen below in this family room.
Kendall Charcoal
The darkness and richness of this smoky gray reminds me of a luxuriant cashmere sweater. You just want to snuggle into it with a book—and what’s more serene than that?
That’s why Kendall Charcoal is one of the best grays for a cozy lounge room or master bedroom.
Chelsea Gray
I would pick this shade over and over again for my kitchen cabinets! To me, Chelsea Gray is the perfect medium-dark gray. It has warmth, but never looks brown, and has enough pigment to make a statement without shouting.
It’s just the perfect gray paint color and a great way to add a moody aesthetic to any room of the house – even if that room is the kitchen!
Repose Gray
This is one of my favorite gray colors and is on repeat throughout our own home. Our whole main floor wall color is painted this color (including our dining room), as well as the basement walls and our upstairs hallway too.
Repose Gray is not a TRUE neutral gray as it has a teeny tiny hint of a brown in it, making it a WARM gray. There’s also a bit of green undertones in there once in a while as well (given the right exposure/interior finishes). If you have a room that has average natural light, Repose Gray is undoubtedly at its personal best in these types of spaces.
Gray Owl
This gray is super classic and sophisticated, but not boring AT ALL. It’s a very, very warm gray–meaning that it’s still a cool tone, but has more yellow in it than blue. And it’s great for a room that gets lots of morning light!
You can see how beautiful this color is in a living room setting by these lovely painted built-in cabinets.
Agreeable Gray
I’m sure you’ve heard from your favorite interior designer that Agreeable Gray is one of the most popular colors out there for a neutral interior color (other than white). This color is on the warmer side of the spectrum and is a neutral color that will go with almost anything.
What I love most about this color is how it can appeal to both beige and gray lovers equally!
Revere Pewter
If you are looking for a perfect greige, revere pewter is an excellent choice. No need to look any further! And it works amazingly well with a brighter contrasting trim color.
In a light-flooded room it will feel cool and crisp. But in a darker, cozier room this paint color will create a very soothing vibe. Love this soft gray color for kitchen cabinets!
Natural Cream
Natural Cream is considered a soft neutral. The undertones of this color are a mix of gray, yellow and white – its a muddy cream. It is a light greige color that is flattering with both warm and cool color palette.
This means that no matter the direction your home faces, the lighting will be flattering. So it makes it a great color for cabinets whether it be the kitchen or laundry room!
Classic Gray
This neutral shade is so versatile and offers a cool and calm retreat for your home. I love how this color lets the room be the showpiece, not the paint color.
If you can’t decide between an off-white or a gray – go with Classic Gray. It’s really like a hybrid of the two color combinations. And technically, despite having ‘gray’ in the name, Benjamin Moore actually includes this color in their off-white color collection.
Creamy White
This color might be for you if you’re interested in a more sophisticated color compared to pure white, but don’t want to go full-on beige or gray. With Creamy White, you can expect a clean looking off-white warm color.
This paint color is a great choice for rooms with north facing windows that let in cool northern light. The light from north facing windows often has a tendency to bring out blue undertones in cool and neutral paint colors. Using this warmer white will stop this from happening.
More 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:
So that’s my list of the 10 best gray paint colors for interiors. I would love to know yours (and please recommend other grays in the comments – I’ve only used a few myself and need more recommendations).
Cheating Heart! I would never have tried that. I LOVE it! I have an office space that’s on my never ending list. I would love to try that. Also Kendall is on the exterior of my house so always nice to see that I made the list! Thanks so much for your inspiration!
I love Cheating Heart too – such richness in that color. And Kendall is such a gorgeous color too. I bet it looks amazing on your exterior!!! 🙂
Love these grays, but I would like to see some favorite cool grays. Thanks
Thanks, Dorothy! A cool grays post is in the works. Stay tuned! 🙂
Thank you for all the examples. We recently painted the exterior a Hail Navy Blue and would love to paint the interior with a cool gray and maybe kitchen cabinets the same as the exterior. Not sure what color to pick.