Looks blue to me too. That’s why I don’t use grey at all - I’m not a blue fan.

I have read that lighting has a great deal to do with how the color looks. What kind of bulbs are you using?

(other than the blue - very pretty home!)

Grays are tricky, the same paint looks different in different settings depending upon lighting conditions, everything else in the room, etc. even though I like more neutral walls I think it looks good. I’m no expert, others probably will have better thoughts, but maybe (?) the navy walls are accentuating the blue in the paint, idk.

It does look blue but I like it a lot. It’s a calming/relaxing/inviting shade.

This is one of the reasons for choosing paint after all the stuff is in the room . I would wait now until your furniture, art work and lamps are all in and see what happens to the color. Plese change the light in the hallway and get rid of the fan and install a nice light in the LR.

Try daylight LED bulbs before changing anything. They’re really bright, but it will make all the colors look cleaner. When the furniture comes, you’ll at least be able to see your colors accurately.

as others have said, try experimenting with different light temperatures.

Every color has a hue/undertone, even whites. So many things factor into how it will show on the walls…natural light, artificial light, color of floors…on and on.

One of my favorite grays for a south facing room is Gull Wing Gray…simply because it has so much blue in it.

I agree, the paints look nice, so I would build on it. Rugs and artwork in grays and blues and white slipcovered furniture would be outstanding with the white woodwork.

I think it looks beautiful. (and navy is the new, hot color). wall color looks great w/the FP. bring in some warm wood, camel leather, whites, other shades of blues/grays,,,you'll be set!

but yes, changing your bulb temperature can help. (changing out the boob light can also help!)

look at it as a serendipitous mistake.

I agree, it may not be what you planned--but it looks stunning. Like you took the sophistication of gray, and updated it. I'm guessing a lot of your friends will walk away wanting to repaint their homes :)

I did the exact same thing in my dining room, Alyssa:)! I felt the same way you are feeling but I let it sit with me for a bit. I've come to enjoy the chameleon like blue/gray in the room. The molding in your home compliments the two beautiful colors actually. It looks fresh and chic!

Some people call the color blue, some call it gray. It's all in how their eyes perceive it, and the lighting has a lot to with it. I like blue much better than gray. I think it looks great. And it will likely coordinate with your gray furniture, since IMO blue and gray and navy look good together.

Hi Alyssa,

Congrats on your new home!

LOVE it! We used a color similar to Peppercorn after hubs chose an icky- green -baby- poo looking grey first, it looked horrid. We had to repaint.

Agree with above posters, change out your bulbs to LED white. Don't be sad, your new home looks sexy, current and sophisticated.

It's okay if the friend called it "the blue wall", if mine came out like yours, I'd happily have a blue wall (and I'm NOT a fan of "blue")

You all have been so helpful, and reassuring! I am going to let it sit with me, after all the furniture, light fixtures and artwork are in and see what I think! I'll definitely consider the LED lights and see if that changes the color!

Thank you all! :)

Every Gray has some undertone, blue, green, purple. Getting that perfect dead pan gray is almost impossible, as the tones are influenced by everything around the color.

These Hearts are both the same color, (Red) but they look very different based on the stripes over the heart.

Orange makes blue more vivid, brighter blues, greens and purples will make the wall look more gray.

Lighting will change paint color. The higher the K value the bluer the light. Soft white is more yellow and will tone down the blue in the walls. Daylight is bluer and will intensify the blue in the wall.

Creamy yellow trim will enhance the blue where bluer white trim will reduce the blue.

To test different colors to see what may make the walls look less blue take clothing and blankets and pillow cases of different colors and hang them in front of the wall. You can use those colors in your decorating scheme to reduce the blue influence.

Applying all the tricks to make the walls appear less blue may still leave you with walls that appear blue. Why? Because a little bit blue in the paint color is multiplied by the huge expanse that our walls cover.

You can never see what a paint color is going to look like from a 2 inch square. When you select your paint you should have your floors and furniture and lighting in place and use large (2' x3' or larger) poster boards painted with the color you think you like. Live with the poster board in your room for 2 or 3 days. Look at it on every wall, behind your furniture, in daylight and in the evening with your lights. You may have to try 3 or 4 samples before you find the right color, but samples run a couple of dollars and it takes a few minutes to paint a poster board. Far more cost and time efficient than painting your entire home or room with the wrong color.

I just sold a house with wainscotting like yours and I was dying to paint the room navy. I think its gorgeous!

This EXACT same thing happened to me when I painted my first house! I picked out a beautiful grey, the painters painted, and it was baby blue when I got home!! The problem is that the paint chip looks grey in nice crisp white lighting, and I had soft white lights inside. Basically all my lighting was yellow and the grey I picked was cool grey....resulting in the awful baby blue color.

