My 5 Favourite Warm Neutral Paint Colours from Sherwin Williams

Hi Everyone

Thanks for checking out my blog today.

For the last few months I have been sharing some of my favourite Sherwin Williams paint colours but I wanted to do things a little differently this month.  Instead of featuring just one paint colour, I wanted to share with you 5 of my favourite, warm neutrals.  What makes them a warm neutrals (I'm sure you are asking yourself 😏)?  I don't want to get too technical but I want to differentiate between what we've been taught in regards to the colour wheel - that warm colours are red, yellow orange etc and the cool colours are blue, green violet etc. For this particular blog when I'm referring to warm neutral, I am not referring to the undertone but instead I'm referring to neutrals that have some amount of beige in them.  It does not necessarily have to be a beige or a tan paint colour - even gray can be a warm neutral provided there is some beige incorporated into it.  I'm not sure if you've noticed but design seems to be moving away from the cool grays and into the warmer tones.  Gray is still a great colour to design with but I'm enjoying this movement to warmer tones - are you?

Worldly Gray SW 7043

The first warm neutral I want to introduce you to is Worldly Gray (all of these paint colours I'm discussing today are Sherwin Williams colours).  

  

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Worldly Gray is what I would consider a greige - it's a gray with a good amount of beige in it - which makes it a good example of a warmer neutral. Worldly Gray is a beautiful colour both inside and out.  It has a slight green undertone and it has an LRV of 57 so it would be considered a lighter colour.  

One thing I want to mention in regards to undertone - while they are important to consider - it's also very important to look at paint colour in your lighting.  Undertones can shift depending on lighting and existing surfaces or finishes surrounding it.  So PLEASE don't discount a colour because it has a particular undertone as it may not apply in your particular situation.  

If you want to read up more on Worldly Gray check out my previous blogs as I've dedicated a whole blog to this versatile colour.

Shitake SW 9173

You may have heard another term that is popular when describing paint colours and that is mushroom colours.  What is a mushroom colour?  I know this becomes a bit too much sometimes 😅 but I would refer to a mushroom paint colour as a beige with gray in it.  In addition to it's name ;) Shitake would be a good example of a mushroom paint colour.

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Shitake has a slight red undertone and the LRV is 51 so it would be considered a light colour.  Shitake is a great neutral to use if you have brown finishes, but you are looking to update your paint colour, as there is a fair amount of gray in it but it doesn't read as a gray.

 Sandbar SW 7547

Sandbar is one of my favourite warm neutrals to use on interiors.  It would also be be considered a beige with gray in it.  It's very similar to Shitake but has an LRV of 53 so it's a little bit lighter and has a little less gray then Shitake.  Sandbar has a very slight green undertone to it.  This is a great colour to use in a well lite area - it can feel a bit heavy in darker rooms or north facing rooms.

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      Modern Gray SW 7632

It's actually very hard for me to keep this list to just five colours as I really do have quite a few more but I couldn't do this blog without including Modern Gray.  As the name suggests this paint colour is a gray but it has a healthy dose of beige in it.  Depending on the light and the direction your room is facing this colour may read more gray and in other situations more beige.  This colour would definitely fall in the range of a warmer gray.  It has an LRV of 62 so it's a lighter, brighter colour.   I just realized I'm assuming you all know what LRV means 😉.  LRV (light reflective value) simply refers to how much light that paint colour reflects back into the room.  The higher the number the more light it reflects.  

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Mega Greige SW 7031

Mega Greige is a colour I've started using more and more for both interiors and exteriors.  I would classify Mega Greige as a brown paint colour with gray in it but I find it bridges the gap well in situations where there is a mixture of undertones in a home.  Mega Greige is the darkest of these warm neutrals as the LRV sits at 38.

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As I mentioned earlier I really could go on and on as I have several more warm neutrals that I love to work with but for this blog I'll leave it at five 😊.   What side of the debate are you on - do you prefer warm or cool neutrals?  

Have a Colourful Day!