Thanks for the info, I love Lori's advice! And that's exactly what I'm trying to find, the color that looks like a light gray that I love, Like White Wisp, Intense White, even Titanium, without showing major undertones. Edgecomb Gray is more beige than I am going for, but I do love the color. In fact, we painted almost every room in our old house Revere Pewter.

I love Revere Pewter when I see it used, but in our house, it always turned green!

Does anyone else have any recommendations?

SW Agreeable Grey

Thanks, I am familiar with that color, just worry that it is more beige than I am wanting to go. It does has more gray in it than the current Edgecomb Gray, but next to the sample of Thunder White countertops we are installing in the kitchen, it looks very very beige.

I had a similar red floor situation and was looking for a greige. It was one of the few that didn’t lean pink when I put it on the wall. The colors can be so tricky!

Do you have any pictures that you can share? I would love to see it on the wall with the floors.

Thanks for the recommendation! It's just so blue in the pics I see online. Isn't the orange in the floor going to accentuate that?

Lori A. Sawaya do you have any recommendations? You helped me so much last year with my kitchen cabinet color and trim color during our home build. Everything looks amazing! I am really struggling to figure out what undertone I need here to get a 'true' light gray on the walls. I focused on the downstairs with the pictures since it is the largest space, but I am planning on using the color I choose throughout the entire house.

Same floor, same agreeable grey on all walls. Just different lighting. I actually had a floor with more red in it before this and it still worked. I worry the true grey you are after will clash with the red floors. I’ve never had anyone say your house is beige, and friends have asked me what color “grey” paint I used on my walls. Might be worth getting a quart and trying it out? You should have seen me curled up in a ball with 10 swatches painted on the wall trying to make a decision

This is the Agreeable Gray with the “redder” floors. Fresh paint then too.

Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan (#81?). We have reddish floors and the color is very neutral.

Thanks so much for the pictures! I prob have a sample of it, I’ll go dig around. I seriously have over 50 sample cans in my garage from past renos and the build. I will def try it out and let you know!

Bunny Gray or Silver Half Dollar are pretty gray grays from Benjamin Moore.

Bunny gray is on my list to try, thanks! It’s a lighter shade of thundercloud gray, recommended above. Hoping it doesn’t turn blue with the floors.

I love Bunny Gray. It is on the same strip as Thunder Cloud Gray. You need that undertone for your floors, IMO.

It’s the beiges you have to be careful of as the wrong one will make your floors look more orangey.

Our floors have red tones & the walls are painted gray with undertones of blue. Depending on the time of day the walls are light gray to subtle gray-blue. It works beautifully & we always receive compliments on it.

Thank you JudyG, it helps a lot to know what undertone I should be looking for. I’ve been stuck on the warmer grays, and when I look at then next to a picture of similar floors they all look so muddy.

do you think I could also look at grays that have a green blue undertone, like BM Gray Owl, or is that still too warm?

Thank you Sarah, it is beautiful! Do you know which color you chose?

I have read that green undertones should be avoided at all costs because the red and green will clash, so I think Gray Owl is out.
Try BM Classic Gray, or for a darker version try Cumulus Cloud. They both have just enough warmth to them to look cohesive with red, but are definitely not beige. Informal dining and entry are classic gray, formal dining and empty room are cumulus cloud.

What about a blue grey...won’t the blue tone down the orange/red in the floor

Blue grey would also definitely work as long as there is no green. Your choices are a taupey greige Iike classic gray (no yellow or red undertones), or a blue grey like Sidewalk Gray or the previously suggested Bunny Gray. A blue grey will be a much more modern / high contrast look while a taupe gray will be more warm and Earthy.

Thanks ElleN! Your pictures are very pretty. I have shied away from Classic Gray b/c I convinced my mom to use it in her newly renovated master bath, and while it doesn't look bad by any means, we don't love it. Now she doesn't have red orange floors in there and is working with completely different tones, so I know it won't look the same. I'll throw it into the mix, b/c I of course have a sample of it too, and see how it looks. Thanks again!

Thanks Caroline, I am picking up a few samples today! Bunny Gray and probably Misty Gray, which is one shade lighter. I think Thunder Cloud Gray is a little darker than I'm wanting to go since the space doesn't get much natural light.

Hey- sometimes you just don't love a color and that's ok. But I do feel like a higher LRV (at least 70) would be best for your space given the dark floors and limited natural light toward the middle of the house. If a blue gray is more your style that will also look great but make sure you stick to something that's a little lighter and more silvery.

So blue gray is definitely not my style, I usually find them to be too cool, but it's been suggested numerous times on this thread to 'tone down' the orange floors, so I was going to give it a shot. I'm open to other suggestions, actually any suggestions. I know a lot of paint colors, I just don't seem to have enough experience to know what I need to be looking for to go with these floors b/c they aren't something I would pick out if given the choice. I worry that anything that has more of a warm undertone will look 'muddy', b/c that's what I'm seeing when I hold them next to a color similar to my floors.

And I'll also add that I am noticing that I am having a hard time letting go of past experiences with a lot of these colors that i should be considering. Example, Balboa Mist, which is in between the two ElleN suggested, has a bad wrap with me. I tried it in our old 1940's Craftsman style home and it just looked purple, it was awful. So I have the sample (are you seeing a pattern here with the samples?) and can try it, I just need to erase the idea in my head that it will ALWAYS look like that.

You know what I really want, I want to learn enough to be able to walk into a space and say, ok, based on lighting/flooring/size/trim/cabinets etc, here's where I need to go with my paint choices. Meaning I can instantly narrow it down to a few paint chips, try some samples, and go with it. How do I do that?? ; )

If they are looking muddy, they probably either have green undertones or are too dark. For example a common complaint about Revere pewter is that it's muddy, but that's because it has a lot of olive to it.

