Colonnade Gray: LRV, Undertones & More!
If you’ve been with me for a while (bless your heart) you know that I LOVE doing paint color reviews. They’re where all (okay, SOME) of the insanity that’s sloshing around in my brain comes spilling out, and that’s EXACTLY what’s going to happen with Colonnade Gray – HOT DAMN I love this color! And BTW, if you haven’t seen my paint color reviews on Youtube, you should check them out!
Is Colonnade Gray a warm gray or greige paint color?
As it relates to paint colors A LOT comes down to perception. What I see as a warm gray, you might see as a greige! And Colonnade Gray DEFINITELY borders the edge of both but caters slightly to WARM GRAY.
What’s the LRV of Colonnade Gray?
Colonnade has an LRV of 53, which ‘they’ call light (‘they’ being the peeps at Sherwin Williams). However, when you picture a light color, there is often a freshness to it. Colonnade Gray is not fresh and light, it’s soft and subtle but has some decent body so that doesn’t wash out in natural light as some light colors can.
Not familiar with LRV? It’s kind of a big deal, you should read about it.
In the above photo, look at the contrast between the white trim and the switch plate – this gives you a great idea of the general depth you can expect to see.
What are the undertones of Colonnade Gray? Will it look green, blue or violet?
If you subscribe to my blog, you’ve learned by now that grays are NEVER simple…
Of course, Doug had to make an appearance – he was feeling dapper with his new haircut
Grays have cool undertones of either blue, violet or green, and Colonnade Gray is no exception. However, it’s a WARM gray, so it’s got a lil nugget of beige that softens it up. Colonnade Gray very (very) minorly favours a green undertone. That being said, depending on the time of day, I’ve also seen it look considerably more greige and even a smidge gray-blue, particularly when the northern light hits it. In other words, it’s a pretty typical neurotic warm gray.
In this next home, you can see the pretty soft warmth that Colonnade Gray can have…
But in this next room (north-facing) it looks far more cool-toned and fresh and THERE’S THAT GREEN…
Read more: How to Choose Paint Colors for North Facing Rooms
You can also see how Colonnade Gray looks with warm wood tones. My Online Paint Color Consulting client didn’t want to blend in that beautiful wood and Colonnade Gray did a GREAT job of complementing it!
The Best Paint Colors to Update Wood
Colonnade Gray in south-facing light
In this next photo just LOOK at how that warm southern light softens Colonnade up – love it. I partnered it up with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze on the front door, which is pretty much the most bad-ass color ever. Can I say heaven and bad-ass in the same paragraph?
The Best Paint Colors for Your Front Door
Colonnade Gray in north-facing light
In northern light, you’ll have a harder time pulling warmth out of Colonnade Gray as it will lean a bit more into its gray roots compared to south-facing light.
Colonnade Gray & Benjamin Moore Gibraltar Cliffs
Let’s take a quick break to talk about paint samples…
Undoubtedly, you’ll be heading out in the near future to grab paint samples – stop right there! I want you to check out SAMPLIZE. Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more AFFORDABLE, EASIER and more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY than traditional paint pots. Here are just a FEW reasons why I recommend Samplize to my clients…
- Samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in 1-3 business days, depending on location
- At $6.99, they’re more affordable than the samples pots/rollers/foam boards that are needed for traditional paint sampling
- If you keep the samples on their white paper, you can move them around the room
Visit the SAMPLIZE website HERE
Colonnade Gray lightened by 25% (and in morning east-facing light)
I had Colonnade Gray in our last home in this staircase and was vaguely disturbed with how the weeee faint green undertone of it was interacting with the subtle violet undertone of my gray carpet. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t vaguely disturbed, I was twitching and hyperventilating in the corner (kind of not joking). I decided to play around and discovered that lightening it by 25% a) kept the flow from my main living area, stairwell and second floor all consistent, and b) took a bit of that green edge off, so that things were a BIT friendlier and I could breathe again.
I just LOVE how Colonnade sits with Sherwin Williams Anonymous and the stairwell feature wall. This was actually one of my favourite spots in the entirety of our 4000 sq ft house. True story. The color combo just sat well with my soul.
What white trim colors look good with Colonnade Gray?
Colonnade is pretty flexible. You can try it with almost ANY of my top white paint colors, but my personal faves are…
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Sherwin Williams High Reflective White
These next photos are from another one of my E-design clients. I wanted to quickly show you how Colonnade Gray looks with slightly warmer features and furnishings.
And I apologize for the slightly smaller photo size/quality. My blog relies 100% on my clients sending me their after photos and interiors are DARN tough to shoot – she did pretty good!
The above photo shows a bit more of the warm gray that I LOVE to see in Colonnade Gray – what a gorgeous complement to the slate tile fireplace.
