Our Review of Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams

By:

Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams is a gorgeous warm gray we’ve recently been loving. Worldly Gray has a wonderful ability to add an elegant softness to an exterior but can also be combined with darker colors for a more modernized style.

Below, we cover everything from our recommended color pairings to how our team uses Worldly Gray in our exterior home designs. Keep reading to learn more about Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams.

Need to see what Worldly Gray will look like on your home before you commit? Our paint visualizer is an amazing tool that helps clients visualize paint colors on their exterior. However, we can also help with the rest of your home, including cladding, roofing, and windows. Learn about our virtual exterior design services.

Our designers only use and recommend products that we know, love, or would use on our own properties. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. 

Virtual rendering of a home exterior painted in Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams with a wood stained garage door, and copper exterior lighting.

Sherwin Williams’ Worldly Gray: The specs

Worldly Gray is considered a warm gray. With an LRV of 57, it’s an easy-on-the-eyes mid-toned hue. (Curious about LRV? Learn more here, including why LRV is so important to keep in mind when choosing the perfect paint color for your home.)

Worldly Gray does have undertones to think about. It can lean slightly green in some environments, but ultimately it reads as a true neutral on most homes. In shaded environments or on north-facing homes, Worldly Gray will look cooler and more like a true gray. In sunny environments or south-facing homes, it will appear warmer.

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.
Virtual rendering of a home painted in Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams with a wood framed screened-in porch, and stone skirting.

Recommended applications for Worldly Gray

Worldly Gray is a color that will look great on almost any home. It’s excellent as the primary shade but can function just as well as an accent color. We like to combine Worldly Gray with stained wood, natural stone, and lots of textures. When painted on brick, the texture provides dimension and depth. Whether it’s a mountain home, Cape Cod, or farmhouse, Worldly Gray is a fantastic choice.

In the design above, Worldly Gray was applied to the shake siding, while ashlar stone can be found on the skirting. Stained wood frames the screened-in porch and adds additional warmth. Windows, doors, and eaves painted in Sherwin Williams’ Iron Ore create a modern contrast among the rustic accents.

Colonial style home with greige shutters and garage doors, mahogany double-hung doors, and evergreen landscaping.

Worldly Gray color pairings

Our designers often pair Worldly Gray with other gray or greige paint colors, browns, and even olive greens. Lighter, softer whites are our favorite shades to combine with Worldly Gray for a brighter color palette. Furthermore, the variations of color in stone seem to blend seamlessly with Worldly Gray on an exterior. The natural red tones of brick can also look great, along with the warm tones of stained wood.

Above, the design shows Worldly Gray as an accent color on the shutters and garage doors. A monochromatic look was achieved by pairing Worldly Gray with Sherwin Williams’ Shoji White on the siding and brick. We love a color scheme using different variations of greige and white. It’s such a classy and elegant combination that elevates an exterior, especially on this colonial home.

Traditional home covered in stone cladding and painted brick with dark brown shutters, and white porch railings and columns.

The color scheme featuring Worldly Gray on the home above is wonderfully executed. The dark brown shutters and door rendered in Dragon’s Breath by Benjamin Moore bring out the darker hues of the stately stone. Creamy by Sherwin Williams on the trim, windows, gutters, fascia, railings, and columns contrasts with Worldly Gray flawlessly. It’s not a crisp contrast, but it’s just warm enough to keep the design cozy and soft.

One story rancher with vertical siding painted in Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams, accented with a bluestone patio surrounding a pool, and wood columns.

This backyard oasis is full of character with wood columns, stone cladding and chimneys, and bluestone pavers around the pool. Vertical siding in Worldly Gray has never looked better when paired with Benjamin Moore’s Olympic Mountains on the trim, fascia, and soffits. Olympic Mountains creates a subtle contrast that adds to the soft and inviting look of the exterior.

Farmhouse painted in a moody color palette with a stepping stone walkway and stone accents on the entry.

Pros and cons of Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams

PROS:

  • Complements a lot of color variations in stone
  • Timeless when applied to a monochromatic color palette
  • Looks great on many home styles

CONS:

  • May read too green on some exteriors
  • Limited color pairing options

Worldly Gray alternatives

Although Worldly Gray is a great choice for your exterior, we know options are always appreciated. Below are two more paint colors to consider.

Traditional home with black garage doors, mahogany double-hung entry doors, white trim, and black windows.

Sherwin Williams’ Agreeable Gray vs. Worldly Gray

If you’d like to avoid the warmth and noticeable green undertones of Worldly Gray, try Agreeable Gray instead. Its undertones are barely noticeable, making it a beautiful neutral for a home’s exterior. Agreeable Gray’s LRV is 60, which is only two points higher than Worldly Gray, so it’s slightly more reflective and brighter. Regarding color pairings, we think Agreeable Gray is more versatile than Worldly Gray. Our designers have paired it with colors like Sherwin Williams’ Porpoise and Peach Fuzz, for example.

Overall, Agreeable Gray has always been a solid choice from the greige family of paint colors. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Brick a-frame cottage with wood window boxes, copper gutters, and bronze lighting.

Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak vs. Worldly Gray

Named one of the best greige paint colors for exteriors, Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore is a cozy shade that’s versatile and sophisticated. It’s also one of Benjamin Moore’s most popular colors, which means it’s a tried and true favorite. It’s lighter than both Worldly and Agreeable Gray with an LRV of 68.64. Its warm undertones make it a great color to pair with stained wood design elements like columns, lintels, and pergolas. It also pairs well with black, dark gray, and even deep navy hues such as Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.

In the design above, Pale Oak can be seen as the central color on the brick, where the texture keeps the façade from looking flat. Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore was applied to the trim, complementing the darker gray roof shingles. Wood accents and copper gutters add a rustic touch, while the door in Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams draws the eye to the entry at the top of the tall staircase. Black light fixtures tie all the gray and black elements together for a cohesive design.

Farmhouse with vertical siding, wood stained columns and lintels, and stone accents.

The bottom line on Worldly Gray

Worldly Gray by Sherwin Williams is a lovely neutral paint color that can easily be applied to many styles of homes. Its color pairing options are somewhat limited, but it goes well with pretty much any stone you can find. Moreover, it’s a mid-toned hue that will never be too bright or too dark, no matter what environment it’s in.

Our designers are ready to help you with your home exterior project. We’ll create a custom design for your home exterior, and we’ll provide a clickable resource list so getting started is as easy as clicking a few links. Your answers to our short questionnaire is all we need to begin designing the home of your dreams. 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!