Sherwin Williams Light French Gray: Undertones, LRV, & Best Uses
By Kylie
May 17, 2023
Sherwin Williams Light French Gray is a light-medium, neutral gray paint color. It works well on interior walls, especially in open-concept spaces, as well as the occasional cabinet or exterior.
Depending on a room’s lighting, exposure, and finishes, a shade like Light French Gray can change in appearance from one room to the next.
So, without further adieu (get it, ‘french’ gray?), let’s check this gorgeous gray out.
IS LIGHT FRENCH GRAY WARM OR COOL?
Light French Gray is a lovely stormy gray paint color. While it is a touch warm, it’s subtle, meaning it can work with a wide range of interior finishes, including some that don’t cater to overly warm shades of gray.
With Pure White on the upper walls
If you have north-facing light, you’ll find the stormy gray look of Light French Gray ENHANCED by the gray-blue light coming in the windows. On the other hand, if your room is south-facing or has warm afternoon western sunshine, Light French Gray can offer a nice balance to those warm grays while looking only slightly warm.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S LIGHT FRENCH GRAY’S LRV?
Light French Gray has an LRV of 53, making it a light-medium depth paint color. A color this depth will hold itself a bit better in a super bright room, whereas colors with high LRVs can wash out. However, this LRV can make it a bit heavy if you have a dark room, whereas colors in the white, off-white, and light range (higher LRV) can bounce more light around.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE LIGHT FRENCH GRAY’S UNDERTONES?
Light French Gray favors a vague purple undertone. This purple can lean slightly purple-blue in cool light and soften in warmer light without going purple-pink.
With Sherwin Williams Pure White trim and walls
SAMPLING LIGHT FRENCH GRAY WITH PEEL & STICK
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!
Get your PEEL & STICK SAMPLE OF LIGHT FRENCH GRAY!
WHAT WHITE TRIM OR CABINET COLOR GOES WITH LIGHT FRENCH GRAY?
- Sherwin Williams Pure White for a softer look
- Sherwin Williams High Reflective White for a cleaner look
SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
IS LIGHT FRENCH GRAY A GOOD EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR?
It certainly could be! If you have intense sun on the front of your home, the LRV of Light French Gray will stand up much better than a color with a high LRV (which can wash out). Just make sure your exterior features (stone/brick/roof/etc…) suit the undertones of Light French Gray, which can show up a BIT MORE to the party on some exposures.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
IS LIGHT FRENCH GRAY A POPULAR SHADE OF GRAY?
Light French Gray isn’t SUPER popular right now, but this is because trends are leaning warmer. However, as it relates to exteriors, gray is still on point as it suits a WIDE range of finishes.
And all of this being said, if your home suits gray, and you LOVE it, have at ‘er!
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO LIGHT FRENCH 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.
Colors with similar intentions include…
- Benjamin Moore Perspective CSP-5
- Benjamin Moore Smoke Embers – definitely worth comparing
You can also check out Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles, which is slightly different from Light French Gray as its undertones are more noticeable (slightly).
Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles
WHAT COLORS GO WITH LIGHT FRENCH GRAY?
Light French Gray is a BIT finicky, but you can explore some colors like…
- Slightly cool, lighter gray paint colors with similar undertones
- Blue-green-gray blends
- Gray-blue paint colors
- Light French Gray doesn’t love many greige or taupe paint colors
Not sure if Light French Gray is right for you? Want a bit warmer or cooler? I’ve got more!
READ MORE
Sherwin Williams On the Rocks Paint Color Review
Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles: Paint Color Review
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Silverplate
Not sure which paint color is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN JUNE 2020, AWESOMELY UPDATED IN 2023
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Meet Kylie
Do you need help, but aren’t quite sure what ‘help’ looks like? Are you drowning in paint samples and decision fatigue?
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Learn how to choose a white cabinet paint color that works with your countertops, backsplash, flooring, trim, lighting, and home—so you can rule out the wrong whites, sample fewer colors, and choose with confidence.
158-page PDF – Instant Download
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It’s about finding accent colors that work with YOUR home, YOUR style, and YOUR comfort level.
Because the best accent color isn’t one you love on a paint chip, it’s one that makes everything around it look better.
118-Page PDF – Instant Download
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Homeowner’s Guide: Exterior Paint Colors
Painting your home’s exterior is a BIG investment and choosing a color based on a tiny paint chip, a trend or the house down the street can be an expensive mistake.
Learn how to look at YOUR roof, YOUR windows, YOUR brick (or stone) and YOUR home as a whole so you can understand what colors make sense.
The goal? Less guessing, fewer samples and a lot more confidence before gallons of paint go on your home.
206-page PDF – Digital Download
$44.95Exterior Trim Paint Colors
This isn’t a list of ‘the best trim colors’, although you’ll get a ton of links to great shades!
You’ll learn how to look at your home and understand whether it needs contrast, repetition, connection, or a little visual peacekeeping to pull it all together.
Because trim might seem like a small detail…but spread it around all four sides of your home on multiple surfaces and it suddenly has a pretty big job.
118-page PDF – Instant Download
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Comments
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Hi Kylie! I’ve been loving all your posts on different grays. I think we’ve decided to use Light French Gray in our house, and have a room that’s currently two-toned in a green. We’d like to stay with the two-toned them. What darker gray do you think would work well with Light French Gray?
Thanks!
Jessica -
Hello Kylie!
I love your blog especially the commentary about Ryan Reynolds, kissing cousin gray colors, and booties! I have SW Light French Gray on my kitchen cabinets and love the color. I chose SW Origami White on my walls but it feels cold and looks dingy. What other white can I use on my walls that will balance the Northern exposure and still coordinate with my SW Light French Gray cabinets?
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Oooo, a kindred spirit – hooray!
So, Light French Gray can be a bit fussy. The thing is, as we go warmer, colors can sometimes look a bit more dingy, whereas as we go cooler, colors tend to look a bit cleaner. Toque White can be a slightly warmer/cleaner fix, but it can flash pink (oof). What about a warm white like BM White Dove? SW White Heron is also interesting and pretty.
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Hi! What darker gray would you recommend for cabinets with Light French Gray walls? We want to do Pure White for the upper cabinets and a darker gray for the lowers but I can’t figure out what dark gray would complement and not clash with our Light French Gray walls.
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Because Light French Gray caters to a violet undertone, you’ll want to humor grays that do that as well. SW doesn’t have great ones, but BM has a few, including BM Gray 2121-10. AS these types of colors darken the purple cna show up a bit more, just so you’re aware :). Also, green undertones can be pretty with LFG. I love GRizzle Gray which is a green-gray blend (the green is a bit stronger).
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