Gray Green Color: Shades for Interior Walls, Light to Dark
Gray green sits between two calm colors: gray enough to stay quiet, green enough to feel alive. This page shows six green gray shades from LRV 53 down to LRV 13, each measured from a public-domain painting. Three companion colors from the same paintings show what to pair them with.
Quick answer
Use #BFC2AE on walls in bedrooms and small rooms. Use the mid-tones #A4A393, #8F9785 and #747D68 for living rooms and larger furniture. Keep #6D6952 and #556859 for deep feature walls.
Every color on this page was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
Shades of green-grey
#BFC2AELRV 53
Soft Sage Gray
The lightest shade here at LRV 53, so it works on bedroom and hallway walls where you want color that still bounces light. Its green undertone was measured from Kandinsky's Painting with Green Center.
A mid-tone at LRV 36 with a green undertone, good for a living room or dining room wall that gets decent daylight. It comes from Renoir's By the Seashore.
At LRV 19 it reads dark, so use it on main furniture, kitchen cabinets or a single feature wall. It comes from Schreyer's Man with Lance Riding through the Snow.
A deep tone at LRV 14 with a warm yellow undertone, so it reads more olive than gray green. Use it for textiles such as curtains or a throw. It comes from Corot's Bacchante by the Sea.
The darkest green-leaning shade at LRV 13, best for a small room, a library wall or built-in shelves. Its green undertone was measured from Pissarro's Woman and Child at the Well.
At LRV 75 this soft warm white works for trim, doors and ceilings next to any green on the page. It comes from Renoir's By the Seashore, the same painting as the stone green gray.
A deep red at LRV 7, useful for one bold piece such as a chair, a rug or a painted cabinet against green gray walls. It comes from Kandinsky's Painting with Green Center.
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
Soft Sage Gray
Stone Green Gray
Dusty Sage
Warm Parchment
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 Painting with Green Center.
How do you choose between these gray green shades?
Start with how much light the wall should hold. The six shades here run from LRV 53 down to LRV 13. #BFC2AE at LRV 53 is the lightest and the easiest choice for a bedroom, hallway or small room. It reads light without turning white. The mid-tones, #A4A393 (LRV 36), #8F9785 (LRV 30) and #747D68 (LRV 19), show clear color on the wall and still leave the room open.
Then check the undertone. Five of the six lean green. #6D6952 leans warm yellow, so it reads closer to olive than to gray green. Use it where you want warmth, such as curtains or a wall beside warm wood.
The two darkest, #6D6952 (LRV 14) and #556859 (LRV 13), suit a single feature wall, a built-in or a small room you use mostly in the evening. In a large room with little daylight they can feel heavy. If you are unsure, pick the shade one step lighter than your first instinct. Wall color usually looks deeper once it covers four walls.
What goes with gray green walls: trim, ceiling and floors?
For trim and ceiling, #E7E0C8 (LRV 75) is the companion to reach for. It comes from Renoir's By the Seashore, and it is a soft warm white, so it sits quietly beside green instead of cutting against it. The closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6413 Restoration Ivory. Use it on baseboards, door casings and the ceiling. Keep trim and ceiling the same color for a calm, even look.
For flooring and wood, #48392C (LRV 5) shows the tone of a very dark warm brown. Think of a dark walnut floor, a table or a door. Its red-orange undertone adds warmth next to the greens.
For one bold piece, #813128 (LRV 7) is a deep brick red. Green and red sit opposite each other, so a chair, rug or painted cabinet in this color stands out against the wall. It comes from the same Kandinsky painting as #BFC2AE.
Add #6D6952 in a textile, such as a throw or curtain, to tie the greens and browns together.
How does gray green look in different light?
Light changes how gray green reads, because the color sits between green and gray. In a north-facing room the light is cooler, and these shades read grayer and cooler. Choose a lighter or warmer one, such as #BFC2AE, so the room does not feel flat. In a south- or west-facing room, warm light brings out the green and the yellow, so mid-tones such as #A4A393 and #8F9785 look fresher and more open.
LRV tells you how the wall will hold that light. At LRV 53, #BFC2AE bounces light back into the room. At LRV 19 or lower, #747D68, #6D6952 and #556859 absorb most of it, so the room feels cozier and darker, especially in the evening.
Bulbs matter too. Warm bulbs push green toward olive. Cooler bulbs keep it closer to gray. Check your wall at the hours you use the room most. A shade you like at noon can look different under lamps at night.
How do you test gray green paint samples?
Test before you buy gallons. Paint a sample on a board at least two feet square, or on a large sheet of poster board, with two coats. Move it around the room. Put it on the wall you plan to paint, then on the wall opposite, because each gets different light.
Look at it in the morning, in the afternoon and at night under your lamps. Hold it next to your trim color, your floor and a fabric swatch. Judge it beside the things it will live with, not on its own.
The paint matches on this page are the closest ones measured to each painting color. A screen cannot show paint accurately, and a hex value from a painting is a measurement, not a recipe. Always confirm with a physical sample. If two shades look close, pick the one whose LRV suits the room. Leave samples up for two or three days before you decide.
FAQ
What is a gray green color?
It is a green with enough gray in it to look soft and muted. On this page the shades run from light #BFC2AE (LRV 53) to deep #556859 (LRV 13), and most lean green in undertone.
Is it green gray or gray green paint?
People use both names, and green grey color and grey green paint mean the same family. In practice, check the undertone and LRV on the sample, because the name alone does not tell you how green or how dark it is.
Which gray green is best for a small bedroom?
Try #BFC2AE. At LRV 53 it reads light and bounces light, and its green undertone stays calm. The closest matches measured include Sherwin-Williams SW 6177 Softened Green and Behr 730C-3 Castle Path.
What trim color goes with gray green walls?
A soft warm white such as #E7E0C8 (LRV 75) sits gently next to these greens. The closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6413 Restoration Ivory. Always check it against the wall as a physical sample.
Can I use dark gray green on all four walls?
You can, if the room gets good daylight. Shades at LRV 19 or lower, such as #747D68 and #556859, absorb most light and make a room feel cozy and enclosed. In a small or dim room, keep them to one wall or to furniture.
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 Painting with Green Center, Vasily Kandinsky
