I love PPG paints. Break Through, Pure Performance, Manor Hall. All good stuff. And they have a very pretty color palette.

What color is the white cabinets and trim/crown? Flooring is also going to inform your wall color choice. At this stage of the game, think of it as you're creating a well-coordinated envelope for the pending contents.

Ha, I was going to answer this, but I see the Master is already on it. ; ) If you can show us pictures and tell us what your floor and backsplash are, that will be helpful. Those materials might determine whether light gray or cream is better for you. Otherwise, it's just preference. Whatever you're considering, be sure to test some large areas on the wall, and you'll probably need to buy a gallon to get an accurate match for a color that is very light.

Out of these colors (or another suggestion ) by ppg: whiskers, swirling smoke, storms coming or early evening...which are a light gray with warmth and which are more of a beige with gray tint? Looking for a warm light gray for walls and ceiling that goes well with tans, brown's, beige while still looking more gray than beige.

I don't know what part of the country you are in, or what direction your window wall faces, as those things will have a major effect. But we have black granite, all white trim and cabinetry, with tons of windows, and BM Edgecomb Gray (HC-173) on the walls and BM Vapor (AF-35) on all the trim has worked well.

Maybe PPG has the formula for Benjamin Moore colors.

Lori, you're amazing!

When you say storms coming is more colorful, what colors of "colorful " would it have? I think I understand that a low chroma would have least intensity...they all have similar value and LRV so the two factors differing it seems are the hue (color wheel) and chroma...?

When you say storms coming is more colorful, what colors of "colorful " would it have?

It belongs to the yellow hue family. At 2.62 Y it's located over near the Yellow-Red (orange) hue family. That means it's going to look like "just a warm gray" in a relatively balanced quality of light. If the inherent quality of light isn't balanced and leans a little cooler, for example, it could shift and you could see purple.

Whiskers, Storm's Coming, and Swirling Smoke are all over near the YR or orange hue family. It's not uncommon for colors from this hue family neighborhood to shift and look purple in certain qualities of light.

Storm's Coming has the most chroma out of the four. Chroma answers questions about grayness. How gray is the color? How far away from a neutral gray is the color? Out of these four, Storm's Coming is the farthest away from a true neutral gray or in other words, it's the most colorful.

they all have similar value and LRV so the two factors differing it seems are the hue (color wheel) and chroma...?

Pretty much. Put the chips in order as I have them listed. Whiskers is closest to the orange hue family. Early Evening lands in the middle of the yellow hue family.

Between 10YR and 5Y - the closer to 10YR the greater the possibility that you'll see peachy overtones or a shift to purple. The closer to 5 Y the greater the possibility you'll see "just a warm gray" or a shift to green.

This is awesome! Thanks so much Lori!

So I got samples of all of these...favorites are PPG swirling smoke , PPG whiskers and SW Agreeable gray. Early evening too dark & storms coming too brown.

Lori A. Sawaya, Will ppg commercial white go well as a trim color with Swirling smoke or Whiskers?

Yes. I like Commercial White a lot. When I lived in Ohio, where PPG stores were plentiful, I spec'd commercial white trim and cabinets all the time. It's a good one. Just don't care for it so much on a ceiling.

Ok great! We are thinking of going with it! Want a white that provides a big contrast with the warm gray color but that isn't too stark, cold white! Thanks!

Lori,

Locally I am being told to go with Gypsum or delicate white ppg for my trim (baseboards, door frames, window sills etc) to go with whiskers or Swirling Smoke for my walls &ceilings...before I commit to anything do you see any issues with either of these white trim colors going with the whiskers or swirling smoke wall color? I know for sure I will use a warm gray which is whiskers & swirling smoke for walls but the white trim color is still undecided. If it helps to know, my house will have alot of warm browns, tans, gray & beige furniture & decor...

Well, for one thing the color of the walls and ceiling aren't 'forever colors'. Meaning they will change with time as color trends shift and evolve. So, I absolutely would not choose a palette specific trim color like Gypsum.

Commercial White is a sharper, crisper, brighter white than Delicate White. Can't go wrong with either one IMO. Both are good, long-term trim color choices. Just depends on which one looks and feel better in your space.

Ok thanks! That helps! So gypsum is too specific to gray? And is Delicate white still a bright enough white that it will be a big contrast with the whiskers or swirking smoke? I want a nice contrast which is why I originally was drawn to commercial white but a designer says it has blue & gray undertones?

Ok thanks! That helps! So gypsum is too specific to gray? And is Delicate white still a bright enough white that it will be a big contrast with the whiskers or swirking smoke? I want a nice contrast which is why I originally was drawn to commercial white but a designer says it has blue & gray undertones?

Gypsum and Commercial White both belong to the yellow hue family - the end of the yellow hue family over near the green-yellow hue family. Gypsum has more chroma, is more colorful than Commercial White.

