If you’re looking for the perfect neutral greige paint color, this one is just the ticket! Learn why Benjamin Moore Classic Gray is the prettiest warm paint color for your home.
Classic Gray is warm, light and totally timeless. Technically, this color can be considered a one of my favorite warm whites or a greige paint color – either way, I consider it fabulous.
Read on to learn why BM Classic Gray might be a great fit for your home. I’m sharing all the details in this complete color guide!
Paint is hard – there’s no way around it. Even when you’ve got years of experience in choosing colors, there are still plenty of mistakes to be made.
That’s why I’ve created these paint color guides to make your decisions easier. Studying (and sampling) a few of your favorite paint colors is the best way to make a decision you’ll love!
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray is a color I’ve been wanting to try for years. We considered it for our basement bar, but ended up choosing Agreeable Gray for a little more contrast from the Swiss Coffee walls.
Like I said, paint is complicated. That’s why I’m sharing this color with photos from a variety of beautiful spaces throughout this post, including the primary bathroom we’re updating. It’s so helpful to see a color in real life homes!
I hope this guide inspires you to take the leap with a fresh new color in your home. Use the drop down Table of Contents menu to navigate this post with ease and find everything you need to know!
Why You’ll Love Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- A perfect greige
- Beautiful mid-tone color
- Wonderful neutral for open floor plans
- Pairs well with many coordinating colors
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray Overview
This color is the perfect balance between a “too light” warm white color and a “too dark” traditional greige color. In fact, it’s beautiful in nearly any application where you can envision using it!
It’s been used on cabinetry and trim with great success, exterior applications, interior walls, and even furniture. It’s a fresh, warm neutral that is a bit of a chameleon in different lighting situations.
Sometimes reading as more of a true gray, and sometimes looking like more of a deep creamy white, this one checks all the boxes! Let’s dive in!
Installations
- Cabinetry
- Trim
- Doors
- Walls
- Furniture
- Exterior Trim or Body
- Great for Open Floor Plans
Feels
- Soft
- Moody
- Warm
- Fresh
Undertones
Don’t let undertones make you nervous. Every gray or greige color is going to have slight undertones. It’s something to consider, but not something to sway your final decision!
- Green
- Purple
Light Reflective Value (LRV)
LRV, (Light Reflectance Value) is a scale used by design professionals. Basically, 0 = the darkest black and 100 is a true white paint color. Click through for all the details about this incredibly useful tool.
The higher the number, the more light that paint color reflects. So the more “white” a paint color is, the higher the number.
Classic Gray has an LRV of 74, which means you could classify it as a warm white or a greige. Any which way you call it, it’s wonderful!
Recommended Sheens
Because this color is such a flexible one, you can use it in virtually any paint sheen and in a variety of applications.
- Eggshell
- Semi-Gloss for trim, cabinetry and such
- Flat for Ceiling Paint
Styles
- Transitional
- Cottage
- Traditional
- Modern
- Farmhouse
Colors to Pair Benjamin Moore Classic Gray With
- Shades of blue like Hale Navy
- True whites
- A variety of greens
- Darker greige tones
Trim Paint to Pair With Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- Chantilly Lace
- Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White (See them paired together in our bathroom throughout this post)
- White Dove
Ceiling Paint to Pair With Classic Gray OC-23 by Benjamin Moore
- A traditional white ceiling paint right off the shelf
- Match ceiling paint to Classic Gray to avoid clashing with your ceiling – read about painting trim and walls the same color here.
How does a monochromatic paint scheme like that work? Well, you paint the walls in eggshell, and use semi-gloss for the trim in the same color. It looks and feels rich! You can learn more about trim paint here.
Julie’s Best Tips for Choosing a Paint Color
- Get Samples – Go to your local paint store or order samples online. Read all my best tips about Paint Samples here!
- Pay Attention to Lighting – Look at the samples at different times of the day. Different colors tend to show up under LED light bulbs vs natural light.
- Hold Against Surfaces – Hold your samples up to surfaces that run into your walls. For example, consider your cabinetry, countertops, hard floors, carpeting, fireplace surrounds, and trim.
- Shades of white and soft greige will have a high light reflectance value, picking up the reflection of the colors around them, so consider your accent colors too.