Below, see how well Colonnade partners up with subdued greige and grayed-out beige tones in this room!
Not sure if Colonnade Gray is the color for you? I’VE GOT MORE!
READ MORE
Sherwin Williams 10 Best Gray & Greige Paint Colors
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Modern Gray
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
Color Review: SW Collonade Gray vs BM Revere Pewter
Not sure which gray is best for you and your home?
Check out my affordable E-design packages!
Chat soon,
WRITTEN ORIGINALLY IN 2020 OR SO, UPDATED IN 2021
Your new home is beautiful, Kylie. And the Collonade Gray is a great pick. Enjoy! I am still loving my Accessible Beige. 🙂
Hi Again, Kylie, I just found your very detailed information on how to lighten or darken a paint color when I did a search. I should have know you already covered that subject! Best wishes…
Author
Thank you Lisa!
Love the Collonade Gray in your home! It looks like the perfect gray! Your home is beautiful! Do you inow the color of your white kitchen cabinets? I’ve read and re-read your White blog….still indecisive. ????♀️
Author
Hi Diane, thank you! I ‘believe’ they are SW Alabaster, or pretty darned close!
You have a great site and wonderful information! BTW – Where did you get your counter stools? I love them!
Author
Hi Jaime, those beauties were from Overstock!
Beautiful color! We recently purchased an old character home with a lot of dark orange toned oak and I am struggling to find the right paint color. Would Collonade Gray work in this situation?
Thanks you!
Thank you, Kylie, for teaching me about warm and cool grays and how they change and surprise in various lights. I had been struggling with paint choices before coming upon your web site. Based on your recommendation, I just painted my kitchen SW Colonnade Gray and I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s warm, but not too warm, a gray without visible brown undertones. Soft, but not pale. Just beautiful!
Hi Kylie, I love the collonade gray! I also love the light fixtures over your island. Could you share where they are from? I just stumbled across your website, but, I am bookmarking you now! Thank you
Author
Hi Lesley, thank you! Now those fixtures were there when we moved in, but I believe they were the Odie collection from Wayfair. Click here and go down to the SECOND graphic – #5 🙂 https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/best-small-medium-pendant-lights/
~Kylie
Very informative! I’m using Colannade gray for wall color. What would you suggest for a contrast interior frint door color. House is south facing. Looking for more gray than black. Thanks!
Love your house Kylie! Very interested to know what your floors are. Also, you said you thought your cabinets were SW alabaster but your doors and trim are BM dove white. They look awesome but I thought you said you should match doors/trim to cabinet when choosing a shade of white. I was looking at both colors for my kitchen renovation as well.
Author
Hi Nicole – you are RIGHT! But…we actually bought the house with those colours already in place – I just changed the wall colours to be more my style. If I had to choose one of those, I probably would’ve chosen BM White Dove 🙂
~Kylie
Hi Kylie, I have been looking at your consultation packages and I am not sure which ones to choose. I am looking to paint my living room and foyer.
Author
Hi Debora! If the living room and foyer are separate and need to be 2 different colours, you would choose the 2 room option. However, if they are quite tied together and would be painted the same colour, I would choose the Open Layout package 🙂
I have decided on colonnade gray for my rebuilt home If I lighten it 25%, will the undertones change? I bought a sample of both and the 25% lighter looks warmer to me,more of a beige tone. Am I crazy? ( I chose all the furniture based on the 100% colonnade and now I’m panicking )
Thanks!
Author
Hi Jan! Well, funny enough, in our last home I did the 25% lighter as well as the regular strength and found that a) it almost COMPLETELY eliminated the green undertone and b) made it seem a bit grayer, but keep in mind it can all be relative to the room/exposure/furnishings!
What does that mean, lighten it by 25%?
Author
Hi Teresa! You basically go to the paint store and ask them to make it for you, but lighten it by 25%, which just makes it a bit lighter/brighter! You don’t have to do anything, they adjust the recipe for you :).
I must say a big triple YES to Collonade Gray-as this is the third house I have painted this color in the last eight years! It has blended well with, get ready—dark brown wood floors, nasty white floor tile, cream floor tile, ultra modern woodgrain gray floor tile, gold/ brown toned carpet, cream carpet and has totally downplayed the orange oak we just moved in to! We have had huge windows off the back of each house and have gone from dark green trees to a turquoise pool to bright green trees and it looks SO good with ALL. This house I am using it lightened 25% and it looses the green but not the warmth or the gray color for darker/smaller spaces like you did on your stairs. Also lightened it does not change AS MUCH during the day or from wall to wall. I am currently painting OVER Revere Pewter walls- with gray tile and orange oak visible from every angle of the bottom floor-AKA a hot mess of warm/cool flooring. However–Collonade Gray is making my floors blend a bit better with each other and my new home is go from swamp to posh just as fast as I (my hubs) can paint. Sweet relief! (LOVE the blog!)
