Posted on August 31, 2020 by KylieMawdsley
Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray: LRV, Undertones and a Little More
If you’re looking for a popular gray paint color with a BIT more meat on its bones, you’ve come to the right place as today, we’re taking an UP CLOSE and personal look at Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray.
What type of paint color is Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray? Is it warm or cool?
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Dorian Gray is a WARM gray paint color. If you have south-facing light it will lean that wink warmer without looking greige. However, if you have north-facing light (image below) you may find it leaning MORE into its gray base, while still holding a passive warmth (so it won’t look ICY cold).
Read more: North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
What’s the LRV of Dorian Gray?
Dorian Gray has an LRV of 39, which makes it a SOFT, medium-toned paint color. Whereas some medium-depth paint colors carry a LOT of visual weight, Dorian Gray sits closer to the light-medium range.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
What are the undertones of Dorian Gray? Will it look green, purple, blue or like a TRUE gray?
Every gray paint color has undertones, and Dorian Gray is no exception as it favours a MILD purple undertone, but can easily pick up a wink o’ green. In some lights/conditions, it can look QUITE gray, but don’t let it fool you, those undertones are there!
What’s the best way to sample Dorian Gray?
Like with every paint color, I highly recommend using SAMPLIZE. Samplize is a peel & stick paint sample that you can easily move around your room for over HALF THE COST of traditional sample pots – and they deliver right to your front door!
Learn all about Samplize HERE
If I’m painting my walls Dorian Gray, what’s the best white paint color for my trim?
If I suggest Dorian Gray to one of my Virtual Paint Color Consulting clients, I’m most likely to recommend…
- Sherwin Williams High Reflective White for a cleaner contrast
- Sherwin Williams Pure White for a slightly softer approach
Read more…
SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
Is Dorian Gray a good color for the exterior of my home?
Dorian Gray can be an EXCELLENT color for the exterior of a home as it works with many popular stone and brick colors – as well as roofs too! Just remember, it does have that WEEE willy wink o’ green hiding in it! You have to consider ALL of these things (and more) when choosing the best color for the outside of your home.
Read more: 5 Tips to Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
Is Dorian Gray a popular paint color right now?
While Dorian Gray isn’t UNpopular, the trends are simply in the lighter, brighter end of the gray world right now.
What Benjamin Moore paint colors are the same as or similar to Dorian Gray?
GOOD QUESTION! Every color has its own particular nuances and there will be NO perfect match – you WILL see shifts in undertones, temperature and depths, but you could check out similar colors such as…
And if you’re thinking of color matching between brands (ie: getting BM to make an SW paint color), you might want to read THIS first.
What type of paint colors look good with Dorian Gray?
With its bit of added depth, I find Dorian Gray to be QUITE flexible as to the colors it likes to be partnered up with, such as…
- Lighter gray paint colors that have a similar subtle warmth
- Lighter greige paint colors
- Some grays that are slightly darker with blue or blue-green undertones
- Darker, richer neutral paint colors like Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray and Grizzle Gray
Not sure if Dorian Gray is right for you? I’ve got more!
SHERWIN WILLIAMS DOVETAIL
Read more: Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Dovetail
SHERWIN WILLIAMS REPOSE GRAY
Read more: Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
SHERWIN WILLIAMS ANEW GRAY
Read more: Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Anew Gray
Not sure which paint color is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
Chat soon,
KYLIE M INTERIORS E-DESIGN AND ONLINE VIRTUAL PAINT COLOR EXPERT, SPECIALIZING IN BENJAMIN MOORE AND SHERWIN WILLIAMS PAINT COLORS DIY DECORATING AND DESIGN ADVICE BLOGGER
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My Husband an I stayed in a beach house last month and the majority of the interior was painted SW Dorian Gray. I know because I went searching and found the paint can in a closet haa. The house faced North and South (almost all windows faced south towards the beach with a covered deck so although bright there was no direct sunlight coming in). It was a beautiful color all throughout the day and evening. A little bit of a chameleon, more subtle green most of the day with bright white porch and white sand reflecting in. It was a flat sheen. I Loved this Color! Very relaxing, neutral and light considering an LRV of 39! Wish I could paint my West facing, dark, heavily wooded green trees reflecting in, room in this color. But probably not.
Thanks for all your information! Your Awesome!
Thank you Kylie and also Patty Britt for your comments on Dorian Gray! -This post was SO helpful to us, as we were down to the wire these past few days picking a paint & we could not decide on a wall color as we are redoing our entryway & living room. We have American Cherry floors with insets of green and mauve marble. We know these floors are very dated, but they are gorgeous! We have an area rug with black, greens, creams & pinks for the living area. The same marble is inset around the fireplace. There are also a few other cream color marble accents in the rooms along with a Stained Glass window going up the staircase. The rooms were previously wallpapered with a dark green paper and the walls have just been finished with drywall to cover for painting. My husband and myself could not a agree on a color, but after looking at many many of your videos we learned so much, but there was never a video we found of Dorian Gray. We sent some pics to the Sherwin Williams chat help online because my husband loved Agreeable Gray & I liked it (not love!). I wanted something a bit darker and we had other medium Gray samplize from the store but not Dorian Gray. Sherwin Williams recommended Dorian Gray to pick up the green since it has some green undertones like you shared above. Once we picked up the samplize of Dorian Gray we fell in love! Our rooms get alot of light so we decided on Dorian Gray after the SW recommendation and considering all we have learned from your videos of the other grays! We tried to find a video of yours reviewing Dorian Gray, but we could not find one. Is there one available for us to watch? Maybe we just didn’t search correctly. This post surely helps but would love to see one of your videos on your take of Dorian Gray in 2022. Like you said, the trend is lighter grays, but for us, this works perfectly. Thanks for all & LOVE your channel we now subscribe and will recommend your channel to others!