If your kitchen cabinets were gray...

[jennilynn]

What color would you paint the walls? I painted my kitchen cabinets last year and chose a light gray. I'm just now getting around to painting the walls, and clearly I should have planned this better because I'm going crazy looking at paint chips, Houzz, and Pinterest. So....should the walls be a lighter gray? Darker gray? White? Something else entirely? Right now it's all beige, and I'm over it. I have a white backsplash and trim. Also, the kitchen is open to the dining room, living room, etc. so we will carry the paint color throughout, so it needs to be something fairly neutral I think.

And how on earth do you pick a color that coordinates/matches? From the same paint strip? Undertones? This is hard.

[calebsmama03]

I would go with a white or off white depending on the tone in your grey. Mine is the opposite - my cabinets are a creamy white and my walls are a warm-tone grey. I love it. Now I"m almost wishing I'd done the opposite, but we sprayed the cabinets ourselves and it was a TON of work so not changing it any time soon. Considering moving and enlarging our island so if we do I will make the island a dark grey to add more depth and contrast but I love the look of grey with white, regardless of which is on the walls and which is on the cabs.

As for how to choose the specific color, what color paint did you use on the cabs?

[jennilynn]

I would go with a white or off white depending on the tone in your grey. Mine is the opposite - my cabinets are a creamy white and my walls are a warm-tone grey. I love it. Now I"m almost wishing I'd done the opposite, but we sprayed the cabinets ourselves and it was a TON of work so not changing it any time soon. Considering moving and enlarging our island so if we do I will make the island a dark grey to add more depth and contrast but I love the look of grey with white, regardless of which is on the walls and which is on the cabs.

As for how to choose the specific color, what color paint did you use on the cabs?

I also did the cabinets myself and it was intense! The color I used is Gray Clouds by Sherwin Williams. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180212/a3b9084c78c8e0ae46758c75828e5c34.jpg


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[c&j04]

I also painted my own cabinets. They're a slightly different gray than yours. I don't have much wall space tho so I keep it an eye catching color. It's currently radiant orchid but I'm planning to change it to a plum next week.

[smilequeen]

Our cabinets and walls are the same color grey (agreeable grey). They come off differently because of the textures, but I love how it turned out.

[azzeps]

Benjamin Moore Hazy Skies, if the tone goes with your grey

[anonomom]

I'd use a crisp white. I really love the contrast between a nice, soft gray and white.

Or a color of some sort. Depending on how much wall space there is, you could get away with a fairly intense color -- for some reason, violet is popping into my head. Not that I necessarily think a purple kitchen is a great idea, but as far as drama goes, it's a thought:

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/modern-gray-kitchen.html

[marinkitty]

It would be very safe to go Elder White- which isn't a true white so it would offset both the cabinets and the white tile and trim. It also leaves you open to variation in the other rooms since it wouldn't compete. The only thing is - on my screen the Elder White looks a little pinky? I can't tell if it is my screen or not, though. If it is pinky, I'd search a bit more on the SW color wheel for a lighter grayish white. Since your kitchen is open to the other rooms I probably wouldn't go super dramatic, but I also tend to like neutrals on the walls in main living spaces.

[zukeypur]

I agree with elder white.

[jennilynn]

It would be very safe to go Elder White- which isn't a true white so it would offset both the cabinets and the white tile and trim. It also leaves you open to variation in the other rooms since it wouldn't compete. The only thing is - on my screen the Elder White looks a little pinky? I can't tell if it is my screen or not, though. If it is pinky, I'd search a bit more on the SW color wheel for a lighter grayish white. Since your kitchen is open to the other rooms I probably wouldn't go super dramatic, but I also tend to like neutrals on the walls in main living spaces.

I put a sample of this one on the wall, and it seemed too bright to me. Like almost neon? But not pinky. I don't know why because when I see pics of rooms on Pinterest it definitely looks more like a soft white with a hint of gray.

[jennilynn]

I also painted my own cabinets. They're a slightly different gray than yours. I don't have much wall space tho so I keep it an eye catching color. It's currently radiant orchid but I'm planning to change it to a plum next week.

Sounds pretty. One color I've considered is Poised Taupe, which definitely has a purple tone to it. But I'm afraid it would be too dramatic to cover the kitchen/dining room/living room.

[marinkitty]

I put a sample of this one on the wall, and it seemed too bright to me. Like almost neon? But not pinky. I don't know why because when I see pics of rooms on Pinterest it definitely looks more like a soft white with a hint of gray.

I'm always surprised how different paint colors can look in different spaces. If Elder White looks too bright, maybe parse through the SW color wheel and see what else is in the neighborhood. I am not familiar enough with SW paints to recommend anything, but if they are anything like BM or F&B, it should be easy to tell which colors are in the same palette tonally.

[calebsmama03]

I put a sample of this one on the wall, and it seemed too bright to me. Like almost neon? But not pinky. I don't know why because when I see pics of rooms on Pinterest it definitely looks more like a soft white with a hint of gray.
Light and texture really change the way a color reads in a room. I LOOOOVE BM Grey Owl in other people's homes but in mine it was straight up baby powder blue! Same with revere pewter - nasty pea green in my house. Same with simply white- neon crazy bright in my house but gorgeous and soft in my friends house.

I have a harder time with SW color decks for some reason but I agree with playing with their fan deck. You can also check out BM. The local BM dealer here will look up comparable BM colors for SW standard colors and then give you options that will work together with those colors. I had always thought I wanted crisp clean white. Got it up and it glowed and looked awful so changed cab colors after the first coat. So glad I did and went with the softer creamier color. Less contrast but it creates a more peaceful visual vibe IMO.