Sherwin Williams Popular Gray: Undertones, Best Uses, & Real Homes
By Kylie
June 14, 2024
If you’ve been looking for the most popular gray, greige, or taupe paint colors, look no further than POPULAR Gray! But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s the best paint color for your home, as it has some serious undertone considerations (which we’ll get into shortly).
IS POPULAR GRAY A GRAY, GREIGE, OR TAUPE?
Popular Gray is taupe, through and through. While some taupes cater to gray and others to beige, Popular Gray gives you a well-balanced approach to temperature, not catering hard to either.
If you have a north-facing room, Popular Gray’s pretty warmth is a great way to offset that cool light coming in your window – adding softness without an abundance of warmth. The same goes for east and west-facing rooms at their dead times of the day.
As for a south-facing room, while Popular Gray is warm, it doesn’t overheat in a southern space, making it a great choice if you want warmth but not an easy-bake oven.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S ITS LRV?
Popular Gray has an LRV of 61. This makes Popular Gray a great depth for the average room. When doing Online Color Consultations with clients who are unsure what they want, I often start with LRVs between 60-70.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save you paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE POPULAR GRAY’S UNDERTONES?
Popular Gray isn’t one of the more subtle paint colors regarding its undertones, and you can expect to see some purple and pink showing up to the party, more so than a more neutral greige-taupe like Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. This said, many interior finishes need more commitment to undertone than the ever-popular AGreeable Gray offers, making Popular Gray a great alternative. If you’re worried its undertones go too far, compare it to Sherwin Williams Pediment, which has more undertones.
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Popular Gray…
WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE TRIM COLOR WITH POPULAR GRAY?
When it comes to Popular Gray, if I want the best trim or cabinet color, I’ll look at…
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Sherwin Williams Extra White
- I would tread carefully with a warm white like Sherwin Williams Alabaster, which has more yellow.
- Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is gorgeous, too, but I prefer the first two.
Should I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
DOES POPULAR GRAY GO WITH CREAM TRIM & CABINETS?
I wouldn’t do it if I were you. While it can handle a warm, creamy white like Benjamin Moore White Dove, once you dive into the cream world, Popular Gray is too light to coordinate well with cream trim and cabinets.
Here is it with cream cabinets. I mean, it’s better than the Alpaca, but I still wouldn’t do it – it’s a hard no from this color cowgirl…
Remember to choose colors for the home you have, not the home you WISH you had.
DOES POPULAR GRAY GO WITH WOOD TRIMS & CABINETS?
YOU BET YOUR BOOTY IT LOOKS GOOD! While I can’t guarantee every wood stain and WISH I had some example photos, the warm taupe tone of Popular Gray is a beautiful complement to various woods. This includes those with a red undertone (red oak), pink stain, golden oak, many maples, pines, and mahogany – it’s a gooder.
IS POPULAR GRAY A GOOD EXTERIOR COLOR?
Heck yes – 1000x times, yes. Popular Gray can be a gorgeous paint color as many exterior stones and bricks lean into its taupe warmth and undertones. This said, many opt for the slightly darker version, which we’re looking at next!
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO POPULAR GRAY?
POPULAR GRAY vs. SHERWIN WILLIAMS VERSATILE GRAY
Versatile Gray is amazeballs if your walls or exterior need a bit more depth. You might need this lower LRV (48, compared to Popular Gray’s 61) to suit the surrounding finishes, or your room/home gets hit with a ton of light. Lower LRVs mean less washing out.
Here’s Versatile Gray compared to a few other taupes (and some green-blue-grays)…
Modern Gray | Egret White | Requisite Gray | Versatile Gray
You’ll find the same commitment to undertones with Versatile Gray, as it picks up what Popular Gray throws down. One thing that Versatile Gray is popular for is kitchen cabinets. Its increased depth often connects a bit better with countertops, backsplashes, and tile floors (but not always).
My FULL Paint Color Review of Versatile Gray
POPULAR GRAY vs. SHERWIN WILLIAMS AGREEABLE GRAY
Agreeable Gray is an awesome alternative to Popular Gray and a good one to compare it with. While Agreeable Gray is one of the most popular neutral paint colors in 2024 and 2025, I’ve found that Popular Gray often better suits the average interior finishes. Whether my clients choose it or not is their choice, but it’s often my favorite option.
My FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
Here’s a good example of Agreeable Gray in action, with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze built-in cabinets and desk…
WHAT COLORS GO WITH POPULAR GRAY?
If I were creating a whole home palette using Popular Gray, here are some other colors I’d explore…
- Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray and other similar blue-green-gray blends.
- Darker shades of taupe, for sure, and some warm grays.
- Dark gray with a good green undertone can be a beautiful contrast and complement to Alpaca. Grizzle Gray is gorgeous.
- Light-medium to dark shades of green are some of my favorite colors with Alpaca. You can also explore a wide range of blue-grays.
And that’s to name a few – there are a lot more!
READ MORE
The Best Light Taupe & Greige Paint Colors
The Best Warm Grays with Purple Undertones
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Anew Gray
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Alpaca
NEED HELP?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting!
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
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2020, UPDATEDIN 2024
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Homeowner’s Guide: White Kitchen Cabinets
This isn’t another ’10 Best Cabinet Colors’ list, because there is no SINGLE best white for every home and every kitchen.
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
$34.95Accent Colors – And How to Use Them
This isn’t about plastering your home in the ‘Color of the Year’ or following the latest trends (unless you really want to).
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
$24.95
Comments
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I also read your most recent post regarding updating beige tile – specifically beige with orange/pink undertones. Would this be a color to consider for that type of tile so it compliments rather than enhances the orange/pink?
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I have popular gray in many areas of my house, many different types of light and varying levels of natural light. I have never seen a pink or purple undertone. Other than comfort Gray it is my most favorite wall color.
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