What Colors Complement Gray Walls?
Gray can be fickle or downright uncooperative when it comes to decor. On the walls, gray may look somewhat lavender, nearly brown or simply look dirty, like a smoke stain, depending partly on lighting. Complementary colors provide contrast. Look basically through the color wheel to get complementary color ideas, but don’t restrict your search too strictly. Expand your choice by how a color plays up, performs down or plays to the grey, no matter your preference.
When to Use White
For comparison, use white accents with pure grey walls. Pure or true gray is a black-and-white mix; it’s not tinged with any other color, so it does not appear slightly brown, purple or green, for example. Pairing adulterated grey with white brings out the underlying tinge, so if that’s what you want, a white leather sofa, white picture frames, white carpet or even a white bookcase will do it.
A Play Brown Gray
In case your gray walls appear a bit dirty, they probably have a brown undertone, resulting in greige — a gray-beige mix — charcoal or tweed coloring. Pairing brown gray with white furniture or accessories just makes it look dirtier, how a new white cutter might appear if you wore it with an old one. Instead, go with black accents to allow the gray look as a cleaner color — how a black cutter makes a grayed or off-white sock seem whiter than it is.
Cool It
Warm gray goes nicely with trendy blue or green, provided that their saturation weights or values — not their tones — tightly match. As an instance, if the walls have been mid gray, then opt for mid-blue or mid-green furniture. For the walls of adjoining rooms, additionally match color values for easy visual motion or stream, avoiding a visual jostling of light tones flowing to dark shades. Cool colors tend to be more relaxing, making them perfect in bedrooms and baths, particularly in the event that you use plenty of rich-colored wood elements on trim, flooring and tables throughout.
Smart Ideas
Unique bright colors match gray better than others, however, work them into the scheme sparingly, such as with throw pillows and artwork, not the couch and TV stand, to avoid a design that appears too animated. Vivid, sunny yellow livens ho-hum gray — a welcome pick-me-up in the living room or family room. Bright pink, orange or red acts like the saffron or cayenne in a bland grey kitchen. Aqua blue or spring green is cool enough to dot across the bedroom, offering vibrant, yet not-too-eye-popping comparison to sleepy grey walls.