Author
Hi Julie, thanks for the note! It’s stuff like this that really helps other readers figure out what will work for them – thank you!
Thank you!
I just painted my two story, north facing entry in Colonnade gray. My husband prefers more golden beige colors and I wanted to pull in more of the modern gray tones. Colonnade seemed like a good compromise, however I am a little disappointed with how it all came together. I used SW Alabaster for the trim and the Colonnade is pulling out the cream in the alabaster. And is it possible that I could be seeing violet undertones is the Colonnade gray??? It’s lacking the crisp modern look I was wanting, to me it feels more romantic – maybe better for a bedroom?? In the adjacent formal living room and family room I painted with SW Silvermist and carried the alabaster trim through. The trim against the Silvermist is more white and crisp. Loved that combination!! Thank you for all your posts, I’ve learned so much about selecting paint colors!!
Author
Hi Stephanie! Nope, that’s not strange at all, Alabaster is a considerably warmer white for sure, especially up against Collonade. And while Colonnade can often favour green, having lived with it, I did see it go slightly purple at times – depending on the exposure of the room/time of day. So, just confirming that you aren’t going crazy – you are seeing all of the above :).
I have a ranch house facing the east with 3 large picture windows from floor to ceiling . I painted my living room and dining room the collonade gray after looking at it for mths on a white poster board and moving it around the room , and I hate it all long the walls that the eastern light hits . It looks green blue but the rest of the walls I like the color . Can I darken or lighten it to get it to all match? In a panic I went out and bought Dorian gray and that comes up green , requisite comes up purple pussywillow shows blue And anew gray I like the tone but is washed out and way to light almost white . Can I darken anew to get a color like somewhere between anew and mega Greige? I’m living room is torn apart and I am on a panic and almost in tears and don’t know what to do ! Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank
Author
Hi Rachael! Yes, you should be able to darken Anew Gray OR lighten Mega Greige to get the range that you like – they are gorgeous colours!
Love the SW Collonade grey painted in your home. I also have this color painted in most of my home. Is there a coordinating SW yellow or another paint that I could paint in my home that would coordinate with the collonade grey. Thanks.
Author
Oooo, yellow could be a BIT off with Colonnade. I think the most I would do would be a soft, creamy type of colour like SW Creamy. Any brighter/deeper and it could feel like they are in different colour families ;).
Thank so much:) I will take a look at the SW creamy!
Thanks Kylie, you are so right about the yellow not coordinating with collonade so I will stay with a neutral grey for the foyer, hall, and living but I need something lighter than collonade due to lighting. Do you think SW Ageeable grey work as a coordinating color with collonade or something else?
I have mahogany doors and baseboard in my house, have you used these colors with colonnade gray before ? Did it look ok?
I am considering colonnade grey for our kitchen remodel and it is open to our living room. Our perimeter kitchen cabinets will be white and the island will be stained. Th countertops will be off white, with grey/taupe veining (cambria Ella). We do have some brown living room furniture. Will colonnade play nice with the browns or should I do something more greige? What trim color would you recommend? Thank you!
Author
Hi Janelle, thank you for commenting! I do try to offer as much complimentary advice on my blog as possible, but otherwise, I try to refer to my Online Consulting, so that I can take a look at the room and its lighting and other features! If that interests you, I will be opening it up again after Christmas! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/online-decorating-design-services/ Off the top of my head, it SOUNDS like you’re on the right track and you may want to match your trim up to the white of your cabinets so that you don’t have conflicting undertones!
~Kylie
I love the pics you posted! I didn’t see any using Collonade on cabinets though. Have you seen or done that before? Would you just do white walls if that was the cabinets color? Loved the Collonade grey vs Revere Pewter article too! Spot on!!
Hi Kelly, love your style and your down to earth posts and videos. I am planning to paint by myself, is it ok to paint this color on the wall and ceiling ? Right now I have builder beige wall and ceiling, and yellowish off white, and i would really hate to paint the ceiling.
Author
Oooo, it could be a bit heavy for a ceiling, unless you have tall, vaulted ceilings, but even then…I would stick with the white you have or a new one 🙂
I can’t tell you how helpful you’ve been in my hunt for colors. Your time is very appreciated. Do you think this color would work well with furniture that is dark gray? I just ordered these in the color “Graphite”. Thank you!
https://www.slumberland.com/p/wake-sofa/WakeSofa.html?dwvar_WakeSofa_WakeColors=Snow&cgid=#q=wake&lang=default&start=1
Sorry, I forgot to attach the link
Author
Hi Melissa, online images can be tricky, but my FIRST thought was that your new piece has a subtle purple undertone (as all grays have undertones of blue, green or purple) whereas Colonnade does slightly favour a mild green, so based on that, I don’t LOVE it :).