Tips
- In north facing spaces (or low natural lighting) you’ll see more gray undertones.
- Get 5-6 samples if that’s what it takes. Learn about Paint Samples here!
- Try samples on two walls in the room, (or exterior) that face different directions.
- Look at the paint at different times of the day to see it in various lighting situations. Learn more about light bulbs here.
- Test it with your trim color.
Frequently Asked Questions
Classic Gray is a warm greige. Although it does have very slight purple undertones, it often appears more warm.
This will always depend on a variety of factors. First, consider the colors you’re pairing it with: if you use it next to a brighter white, it will clearly look greige. Secondly, consider your lighting sources. Brighter, warmer light can shift the look of a paint color dramatically!
Color Comparisons
Classic Gray vs Pale Oak
Pale Oak is another of my favorite greige paint colors and one that you should certainly consider if you’re looking at Classic Gray. In comparison, Pale Oak comes in at just under 70 with its LRV compared to Classic Gray’s 74.
Classic Gray vs Edgecomb Gray
Edgecomb Gray is a very popular greige color! While I haven’t used it personally, it’s been on my short list for years. Edgecomb is a little darker and a touch more yellow, with an LRV of 63 compared to Classic Gray’s 74.
Classic Gray vs Agreeable Gray
Agreeable Gray has a much lower LRV, coming in at 60. While they are both pretty greige colors, that’s where the comparisons end. Check out my complete guide to my favorite Greige Paint Colors for more detail!
Sherwin Williams Equivalent
Compare this color to Sherwin Williams Zurich White when you’re picking up samples. While Zurich will read as more of a yellow-cream background, Classic Gray will have more blue/gray undertones. However, their LRV numbers are very similar so it’s a valuable comparison!
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Hi Julie! I really enjoy your blog and also read your review of RH Salvaged Wood Tables today :). Okay, so we had to pick ONE color for our ranch style home to get started. A designer told me all white would not be the best choice and that I needed contrast between that and the trim we we painted white (Pure White SW). I didn’t want beige because the whole house was already brown and Tuscan style, and we tried to update it as best we could with paint and lighting. I also knew I didn’t want gray, nor did I want a strong greige that I saw could suck out the life of more pure colorful things I wanted to layer in! So, long story short, I chose Classic Gray for the whole house because for me it felt both fresh and warm. It was almost white, but not quite. I’m happy to say I’m really happy with it as an all over house color, especially with blue, white, and cream accents! I will say that I am at a bit of a crossroads, however, because I love these soothing colors, but I also want to hang some colorful art! Looking at pinks and corals now. Thanks for your helpful decorating tips!
Hi Kelly,
I love to hear that! What a wonderful review for others who are considering this paint color, too.
Yes, pink and coral sounds like it would be gorgeous in your home – one of my favorite interior designers, Caitlin Wilson, uses a palette of blues and pinks in many of her designs, and I adore her style.
Good luck, and thanks again!
Julie
Hi Julia
I am having a really time on deciding to use classic gray or decorators white on my kitchen cabinets. My decor is going to be in the greige colour scheme.
My kitchen will be bright albeit not too big. I worry about classic gray looking dingy on dark red oak hardwood.
Also would you pair a bright white counter top with classic gray or would that again make it look dingy. Thanks for your time.
hi Julie,
We are grappling with either classic grey or silver satin for our condo kitchen (with white counter) that is west facing and does not have much light. They both look great much of the time( on samples) but are concerned about CG looking too dark/dingy at certain hours, but also of silver satin giving off too much violet. Your input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Thank you for all the paint color help you have provided. What do you think about BM Soft Chamois in bedrooms that are off of a hallway painted in BM Classic Gray? Trim work, floors and doors are oak that is stained in a reddish walnut color. Ceilings are painted in BM Chantilly Lace.
I have a small basement suite that I’m having kitchen cabinets made and painted with Benjamin Moore’s
cloud white. Do you think Benjamin Moore’s classic grey would work for the walls and the trim done with cloud white.
Hi Brenda!
I think that sounds lovely. We have a post about Cloud White, too, with lots of great info.
Best of luck with your project,
Julie