I ended up switching paints, instead of lights, to a warmer grey..almost taupe. Looking at the paint swatch...I HATED the color!! But on my walls it was perfect. The painter only charged me for the extra material, not the extra work, since he didn't show me the color swatch before painting the entire house, like he was supposed to. If I were you, I'd go get a taupe-grey...a taupe bordering on brown, and paint a swatch on your wall and see if that looks right.

You could also try changing the lighting as an alternative. I use 5000K lightbulbs in my new house which are much more white/blue-white than the yellow-white of the typical 2700K bulbs.

Attaching a picture of the grey I used to have, I also used "Ebony Field" by Kwal paint for accents...just can't remember the name of this grey. But both Ebony Field (a darker grey for certain accent walls) and the main grey I used where of a more taupe variety of grey.

This is our first home, and the problem was my boyfriend absolutely loves the color, so he okay'd the painters to move forward. When I came in the house was practically finished and it was pretty much too late.

We only budgeted enough to have the painters in this one time. I chose Grey Matters from Sherwin Williams and thats what I thought was going on the walls. I believe he chose Sea Serpent looking on SherwinWilliams.com: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer#/active

I was so excited, as this was our first home, and I'm trying to not let this ruin my excitement.

Alyssa, don't let it ruin anything. This is your first home, you pictured this perfect gray and it didn't come out exactly like you imagined. You haven't placed your furniture, added artwork, window treatments and all the touches that make this space into your home. As one of the pro's stated, Navy is the hot color. Grays are actually moving over and giving up their reign as color of the decade. Most trend watchers are forecasting lighter muted colors as the next design leader.

Live with this color for a couple of years and enjoy your home and your relationship. Make memories that will outlive the wall color by decades. Talk to your mom and aunts and other women older than yourself and ask them about the happiest times of their lives. The stories will vary, but the core will always be about their relationships with people and the joy that they felt when they gave birth to their first child or lived next door to their best friend and watched their children play together in the back yard. Then ask them about the house they lived in when they were the happiest. None of them will remember that their husband painted the walls without asking them first unless he painted the house to match the jerseys of his favorite football team.

If the wall color doesn't grow on you, repaint in a year or three.

ShawNshawN Fine Art - I love your explanation and examples.

I prefer grays with blue undertones, and I think your walls are beautiful. But relax, because I’ve found that the visions in my head and real life never align perfectly and if you expect them to, you will never be satisfied. Enjoy building your home together and see how it all comes together. My husband and I have been decorating our first home together and we’ve had quite a few arguments because our tastes are so different. If your boyfriend loves the colors, try them for a little while. You do have a beautiful home from what I can see!

Thank you @jennifer hogan and @starcitylady72!

We chose a greyish wood table (not the chairs - we are getting tufted cream colored chairs) prior to the paint going up. I'm not worried so much of the color with the table, but I'm trying to determine if I should still go with a cream and grey dining rug, or add a rug with some blues?

what kind of rug were you thinking? any other accent colors you're using?

Some navy in the carpet along with cream and grey will likely make the walls read more grey in tone, so I would go for that if you like navy. And your colours are really beautiful, even it a bit more blue than expected. I do think you will find they look different when you have furniture and art in. I remember coming to look at an empty condo recently painted a cream colour and thinking it was way too yellow -- it ended up being totally fine!

What shades did you use? I know you don't like it, but I love the colors and have been looking for a good blue-gray paint for my living room and bedroom.

Beth: This was our original choice - ivory/grey - https://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-floral-ornament/ivory/200RZBD21A-71001010.html

Shaun Ma: It's growing on me every time I go in there. I think it was the intial shock that it wasn't grey like I expected.

The color is Sea Serpent from Sherwin Williams - https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7615-sea-serpent#/7615/?s=coordinatingColors&p=PS0

I just want to add that I love the colors too! The dining room especially is stunning!

Alyssa, that rug tone is nice, but not sure if you're familiar w/the polypropylene material it's made from. It's very thin.

Do you like any of these other rugs? maybe try and bring in a bit of the blue? look at an overdyed wool rug. what's going on the large wall in the dining area?

I'm sorry you don't like it. I think both colors look gorgeous honestly. it especially looks great with the dark flooring. Sometimes a wall color will initially appear very different. When we painted my son's bedroom a shade of brown, it looked pinkish. But now months later with everything in it and with different lighting, etc it looks so nice. Good luck.

This "mistake" is gorgeous! Don't change a thing!