Every gray looks purple!

rad3585

I've gotten a few samples of gray to try to pick just the right one for our living room/dining room area. Every sample that we put on the wall looks completely purple, and it definitely didn't in the store! I am getting frustrated with all this time and money we are wasting and I just want to find the perfect gray. Should we be looking at ones that are more greenish-toned so they won't end up looking purple? Any suggestions of a really good gray? We've tried Sherwin Williams Essential Gray and Versatile Gray. I'm running out of patience...

Motzie

BM Coventry Gray. Never looks purple, it is the awesome.

egs_sweetness

We have Behr's Porpoise in our office. It's a really nice shade of grey.

juno

I had the same problem!  I discovered that our HD has a little box set up where you can look at paint chips under different sorts of light (daylight, fluorescent, incandescent).  Maybe see if your paint store has one of those.  It helped me find a grey that didn't change colors for me on the wall.

ETA: The gray I finally used was Behr Pewter Mug.

elliemonster2012

I was gray obsessed for awhile....we ended up using Dovetail by Sherwin Williams and it is a true gray.  Pics in blog.

AugustBrideCO

It is sooo hard to choose a gray! The same gray looks completely different in different rooms.  We ended up with BM Stonington Gray.  A friend recommended SW Dorian Gray and it's beautiful too (though DH thought it was too dark for our bedroom). 

TheBridesMom

I thought gray was the hardest color to find the right shade.  I had more problems with grays being too green, and spent months looking for just the right gray for our bedroom.  I eventually went with a very close to true gray with a hint of blue, but it matches our sheets perfectly and doesn't look at all blue in the master bath, so I'm happy, but honestly, I almost gave up on finding a gray.

Jennifer2008

We have Veil by Glidden on our kitchen walls. I love it - not purplish at all (though in photos it can look more purple or more green depending on the light and camera settings). We looked at a billion options too. I'm sure you'll find the right one!

 This photo is pretty true to life in terms of colour (grey walls on the right side). More pics in blog if you want to see more.

 

 

mikekatrina

I totally had this problem too!  In fact, we have the same shade of gray in our dining room as in the kitchen and they look totally different.  If you hold up the paint sample to either wall it looks the same but in the room they look different.  The dining room looks plum gray but the kitchen looks pure gray.  My theory is the light bouncing off the cream cabinets make the paint look different in the kitchen.  Incandescent light, which is more yellow than sunlight or fluorescent will make blues look more purple. 

Knitty

Yes, I think you need to try the greenish ones to get one that will look right in your room. I had the same problem with beiges and the light reflecting off our hardwoods.

LeoChic

I had a hard time with picking a gray color as well but most of mine were too blue.  After a recommendation on here, I finally found SW Mindful Gray.  It's in a small room with a large window so it gets a ton of natural light.  I find that it is a great true gray without much blue, green, or purple coming through.

JLeeler

I don't have any gray suggestions but wanted to let you know that any tint (of any kind/color/etc) on your windows as well as any colors outside of your home (i.e., neighbors house) that reflects through the windows can significantly change how color views in your home vs. in the store.

darby0422

What pp said, but I also want to add that if you are just painting a sample, the original color of your room showing on all sides of the sample can significantly change the look of the color.  I painted our family room a dark, charcoal gray (called stone, or pavement or something from Ace) and until the whole room was painted my DH was sure he was going to hate it.  It is now his favorite room in our home and he said he will never doubt my color choices again!

Ginger Le Coeur

If you have access to RH, try their grays. I love their paint.

bakingblonde

WE are in love with SW Mindful gray. Others looked too blue or green on our walls but this is just perfect, it even looks a bit beige at night. such a great neutral gray. 

dalmadarling

I love Cement Gray from Martha Stewart - best one in my opinion  - a true gray. Good luck! I love gray, and it was such an exhaustive process to find the right one. 

butterfly0813

I just painted Behr Porpoise in our bedroom and it looks purple - especially the more sunlight that comes in the windows - so sad it took so long to paint, now how do I fix...

Amerbutt81

I had a problem finding a gray that wasn't cold and sterile.  I finally went with Sherwin-Williams Pediment, and it's beautiful.  Just a hint of warm undertones, so no purple hue at all!

BeckyOff

I just used Behr Silver Drop.  It's EXACTLY the same shade as the drywall was before I primed it.  Couldn't have matched it better if I tried.

If I ever repaint it, though, I'll go one darker on the chip and use Dolphin Fin.

I used the online Behr Virtual Color Center.  When you click on a group of colors, it tells you the tones.  Silver Drop is from the group called "Yellow Toned Neutrals."  There are also blue and red toned neutrals.

http://www.behr.com/Behr/home#vgnextoid=6bd8ea6621ca5110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD;channel=EXPLORE;view=14

Eclypze

i hear you we JUST went though this!  We got a "Greige" - Barefoot Beach from Olympic.  It still has a purple tint, however, but it was a "complementary" color to the plum accents/curtains we have so at least we knew it went.   Depending on the light, it's a grey/beige

DZKathryn

We used Behr pewter mug in our master bed room and love it!

chicagobride_07

We used SW Mindful Gray.  The RH grays (we used RH paint in other areas of the house) looked very purple to me.