Gray is a hard color to get right imo. If you saw my post regarding the rug in my bathroom I have the same issue but in a much smaller way than you. The blue on your walls probably makes the gray more bluish, but to be honest with you on my screen it doesnt look to bad at all. Have you tried changing our your light bulbs to a warmer light.

RoseAbbey: thanks, but it looks better in photos than irl. The wall color looks much bluer than it does in the pics. If the blue wall color is making the cabs look more bluish/purplish, what color would make them look more gray/neutral?

Actually it does go. The cabinets, counter and grout are all very neutral, so any color will go. What's more important is that you don't like it. I think the issue is more that it doesn't meet your expectations. (BTW, I have a shade of lavender in my laundry room and I love it....it's all a function of what you like.)

What look were you going for? Did you want a gray gray? A more green gray? A blue gray? A very neutral gray is pretty tough to achieve. Would be happier with a color instead?

Take a look at Ben Moore Eternity or Storm...they're affinity colors.

Years ago I asked for a neutral color paint to do my cabs and Funcolors answered BM sparkling wine. Check it out on the color charts, no underlying tones show.

paint palette with Mindful Gray

What colors are in the adjacent room? Can you take a color from there and darken it? Try a dark navy, a coral or a dark greige. Above is a link to a home's palette that shows a medium blue.

I'm thinking a darker blue- maybe the indigo Batik in the link that junco East posted might work, or something similar. i'm definitely changing the wall color and NOT the cabinets since I just spent a lot to have them done and dh would kill me. I think I was trying to go for an overall cooler neutral palette but didn't quite know exactly what I was looking for. What I've figured out from this is that gray is a really hard color to pick, which has changed my mind about using gray throughout the house which is what I've been planning. I'm good at a lot of things, but this is not one of them!

I can see the purple you're talking about and it would bother me too if that wasn't what I had in mind. Are you happy with the wall color alone and you're not ok with how the cabinet color looks with it? On my monitor it looks like the grout has the same purple tone. Does it?

I think it needs to be darker or not so bluish or...? Do I try to de- emphasize the purple tone or embrace it somehow?

Going a lot darker will help eliminate seeing the undertone you don't like, but are you willing to go that dark? I think it will look nice, but it's quite different than what you have.

In Maria Killam's Bonus Book of Colors in the 'violet-gray' section, shes lists these BM colors - Fossil, Collingwood, Portland Gray, and Elephant Gray.

I'm no color expert, but I think you're going to notice the purple of the cabinets unless you pick a darker color or one with the same undertone.

Was typing before I saw your last post. I think that will look nice!

Mindful Gray looking purple-ish is weird. It belongs to the yellow hue family, right on the cusp of the yellow-red (orange) hue family.

1. Did you have it mixed in Sherwin Williams or did you have it color matched in another brand?
2. Are you happy with the lighting? Before you go looking for another wall color make sure you're happy with the lighting.
3. Have you thought about painting the walls the same color as the cabinets but in a different sheen, like matte?

Pair it with (beautiful) SW Brainstorm Bronze. It pulls the purple out of the Mindful Gray and raises the brown gray

I just painted our guest room Indigo Batik and I will tell you it is a beautiful dark blue. Not too dark (like perhaps Naval) but just perfect. I have white trim and some gray accents. The only thing that may make a dark blue problematic is your plan to change the door to black chalkboard paint. Otherwise I would say get yourself a quart and give it a try. I feel your pain, picking colors is really difficult and although "it is only paint," paint is expensive and re-painting is time consuming. One other thing, I painted my family room SW Amazing Gray and the adjacent stairway Worldly Gray. Both seem pretty true to me. Good luck:)

These are PPG colors, but just to give you an idea if you want to change direction entirely.

To me, a laundry room is a pretty dull place to be, so I like it to be cheerful. I also view it as a utilitarian space so don't feel a need for it to match or coordinate with the rest of the house.

What I've figured out from this is that gray is a really hard color to pick, which has changed my mind about using gray throughout the house which is what I've been planning.

Every color of gray belongs to a hue family. Same with white. Every color of white belongs to a hue family. There's nothing hidden or "under" anything, color is what it is.

Once you reconcile with that color fact, you can apply the standard theories of color harmony. Plus, knowing what hue family a paint color belongs to helps you navigate and manage the quality of light you have to work with.

Can you post the paint formula from the can? Possibly it was mixed wrong or an attempted color match in another paint?

BM Indian River in my similar pantry.

When I put the Mindful Gray up on my screen next to some colors, mostly blues and greens, I could definitely see the purpose, but next to the gray browns, the purple completely disappeared. Of course, that's a computer screen, so...But hence my suggestion to try Brainstorm Bronze.

I will get a sample of the brainstorm bronze, among others suggested here.

On my iPad your cabinets look pink, really pink. Because of the way colors show on a screen it's so hard to tell what would go with it.

I'm going to echo Lori in my surprise that you are seeing purple and second snookums in suggesting that you double check the paint can and formula. If it was mixed with SW paint, I don't think you should be seeing purple at all. I'm looking at it right here next to me -- and even with a blue pillow to my side, I don't see purple. I see a green-gray. If the formula was added to a different brand of paint, the diference may be in the base that was used and you won't be able to rely on SW colors to do your matching.

You haven't answered -- what is your lighting in there? Light bulbs can make a huge difference in how you see a paint color.

I can't suggest colors to look at without being sure what you are working with. What is on your cabinets looks more like SW Minute Mauve or Ponder on my screen -- and that's a bg gap.

I see mauve tending to pink.

it's only a matter of the amount of blue and semantics. The color I'm referring to is a pale pink-violet-grey shade, so all of the above. But my point was that the gray she wanted painted on her cabinets is at the opposite end.

ETA: blfenton -- not sure if you were saying you thought maue was more pink than purple or if you said you were seeing mauve in the photos. Anyway, I'm not sure the paint was mixed properly (a color match should probably be from a tested, adjusted formula or from shooting the swatch rather than using the manufacturer's formula in a different base -- or just wrong color) and if it was, I'd look at lighting -- because all the laundry probably looks funky too (but to the OP -- I'm not seeing that, but you can never tell what a camera or flash may be doing to the color, Every light bulb and window impacts color).

Agree. First verify that the color is mixed correctly. Then change your light bulb. Then check out

SW 7014

Eider White

SW 7009

Pearly White

SW 7622

Homburg Gray

I just spoke to the painter who says it was absolutely mixed correctly. The room has no windows and the only light source is a new flush mount ceiling light with three 60 watt incandescent bulbs. Come to think of it, the bulbs may have been a lavander color if that makes a difference. I'll have to check and maybe switch to a warmer bulb. I'll go this week and get color samples from bm and sw based on suggestions here. The color definitely looks different depending on whether the light is on or off, dimmed or not. Here are some I just took with the light on full strength. The upper cabs look lighter but there is just more light reflecting on them.

Gosh, they are really lovely. What a nice paint job and I love the pulls.

If you want to stay with a color from the green hue family, I'm thinking sample much grayer colors. Grayer greens like Nantucket Gray or Urban Nature. I don't think you necessarily have to go darker, but definitely try grayer.

I think your cabs look great! It is the wall color that is making them look less than great. I have brainstorm bronze on my walls and it is a very nice color and will definitely help showcase your lovely painted cabinets!

The Brainstorm Bronze would also make those really nice pulls pop too.