Blue Grey Color Palette: Colors That Go With Blue-Grey
Blue-grey pairs best with a warm light neutral, a muted green, a dark blue-green and a deep rosy red. Every color here was measured from a Cézanne painting, so the pairings come from colors that share a canvas. Two blue-grey shades come first, then the four companions.
Quick answer
Put the warm putty (LRV 55) on the walls, the mid blue-grey (LRV 27) on the main furniture, and the sage green or the deep rosy red on one bold piece or a textile. Keep the near-black blue for small details.
Every color on this page was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
Shades of blue-grey
#4F7577LRV 16
Deep Blue-Grey
With an LRV of 16 and a cool blue undertone, this reads deep and works on a feature wall, cabinets or a small room that you want to feel enclosed. It was measured from Paul Cezanne's "Standing Bather, Seen from the Back" (1879-82, The Art Institute of Chicago).
At LRV 27 with a cool blue undertone, this is the easier shade for a sofa, a bedroom wall or a large piece of furniture. It comes from "Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress" by Paul Cézanne, 1888–90 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Sherwin-Williams SW 6221 Moody Blue
Near-identical
Valspar 5002-4B Villa Blue
Very close
Behr QE-53 Raindance
Very close
Farrow & Ball No. 86 Stone Blue
Close
What goes with it, from the same paintings
#324042LRV 5
Near-Black Blue
An LRV of 5 makes this very dark, so use it small: a front door, a lamp base, picture frames or a built-in. It was measured from "Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress" by Paul Cézanne, 1888–90 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
This deep pink-red undertone (LRV 10) suits a textile such as a rug, curtains or a throw, where it warms the cool blue-grey without taking over. It shares the canvas of "Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress" by Paul Cézanne, 1888–90 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
A light, warm yellow undertone at LRV 55 makes this a calm wall color beside blue-grey furniture, and it reflects more light than either blue-grey. It comes from the same canvas as the deep blue-grey, Paul Cezanne's "Standing Bather, Seen from the Back" (1879-82, The Art Institute of Chicago).
A mid-tone with a green undertone at LRV 24, it suits one bold piece such as an armchair, a painted bookcase or a planter. It was measured from Paul Cezanne's "Standing Bather, Seen from the Back" (1879-82, The Art Institute of Chicago).
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
Color
Neutral daylight
North light
South light
Evening lamps
Mid Blue-Grey
Warm Putty
Mid Sage Green
Try these colors in a room
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Standing Bather, Seen from the Back.
How do I choose between the two blue-greys?
The two blue-greys differ mostly in lightness. The first, #4F7577, has an LRV of 16, so it reads deep and takes in light. The second, #7B9395, has an LRV of 27. It is a mid-tone that feels softer across a large wall. Both have a cool blue undertone.
Choose the deeper one for a small room, a media wall or cabinets, where you want depth. Choose the mid-tone for bedroom walls, living room walls or a sofa-sized area of color. Neither one bounces much light, so in a dim room both will look darker than the sample chip.
The closest paints measured: Sherwin-Williams SW 6488 Grand Canal (close) and Behr 740F-5 Myth (near-identical) for the deep shade. For the mid-tone, Sherwin-Williams SW 6221 Moody Blue is near-identical and Behr QE-53 Raindance is very close.
What goes with blue-grey: walls, trim, ceiling and floors?
The lightest companion here is the warm putty, #C8C4AE, at LRV 55. It shares a canvas with the deep blue-grey. Use it on the walls around blue-grey furniture, or as a soft trim color against a blue-grey wall. It is not a white, so it will look gentle and a little yellow next to the blue.
For a crisper trim, pick a white with a slight warm cast so it does not turn icy beside a cool blue. Keep the ceiling lighter than the walls. Anything above about 60 LRV reads light and bounces light back into the room.
For floors, a mid-brown wood looks warm against cool blue-grey. A rug in the deep rosy red, #725152, adds warmth. The sage green, #609179, suits one bold piece. The near-black blue, #324042, works for a door or fixtures.
How does blue-grey look in different light?
Light changes blue-grey more than most colors, because the undertone is cool and the LRV is low. The deep shade at LRV 16 and the mid-tone at LRV 27 both take in most of the light that hits them.
In a north-facing room the light is cool and even, and blue-grey can turn heavy. Choose the mid-tone there, add the warm putty on another wall or on trim, and use warm bulbs in the evening. In a south-facing room, stronger light warms the walls and keeps the blue-grey from feeling cold. The deep shade works well in that kind of room.
East and west rooms change through the day, so judge the color at more than one hour. The very dark companion, #324042 at LRV 5, can look almost black away from a window. Use it in small amounts: a door, a cabinet or a lamp base.
How do I test blue-grey samples?
Paint samples on large sheets of card, about two feet square, rather than small swatches. Tape one to each wall you plan to paint. Look at them in the morning, in the afternoon and under lamps at night. A blue-grey that looks right at noon may look flat or green in the evening.
Put the samples next to the things that will stay in the room: the wood floor, the sofa fabric, the curtains and the trim color. Set the blue-grey beside the warm putty and the sage green to see how they behave together. Screens show color differently, so treat the hex values as a guide and the paint chips as the real test.
Paint matches here are the closest measured, not exact copies. Test the match you choose on the wall before you buy full cans.
FAQ
What color goes with a blue grey?
A warm light neutral such as the putty #C8C4AE (LRV 55) is the easiest partner. A mid sage green, a deep rosy red and a near-black blue also share canvases with blue-grey in Cézanne's paintings.
What colors go with blue gray paint for walls and trim?
For trim, use a light warm neutral or a white with a slight warm cast. Keep the ceiling lighter than the walls so it bounces light back into the room.
Is blue-grey a warm or cool color?
Both blue-grey shades here have a cool blue undertone. Pair them with warm colors, such as putty, wood and rosy red, so the room does not feel cold.
Which blue-grey is better for a small room?
The deep one, at LRV 16, makes a small room feel enclosed and cozy. The mid-tone, at LRV 27, feels lighter, but neither bounces much light, so add a lighter ceiling and good lamps.
Can I use blue-grey with red?
Yes, in small doses. The deep rosy red, #725152 (LRV 10), works on a rug, curtains or a throw next to the mid blue-grey, and it comes from the same Cézanne painting.
Save these colors
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
From Standing Bather, Seen from the Back, Paul Cezanne
