Our Review of Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams

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Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams is a wonderful neutral greige paint color that can provide a fresh update to your exterior. We love Amazing Gray for its versatility as a central or accent color, its pairings with both light and dark colors, and its hardly-there undertones. Keep reading to learn more about Amazing Gray and how you can incorporate it into your home exterior design plans.

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brick rancher with contemporary garage doors and stone and paver walkway

Sherwin Williams’ Amazing Gray: The specs

Amazing Gray is a warm-leaning greige with an LRV of 47. Considered mid-toned, it can provide gorgeous contrast with whites. However, in north-facing homes that receive little light, it may appear a touch dark or even muddy. Also, Amazing Gray has some notable green undertones. The green is subtle, but in darker environments it may be more noticeable.

(Curious about LRV? Learn more, including why LRV is so important to keep in mind when choosing the perfect paint color for your home, here.)

rendering of a gray painted stucco home with wood garage doors, black front door, and concrete driveway

Recommended applications for Amazing Gray

As a neutral greige paint color, Amazing Gray pairs well with stone and wood accent materials. Complementary hues like grays, blacks, and creamy whites work best with Amazing Gray to bring out its brown and gray undertones. The green undertones may be too subtle to play on, but pairing it with a darker gray-green like Benjamin Moore’s Deep Creek looks great on a cabin or lakeside home. Our designers have used Amazing Gray as an accent color many times — with either darker or lighter hues as the central color — on everything from contemporary to traditional homes.

dark gray painted farmhouse with wood accents, stone siding, and two fireplaces

Amazing Gray color pairings

Is there a paint color that doesn’t look good with wood? Wood columns and lintels above the windows were included in this design to add warmth and a rustic element for a bigger farmhouse personality. The central color is Urban Bronze by Sherwin Williams, and our designers used Amazing Gray on the eaves, trim, and bay window siding. Urban Bronze is similar to our previously recommended Deep Creek, but a bit darker. The green undertones in Urban Bronze make it a great complementary color to Amazing Gray.

a creamy white traditional home with copper light fixtures, sandstone patio, many windows, and skylights

We love this tone-on-tone color palette, with Amazing Gray on the trim and Toque White by Sherwin Williams as the field color. The creamy white of the stone cladding coordinates perfectly with the paint colors, providing texture and dimension. Instead of using black design elements, our designers continued the warm tones with the addition of copper chimney caps and light fixtures.

a gray French colonial home with white windows, a black iron balcony, a black front door, and simply evergreen landscaping

Our designers used Amazing Gray on both the siding and brick in the rendering above. One of our favorite white exterior paint colors, Alabaster by Sherwin Williams, is on the window trim for the perfect contrast. The tan roof and copper gutters bring out the warmth in both Amazing Gray and Alabaster. Not much else is needed except a touch of black on the front door and chimney cap. Greige and creamy white is a color combination that will never go out of style.

WE ALWAYS RECOMMEND SAMPLING AND TESTING PAINT COLORS BEFORE COMMITTING. FACTORS SUCH AS NATURAL LIGHTING, UNDERTONES, AND YOUR PROPERTY’S FIXED ELEMENTS WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HOW A COLOR WILL APPEAR ON YOUR EXTERIOR. OUR FRIENDS AT SAMPLIZE OFFER EXTRA-LARGE 9 X 14.75 INCH PEEL-AND-STICK PAINT SAMPLES OF THE COLORS WE LOVE FOR EXTERIORS. ORDER YOUR ‘REAL PAINT, NO MESS’ SAMPLES FROM SAMPLIZE HERE.
contemporary home virtually painted charcoal gray and greige with wood cladding

Pros and cons of Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams

PROS:

  • On trend
  • Looks great on both traditional and contemporary home styles
  • Gorgeous as a central color or accent color

CONS:

  • Trends aren’t for everyone
  • Green undertones can limit color pairings

Alternatives to Amazing Gray

Greige paint colors can be tricky to navigate because of undertones and their tendency to lean brown or gray. However, greige really is the best of both worlds. Choose wisely and you can get a perfectly neutral exterior paint color that still has some warmth and goes well with just about anything.

Backyard oasis design with a low deck that runs the length of the home

Benjamin Moore’s Thunder

Thunder by Benjamin Moore is another mid-tone greige with hints of green in the undertones. It has an LRV of 48.05 vs. Amazing Gray’s 47, so it is the slightest bit lighter. Our recommended color pairings and applications are almost identical to Amazing Gray. For those who prefer Benjamin Moore over Sherwin Willams, this is essentially your dupe for Amazing Gray.

Ranch home rendered in Sherwin Williams' Agreeable Gray

Sherwin Williams’ Agreeable Gray

Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams is a much lighter warm greige with an LRV of 60. It is extremely versatile with color pairings and lighting conditions, looking equally great in shaded and sunny environments. Our designers have used this hue over and over again as a tried and true greige on many home styles, including cottages and contemporary homes.

traditional gray farmhouse with black shutters, white trim, and a sand and paver walkway

The bottom line on Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams

Reinventing gray and how we include it in exterior design is all we need to keep the trend alive. Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams is a beautiful example of a non-traditional exterior shade that is unique yet timeless. On traditional homes, it’s sophisticated when paired with creamy whites. On contemporary homes, wood and charcoal gray accent colors complete the modern look and feel. If you’re looking for a gray exterior paint color to reinvent your own home, our designers would love to help.

At brick&batten, we are experts at recommending the right color choices for your home and its environment. We take into account the amount of natural light you get, your desired style, preferred/existing accent colors, and more to ensure the perfect hue for your home. The process is easy. Answers to a few short questions and photos of your home are all we need to get going. With this information, we will produce a virtual design of your home with our suggested paint colors and more. You’ll also receive a clickable resource list that helps you execute the upgrade. What are you waiting for? Let’s make your dream reality. Get started here.

Author

Originally from Tennessee, Ami currently lives in South Carolina, which has been home since leaving the military in 2016. Interior and exterior design has always intrigued Ami, especially the styles and characteristics seen in other countries as an avid traveler and photographer. She lives for the renewal of older or historic homes that maintain their character, and regularly creates her own mood boards and virtual designs for inspiration or to help others with their spaces. Having always had a passion for design and following their work for years prior, Ami was excited to be brought onto brick&batten’s team of writers. Her writing endeavors actually started in an academic/scientific setting, then in a regulatory aspect. Writing about paint colors, emerging or current trends in exterior design, and so much more revolving around something she’s always enjoyed was a fun and welcomed change!