Today we are looking at the best blue gray paint colors to help you make an informed choice for your home.
I’ve been quite vocal about replacing gray with warmer, earthy neutrals in our homes. I know I’ve embraced terracotta and green.
However, there is an exception: when blue and gray are combined, they create a magical shade with the best of both colors.
The best blue gray paint colors for interiors include lighter shades like pale blue gray, sky, silver, eggshell, dove, cloud, and heather. Darker, moodier, and more dramatic blue gray paints are fog, denim, slate, pewter, graphite, and turquoise gray. Mid-tone blue gray is an excellent neutral.
Blue will never go out of style in interiors because of its serenity and calming effect. Gray, on the other hand, can be a little cold and neutral for family spaces.
Blue gray has all the tranquility of blue but with a touch of mature sophistication provided by gray, making it versatile and popular.
What are the Best Blue Gray Paint Colors?
Bluish gray is a bit of a misnomer. The range of colors called blue gray extends from the palest to the most striking, with pastels, brights, and washes in between. But that’s why it is an ideal paint color for our homes: there is a blue gray for every room, mood, and interior style.
Which shade of this versatile color will you choose?
Best for Bedrooms
Blue is a traditional and much-loved color for bedrooms, as it is known to induce sleep. Upgrade your blue to a sleepy blue gray for added elegance.
Pale Blue Gray
If you’ve got a gray bedroom and enjoy the clean openness it creates, pale dove gray will work wonders as an update. Pale blue gray is perfect for an airy coastal aesthetic, complementing light shades of green and sand. Use it for walls and ceilings, or add color to trim and woodwork against neutral colors.
Lighter blue gray can tend to be cool, so avoid painting south facing rooms in this color. You’ll likely notice the blue coming through in rooms full of natural light, while the soothing misty grays will surround you at night.
Here are my top picks:
- Blue 01 by Lick
- Mineral Alloy (1622) by Benjamin Moore
- North Star (SW 6246 ) by Sherwin-Williams
Fog
Deeper shades of blue gray are atmospheric and moody, with hints of fog and storms. If you want a more dramatic look, go for one of these intense shades that often tend to the grayer side of the scale. To avoid being overwhelmed by darker shades, go for a single statement wall in a lush blue gray.
The best dark blue grays for bedrooms are:
- Down Pipe by Farrow & Ball
- Storm Cloud (SW 6249) by Sherwin-Williams
- Granite Peak (SW 6250) by Sherwin-Williams
Best for Living Rooms
Bluish gray is an excellent paint color for living rooms as it is adaptable and versatile. Once you have established a blue gray background, you can build any interior style around it, whether decorating a busy family room or a formal parlor.
Sky
Exquisite sky blue grays are as intense, beautiful, and full of personality as deeper colors. Lighter shades of blue gray connect with the sky and sea and are beautifully radiant in large, airy rooms. They add the breeziness of a spring morning, becoming muted and cloudy as the natural light fades.
Combine ethereal blue gray with earthy greens and grays, or add glamor with silvery metallics, glass, and mirrors.
These are my favorite sky shades:
- November Skies (2128-50) by Benjamin Moore
- Overcast (C2-738) by C2
- Samovar Silver (SW 6233) by Sherwin-Williams
Denim
Blue grays awash with pigment pair beautifully with earthy, natural shades: reach for mossy green, terracotta, sandy brown, and rusty orange as accent colors. This combination lends itself to eclectic, and vintage interiors. Add jewel-toned purples and reds for a Boho look, or crisp yellow and pale pink – think Scandi candy.
These are perfect mid-tone blue grays:
- Adirondack Blue (N480-5) by Behr
- Good Jeans by Clare
- Little Falls (1621) by Benjamin Moore
Best for Dining Rooms
Dining rooms tend to be more formal than bedrooms or living rooms, so cooler gray blues (with more gray than blue) are appropriate.
Metallic Blue Gray
Sophisticated silver, platinum, and jewel shades are ideal for an elegant dining room. Icy blue gray is sumptuous in richly textured satin or velvet, lending itself to gorgeously upholstered furniture and carpets.
Reveal your inner ice queen with these shades:
- Drizzle by Behr
Slate
Dining rooms can stand up to moodier colors, so experiment with dramatic slate and flint. Lighter stony shades pair with soft, creamy neutrals and bold metallics for a French aesthetic. Show off your dark wood or antique furniture combined with mossy greens for classical and vintage interiors.
