I absolutely love neutral colors! My own personal design color preference is that I tend to lean more towards cooler colors like greys and blues rather than warm colors like yellow and browns. I also tend to prefer lighter, more airy colors as opposed to stuffy, dark colors. In the house that we built, I definitely wanted some grey, neutral colored walls because I found them to be the most relaxing and relatable. However, I definitely committed some major color faux pas when it came to designing our home. It’s actually kind of ironic that the house we live in now is all warm tones.

If you aren’t careful when using greys you could end up with a space that feels cold and uninviting. So what brings grey to life? All of the other colors! Where I screwed up in our first house when “accessorizing” was our drab, lackluster grey curtains, our dark furniture, and our other neutral accessories. What saved the home’s color palette? Using warmer colored greys, our rich acacia floors and cabinetry, and my sister’s colorful artwork that donned our walls (and still does!).

Let’s talk undertones for a second. Grey has 4 undertones – blue, green, violet, and taupe. These tones are visible depending on what elements and accessories you have in your home. When deciding to use grey in your home you are going to want to bring home as many paint samples as possible so you can see the difference between the warm greys and the cool greys. Blue-based greys will feel cool, while a grey with more yellow mixed in will feel more warm and inviting. Choosing a grey with the correct undertone is important in achieving the look ou want.

If you are looking to create a space that is cooler in tone you can keep your color palette all cooler grey in color if you want. However, to create interest I suggest bringing in different textures and/or tones of grey accents to give the space more dimension. You can also accessorize using other cooler colors like blues, etc. Lastly, if buying or using wood funiture you’ll want to use light colored wood furniture like maple, ash, and beech to obtain the look and feel you are striving for.

If you are looking to create a warmer grey space, you can use any combination of the following: a warmer grey on the walls, richer wood for furniture or floors, or just accessorize with warmer colors. In smaller spaces you can create a sense of intimacy by using a rich grey on the walls and accessorizing with lighter greys, warm colors, and/or texture.

Lastly, if you are someone who absolutely loves color and could not imagine painting your walls any shade of grey, you can always accessorize with grey to ground your room and keep it from appearing too busy with color and/or patterns.

Rooms that are most interesting and sophisticated usually have a well-balanced combination of warm and cool colors, but ultimately, the only thing that matters is how the space makes you feel.

Bonus Tip: So You want to Paint Your Walls Blue

My absolute favorite color is blue. In our current house I am venturing outside my comfort zone to experiment with bold colors one room at a time.

However, if you are looking for soft blue walls you might end up with baby blue walls if you aren’t careful. In order the achieve the look you are going for you need to choose a grey with a blue undertones. Trust me, back away from the blue paint chips and walk over to the blue-grey section! As mentioned above, you are going to want to take home a bunch of samples that you can tape up in the space to see what tones will show through with what is currently in your space. Hey, I’m just trying to prevent you from having robin’s egg blue walls…unless that’s the look you are going for.