Unpopular opinion: warm grays are a trap for most home paint jobs

I spent two weeks deciding between a warm gray and a cool gray for my living room in Portland. Picked the warm gray because it looked "cozy" in the chip, but once it dried on all four walls it looked straight up beige with a hint of dirty sock. Had to repaint with a cool gray and now it actually reads as gray with the natural light. Anyone else get burned by warm undertones looking totally different on the wall?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_ramirez4d ago

My friend Jen went through this exact nightmare in her Seattle apartment. She picked a warm gray called "Silver Dove" for her kitchen and it ended up looking like someone mixed cement with old coffee grounds on a bad day. Her contractor even called it "landlord beige" which was brutal but accurate. She ended up painting over it with a cool gray called "Classic Silver" and now it actually looks like a real gray, not a sad beige. Those warm undertones really do lie to you under store lighting.

the_jason4d ago

Jen's story is exactly why I only buy paint samples now, @emma_ramirez. Those warm grays are total traps.