It's not a matter of blue or gray undertones. Commercial White *is* more gray than Gypsum and that's what makes it more neutral in comparison. As far as brightness, Delicate White is the brightest with an LRV of 88. Gypsum's LRV is 85 and Commercial White's LRV is 84.

Awesome thanks Lori! It's great chatting with someone who knows their stuff! Deciding between commercial or delicate white...Do you think the delicate white will be too white of a trim against swirling smoke or Whiskers? I love a deep contrast between trim & wall that gives a clean bright look but don't want so bright that it draws attention to your eyes when you look in the room or too white that it looks fluorescent etc...

This is an example of why colors of white get confusing.

Commercial white is more gray and more neutral (compared to Delicate White) and has an LRV of 84.

Delicate White has a smidgen more yellowness. That's not yellow colorant. As I've said a million times here on this forum, the colorant in the can means absolutely nothing; reading a paint color formula is an exercise in futility.

I'm talking about perceivable yellowness and Delicate White has more. It's that degree of yellowness that lifts and bumps the brightness up in Delicate White.

Brightness does not translate to stark or fluorescent. Brightness (LRV) is strictly about luminance and light reflectance.

The perception of fluorescent and stark comes from grayness and blueness. Again, nothing to do with colorants or "undertones". Commercial White is perceptibly more gray and more blue and it's the combination of grayness and blueness that produces a positive perception of "true white" or "bright white" or conversely a negative perception of "fluorescent" or "stark".

Comparing Commercial White to Delicate White, Delicate White is warmer. So, no, I don't think Delicate White will be perceived as "too white".

Thanks so much for the explanation!

If I use ppg swirling smoke on the walls, commercial white on the trim, would delicate white work on the ceilings? I noticed that Lori noted that she did not like commercial white on ceilings.

Yes, Delicate White on ceilings. No Commercial White on ceilings - it's too gray but if you want gray, then maybe.

Lori, I hope you see this post on an older thread. I have an open floor plan, with brown carpet, expresso colored cabinets, lots of natural light, a stone fireplace, mostly neutral granite, white trim. My real problem is we have a honey wheat colored subway tile (difficult to find any paint). I would replace it but we have so much of it. We have a darker brown on our walls at present (it presents gold in certain lights). We really wanted to lighten up the space and are working with an interior designer. I am debating between Whiskers and Swirling Smoke. In certain lights, they look identical and in some they look different. I think Whiskers in a safer bet with the brown but prefer Swirling. I am also getting a very large painting that is blue, green, golds and tiny bit red. Really stuck. Any thoughts? Thanks for all your wisdom.

My real problem is we have a honey wheat colored subway tile (difficult to find any paint).

If you pick up a Color Muse either from Amazon or a Sherwin-Williams store, you can measure that tile. Once we have the color data values, the color DNA, finding a paint color to work with it just takes some time but it's not impossible.

I don't have a Colorography done for Swirling Smoke and I need it to compare it to Whiskers. BRB.

I would do Brainstorm from PPG it is IMO a much better neutral than gray or another white.

Hi Lori, what do you think about PPG Delicate White for ceiling and trim and BM Decorators White for the walls? We are going for modern minimalist look with natural maple floors.

Thanks for the kind words. :) It's hard to convey tone and meaning in a few short sentences but I do make an effort. Because I have been on the receiving end of miserable, mean people spewing venom here so I know how it feels. Mean people suck.

@Lori A. Sawaya wow, you might be the color angel I’ve been needing as I drive myself crazy with whites!

We’re repainting all interior doors and trim (prior owners left 3 trim colors, some doors that don’t match frames, etc), so we’re looking for a nice clean white.

we have BM mascarpone in our family room and love it, so had planned to expand that through the open concept downstairs as well as stairway.

will simply white read too stark against mascarpone? In some areas it seems to a bit, and in bright areas it doesn’t at all.

We want to be consistent through the house (and my husband doesn’t like idea of mascarpone on the doors and trim and wants a truer white) , and have ultra pure white in 2 kid rooms (their choice!), and simply white is a huge improvement over the trim and doors there now, which look almost brown in comparison.

Basically my Q is: Will we regret Simply White as too stark against creamy, dreamy mascarpone? Or worse, will they clash or look like we failed in an attempt to match?

thanks for any help! :)

Simply White and Mascarpone technically work together. Neither will make the other look dirty or dingy.

Just make sure you like the color relationship, the harmony. You should look at the two together and think they look pretty.

@Lori A. Sawaya Thank you! We have mascarpone in our family room (And love it) and our painter only uses Kelly Moore, so we found “flickering firefly” as a close Kelly Moore version of mascarpone for the rest of the downstairs (it’s a bit brighter and yellower, but similar enough).

Now we’re seeing if Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee works with Flickering Firefly, or if we need a brighter, truer white for the doors and trim. We can’t decide if it’s a bit dull in comparison or if it’s one of those things you overthink and then never even notice ever again 🙃.

Thanks so much for your help and any more insights! 😊😊😊