Hi Kylie! We are currently in the beginning stages of building our custom home! I am considering Colonnade Gray or Repose Gray for the exterior. We have a house that will be hardie only, no stone, and extra white trim. Do you have a preference? I was thinking I may do Alpaca or Agreeable Gray, but after watching literally all of your videos (thank you for all of these), I’m afraid those colors may wash out with all of our Texas sun. Thanks for all of your help, you are awesome! (P.S. I love wine too lol)
Author
Hi Lindsay! Well, it can depend on your roof, but check out SW Mindful Gray, which is REALLY lovely and just a step down from Repose Gray :). And yes, I’d probably stay away from Alpaca and Agreeable :), even though they’re beautiful colours! I have NO problem with Colonnade/Repose, but Mindful could just hold up a bit better for you.
Thank you so much! Finding you online has been such a blessing for me since starting this house building process. I don’t know what we may have ended up with without your website and videos. My husband is not really into picking colors and has left all of the choices up to me! No help at all there lol. We are going with a dark gray shingle color (slate) so I really didn’t want to go brown with the siding color, but don’t want it to exactly match either. We are going to pick our countertops, cabinets, and interior wall paint next month and I know what I am looking for thanks to you! I am already looking at a LRV of 62 for the inside. I am thinking On the Rocks or maybe even Agreeable Gray. I didn’t even know what LRV was before finding you lol. I went to look at your online courses and many are sold out, so you must be doing something right. Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Kylie!
I know this is an older post but I recently found your page while looking at Colonnade Gray and I LOVE the white stone/tile in the fireplace picture above (the one with the metal looking sofa table). Do you happen to know where the stone is from?
Thanks so much!
Ann
Author
I’m SO sorry Ann, I don’t, as it was built a year before we moved in. My best guess would be that it’s from City Tile in Nanaimo 🙂
Hi Kylie, great review. We have a home with lots of natural oak trim, and love the photo you posted where colonnade leans more toward green and compliments the oak very well in certain light. Can you recommend a colour that favours green slightly more, so that it will look like the photo you posted in all light?
Thanks
Author
Hi Kyle, you might find that BM REvere Pewter leans that wink more green!
Hi Kylie,
Thank you for taking pity on us and providing so much valuable information. I scored a 2 on the color IQ Quiz you linked, so I can see the colors, but I’m the WORST when it comes to putting things together. With your help I decided to paint my upper kitchen cabinets Pure White and my lower cabinets Cyberspace, and we love them so much, but now I’m trying to paint the walls.
Just considering wall color, in your (vastly superior) opinion would Colonnade Gray at 25% lighter “work” in a north-facing room that wraps around and touches the Cyberspace cabinets on one end and a Web Gray accent wall on the other, with Pure White trim? I’m also thinking of Repose Gray (maybe 25% lighter), since in the Cyberspace review you say it doesn’t like cool or warm gray with a “wink o’ green”, but you recommended Colonnade in a north-facing room and if I make Colonnade 25% lighter the green disappears… You can see my problem. Any advice is not expected but would be much appreciated.
Author
Amy, I think you’ve got a GREAT feel for things by the sounds of it – many people would not have been able to put your combos together! And I think Colonnade Gray 25% lighter sounds GREAT with what you have. There’s still a touch of green, but it’s totally okay with Cyberspace – totally. You’ve SO got this and I’d love to see it all done!
Will Collonade Gray bring out or tone down pink in brick for exterior?
Author
Oooo, I wouldn’t do it, I worry it would enhance the pink 🙂
Hi Kylie!! Thank you so much for your blog posts. I’m surrounded by paint samples and wine haha and I’m so lost. I would love colonnade grey for our bedroom. Do you have any ideas for bathroom paint colors for master bath? I don’t really like a lot of bold colors looking for a neutral. Kinda light to medium grey that could work. Not great but decent southern sunlight coming in. Also I have planned for the rest of main home colors.. do those work in a home
Palate color scheme? thanks so much for all you do! Cheers 🙂
Hi! This has been a super informative read! We’ve just purchased a georgian/colonial style home with very creamy trim throughout. We don’t intend to change the trim. The south facing kitchen has darker honey oak cabinets as well. Would collonade gray be a good choice with these two things to consider? Thanks!
Author
Hi Rachel, it TOTALLY depends on how cream it is. Some creams are more subtle and you MIGHT be able to pull it off – others, not so much. If you type ‘CREAM’ into my search function, you’ll find a full article on this exact topic!