What color did you use?

BM Sweet innocence (2125-50)

That's frustrating. Did you pick your colour from the gray family or the blue family? Take a look at the grays available, and find one with a blue undertone. That may help. I've found that whenever I want blue walls and I've selected a blue paint chip, it's always been too bright/purple/etc, and I've been happier when I've selected a neutral with the right undertone. I know Benjamin Moore will let you search their color gallery by color family, and I bet other paint manufacturers do as well. Good luck!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Benjamin Moore Color Gallery, Color Family

Thank you all for the information!

Bobby99..thanks for the color galery. The one I picked is there towards the bottom left. Should I move to a color towards the bottom right to get more gray into it? Opinions?

Purple is red and blue combined, therefore it is a warmer color. If you pick a blue that leans toward green, it will be a cooler color. There are warm grays and cool grays too. Did you ask your BM salesperson for a cool blue gray? But really the only way you are going to pick the right color is to buy some sample pots and paint a board or poster with them and leave them in the kitchen to check out at different times of the day. Do you hate the color or is it just that it is different than your thought? It sounds pretty to me!
Diane

Diane - I don't hate the color...but it certainly is different than I thought. Darker for one, but that is ok. It is the purple (lilac) (too much blue I guess)that bothers me. Other times it looks more gray and I like it. I was looking for a gray with a hint of blue...but not overpowering.

Oh....and yes, I had 6 samples up on the walls! Just picked the wrong one. All were very similar and are close to each other on the Color Gallery Bobby99 provided above. Perhaps I need to look at the color Gallery again but more to the right side instead of the left.

Happened to me. Can't afford the repaint, so, what goes with pale lavender walls?

You should also look at the whites, some look bluish and may work for you. BM Tundra

I am saying this because you were surprised that the paint was so dark

I am interested in this too, and I'm hoping someone with color expertise can explain this. How does a "gray" with a blue green hue sometimes look purple? Gull Wing Gray is like that. I used it in a room where the original paint color was a shade of green, and against the green Gull Wing screamed purple so much that I nearly changed my mind. Once the whole room was painted I was satisfied with the color, though that impression of purple is still present in some lighting conditions.

And to expand upon rye1761's question, are there certain color accents we can use (or avoid) to harmonize with such a color?

When you go to the paint store, you can see that the colors are arranged by hue a la a rainbow. So you want to look for a gray or blue that is closer to the black or blue spectrum and farther away from moving toward purple.

Well, here is the problem... here is the BM Color Preview palette as it would be displayed in the
store. The blue arrow is Sweet Innocence, the red arrow is Gull Wing Gray the color that looks a tad purple in my room. Now, I don't claim any color expertise, I'm just am going off of what the design consultant at my BM store told me. Gull Wing Gray is not Purple, it's Blue Green, (she showed me the
color notation in a database). BM makes things harder by mixing paints
of different hues on the same strip.

If what I read online is correct,
Sweet Innocence is also in the Blue Green family. As I said, I'm not an
expert, but I have spent a lot of time pondering gray paint. I love
gray! The idea that something supposedly blue green can look purple boggles my mind, and I'm trying to understand it.

(sorry, I just edited this post to correct a typo and it messed up the picture :( if you click on it, you can see the whole thing)

But I'm sure you can see how both of those colors are right in the mix of purple hues.

If that is where those colors are, look at another BM category, i.e.: HC or Affinity, etc. Find your gray on the spectrum that is as far away from purple as you can see.

Hi ratdogheads,

I feel your pain as I have experienced the same problem and have discovered that the problem is caused by either the artificial lighting or the color of the natural light you get in that room. Do you have a south facing room? South facing rooms cast a warm reddish light depending on the time of day. Add that to a paint with a blue undertone and you get purple; blue + red= purple.

I have also read that looking for a gray with a slight tan or beige will help prevent the paint color reading purple.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the right gray yet otherwise I would share the color. I ended up painting my condo Sherwin Williams First Star and although it is nice, it is more of a greige and not the pale gray with a slight blue undertone that I wanted, it does nothing for the room. I will probably repaint the walls white.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

My favorite light gray/blue is Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams, SW 6204. Many friends have "stolen" the color from me! So far, in 2 bedrooms and a laundry room, all with very different lighting, no problems with purple hues. Does anyone else have a favorite blue/gray?