Exterior Grays That Deliver

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While beige is making a big comeback when it comes to home exteriors, gray is still highly requested. At brick&batten, we strive to create a timeless home exterior design that will still look great a decade from now. Typically, that requires a warm gray or greige (gray-beige) to accomplish the task. Painting is a big investment and choosing colors for the exterior can prove far more complicated than the interior, as sunlight, external factors like nature, and the texture you are painting (stucco, brick, cedar shake) are at play. We’d love to help you get it right…the first time!

Gray is a classic color that works with many exterior color scheme combinations. We think gray works best with white trim or a lighter version of the color. Undertones are important to understand as you want your design to be cohesive with the fixed elements surrounding the color. For example, if your roof is a red, brown.  You would be sadly disappointed if you opted for a cool gray with blue undertones as the house would appear disjointed.  n most cases, a warmer gray works best as nature and roof colors tend to be more warm (or neutral).  

Here are the brick&batten “go to” grays for exteriors. We are letting you behind the curtain to see our top 3 on virtual renderings for real clients! Here ya go!

Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore: Chelsea Gray is just the perfect medium toned gray. It’s sophisticated and has depth… while looking fabulous as an exterior field color.  It does best with adequate natural light as it has an LRV of 23 so can look dark in shaded environments.  

Amherst Gray by Benjamin Moore: Darker than Chelsea and has a tendency to pick up colors around it so beware. It’s a great color for the body of your home if you’re looking for some heavy drama and depth. Also a great accent/trim color for the exterior. We use this a lot on houses that get lots of natural light. With an LRV of under 20, it’s DARK! However, this color delivers if you are looking for a darker charcoal gray.

Amherst Gray
Amherst Gray

Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore: Definitely more of a greige. Revere Pewter is slightly warmer than some of the other comparable grays and has been known to pick up a faint green/greige undertone. We love this color because it pairs effortlessly with most environments and has a timeless quality. It pairs amazing with whiter trims or darker trims…versatile in this way. In addition, with an LRV of 55, it’s very midrange.

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.
Revere Pewter Benjamin Moore
Revere Pewter Benjamin Moore

In closing, get your gray on folks… and let brick&batten help you pick the perfect shade!

Author

Alli’s passion for home design began during childhood when she’d accompany her father to various fixer-upper properties he was working on. Years later, Alli received a degree in physical therapy from Indiana University, but her love of design and personal need brought her back to the home design industry. Alli co-founded brick&batten in 2017 with her sister, Cassie, out of necessity. She was looking for a service like brick&batten for her own home, but one didn’t exist. Alli loves designing exteriors that inspire people. She’s also interested in real estate investment and enjoys creating exterior designs that will provide a great return on investment. Alli lives in Atlanta with her partner, three children, and their dogs. She loves to travel and often finds herself looking at houses in the areas she visits for inspiration and ideas.