Indulge in one of these slate colors:
- Wickham Gray (HC-171) by Benjamin Moore
- Jubilee (SW 6248) by Sherwin-Williams
- Let it Rain (SW 9152) by Sherwin-Williams
Best for Kitchens
Blue gray kitchens are a timeless fixture in modern interior design. You’ll find blue gray accents, trim, cabinets, or walls in many functional spaces, whether you’re focusing on cooking, washing up, or storing groceries.
Eggshell Blue Gray
Duck-egg and robin’s egg blue are enduringly popular shades for kitchens: eggshell blue is the grayer version if you’d rather not use the greener shades. (To be clear, I’m referring to a blue gray color, not the eggshell finish in paints.)
Eggshell blue is charming, sometimes with a bluer undertone and sometimes with an almost lavender undertone. It’s perfect for a romantic, coastal, farmhouse, or shabby-chic kitchen, especially when paired with yellow, white, and sage.
You can paint your kitchen one of these colors:
- Drenched Rain by Dunn-Edwards
- Kittiwake 307 by Farrow & Ball
- Uncertain Gray ((SW6234) by Sherwin-Williams
Pewter
Intensely pigmented blue gray comes into its own for kitchen or laundry cabinetry. Pair lush pewter with brass or antique fittings, light wood floors, and charcoal and blue tiles to round out the palette. The combination is timeless and effectively updates traditional country-style kitchens with serene elegance.
Match your eggshell walls with one of these pewter shades:
- Oxford Gray (2128-40) by Benjamin Moore
- Deep Rock by Magnolia
- Outerspace (SW 6251) by Sherwin-Wiliams
(Here is a detailed post on the best colors to paint kitchen walls.)
Best for Bathrooms
Use blue gray to create the bathroom of your dreams, where you can relax, revitalize, and restore your energy.
Dove Gray
Dove gray is a moody, natural shade seen in the early morning or at dusk in a cloudy sky. This gentle shade sets the scene for long bubble baths and steamy showers. It’s gorgeous with light wood and other neutrals, like white, ivory, and beige. Can I urge you to add a hint of uber-trendy lilac and lavender?
Create a home spa with one of these dove grays:
- Cloud Watching by Clare
- Parma Gray 27 by Farrow & Ball
- Misty (SW 6232) by Sherwin-Williams
Graphite
For contemporary, minimalist bathrooms or a dramatic powder room, reach for gray-blue-black. This inky shade is like the night sky and is exquisite, even for a single accent wall. Pair it with white or other intense blues and metallic accents.
Come over to the dark side:
- Coffee Nook by Magnolia
Best for Home Offices and Studies
A home office or study is a functional space, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be serene and peaceful. Choose cool blue grays to clear the mind and offer no distractions.
Cloudy Gray
Home offices are often squeezed into unappealing and previously unused spaces. Lighter colors help smaller rooms look larger and airier but go for a light blue gray instead of white.
These are ideal alternatives to stark white:
- Blue Veil (875) by Benjamin Moore
- Skylight 205 by Farrow & Ball
Turquoise Gray
When your study is actually a library where you snuggle up to read, you can indulge in a richer blue gray. Adding a hint of green to blue gray creates an intense jewel-box shade, pairing perfectly with a vintage style, old English library. Add lush leather and brass accents and a cozy rug for chilly days.
I’d love to have a library in my home to paint in one of these:
- De Nimes 299 by Farrow & Ball
- Wall Street (SW 7665) by Sherwin-Williams
Best Blue Gray Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
- Upward
- Aleutian
- Moonmist
- Steely Gray
- North Star
- Samovar Silver
- Jubilee
- Wall Street
- Storm Cloud
- Outer Space
Here’s a more detailed post about the best Sherwin Williams blue gray paint colors.
Top Blue Gray Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore
- Lily White
- Silver Cloud
- Solitude
- Beacon Gray
- Instinct
- Mt Ranier Gray
- Little Falls
- Water’s Edge
- November Skies
- Oxford Gray
- Providence Blue
- Lead Gray
- Evening Dove
- Gentleman’s Gray
- Blue Note
Here’s a more detailed post about the top blue gray paint colors from Benjamin Moore.
Best Blue Gray Paint Colors from Behr
- Etched Glass
- Absolute Zero
- Dayflower
- Peaceful Blue
- Half Sea Fog
- Adirondack Blue
- Atlantic Blue
- Teton Blue
- English Channel
- Blue Metal
- Midnight Blue
Here’s a more detailed post about the top blue gray paint colors from Behr.
Final Thoughts
Blue gray is a versatile shade for interiors. Choose lighter hues for a calm, serene effect, especially in rooms that need to look airy and bright. Darker blue gray is more intense, dramatic, and sophisticated. Consider blue gray as a neutral to replace white or gray throughout your home.
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