Some other ideas for you that are a bit more neutral but still lean toward warm grey: abalone, collingwood, silver satin, American White (darkened 25%). All Benjamin Moore

Thanks so much ElleN!

Balboa mist IS purple pink. The slightest change in undertone matters. Even on the same chip two colors can be slightly different in color.
And they really will look very different in different spaces because the surroundings matter so much.
For example, if you didn't like classic gray in another room it could be because your eye was picking up a slight yellow or green undertone that was clashing with the paint, even if you couldn't put your finger on why it felt off.

I would also caution you against using old samples. It's almost impossible to get those little sample cans mixed properly, and as paint gets older it doesn't mix nearly as well..

Have you tried going on Benjamin Moore's website? They make it easy to compare colors to each other with the giant color swatch tool, which makes it much more evident what undertones there are.

So I just went by the house to meet some contractors and brought my paint chips. All of the warm grays looks like mud or putty next to the floor, which is much more orange than red in person. The bunny gray chip and all shades looked super blue. What I liked best was horizon, just going off the chips, but of course I will pick up a sample and paint it on a thin canvas to see what I think.

It's possible that gray just isn't the best color for your space. Its certainly a challenging one to work with. Horizon is a great gray and about as neutral as they come. But all grays have undertones so if you don't like blue or greige then your options are pretty limited.

Here is a blog post that might help. She also offers online consulting packages.
https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-paint-colours-to-go-with-oak-wood/

Oh gosh please don’t say that! I definitely don’t want to force the issue but I really would hate to have to shift gears to beiges at this point!

let's just hope the horizon works out for you! lol

OK I'm back. I've been doing a lot more research on colors, trying to make sure that I don't end up with a bunch of samples that don't work. I'd really only like to buy 5 max at this point.

To add another complication to this issue, I'm attaching a pic of the new elements for the kitchen. These are not changing. I am planning on painting the cabinets a shade of gray, and the walls will be very light, the same color as the whole house. I am not doing white cabinets b/c the floors are a stark white, glossy 12x12 tile that we aren't replacing right. So I feel like whites floors, cabinets, and backsplash are just too much white for the space. I'm not opposed to the gray having a green or blue undertone for the cabinets, I just need the look to be cohesive.

Back to wall color, Horizon is still a strong contender, so I'll get a sample of that. But I have this nagging feeling that it is going to turn baby blue in the space b/c of the lack of natural light. The house is in the center of a townhouse row, and the front faces east. The main living/dining only get's western exposure, and even that is minimal b/c we have an awning over the french doors. I was looking hard at BM Shoreline 1471 (we have Gray Huskie 1473 cabinets in our current house and it looks great, also coordinates with the new elements of the kitchen remodel) but I am convinced that a lavender undertone will come out with little natural light exposure.

So do I just need to resolve myself to the fact that there will be a slight color undertone to whatever I choose? ElleN I know you suggested not looking at grays, but I really can't see going cream or tan with those orange floors. Maybe I need to see some photos to change my mind. I also just now saw your suggestion of American White, and I had looked at it last night, b/c I started to consider Stonington Gray for my kitchen cabinets. I may pick up a sample of both.

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-paint-colours-to-go-with-oak-wood/

Anything gray will accentuate the red in the floors. I'd reconsider a creamy white (or any white with slightly yellow undertone), for example, SW Creamy or even BM Simply White.

Thanks, I've seen that post a lot, and the only colors in it that I even remotely like are the ones for the yellow toned woods. I hate all the colors for orange woods. I'd rather use gray and accentuate the floors then use any of those beiges/tans.

I like creamy whites so much better with dark brown floors. We had very orange floors in our old 1940's craftsman, and had Revere Pewter, it looked great. But that house had 30 windows, and this townhouse has 5, so natural light made a huge difference.

I have been thinking a lot about your dilemma and I really really believe Classic Gray is going to look great in your space. You should give it another try. We've been going through color selection for our house (no windows, red tile floors) and even paid for a professional color consult. All of the suggested so called greiges just looked tan with our East/west exposure and red tiles. So I think the chilliness of classic gray will be softened by the factors in your home and just looked balanced.

You cant really fight the true nature of your floors. Any high contrast will make the red pop more rather than blending in. And yes, all colors have some undertone so first step is to decide which color you can live with.

PS American White is WHITE so make sure you get it darkened 25%. We have cement gray also in our home (one shade darker than American white) and it's the same LRV as edgecomb gray, so maybe you're ok to just jump down to the darker color entirely. Personally I'd try to keep it closer to the 75 lrv range with your light conditions.
Also, since cement gray is a true gray, it will highlight the red in your floors since it's such high contrast. See how the red table in this picture really pops? American white will do less of this since it's a lighter color but the contrast will still be there.

If you're willing to go white- which I do think will be beautifil- try Swiss coffee. Notice in the picture (with the big french doors)) how neither the floor nor the walls have a strong identity which allows the decor to shine. If you pick something just on the cool side of neutral, you'll end up with a perfectly neutral looking wall that cools down the red in your floors a little bit. And finally, classic gray is just a little bit darker and cooler than Swiss coffee (foyer pic)

ElleN, you are reading my mind over here! After reading the above suggestion for Simply White I was thinking, woah that’s way too white. IF I wanted to do white I would do something like Swiss Coffee. Then here u come suggesting it! I do love love that color. i can’t help but look at it and think, is it enough color though? And honestly I don’t mind the first pic with the contrast between the orange and gray, it’s just finding the right one.

I will give classic gray another try, but i have convinced myself it will look purple/pink. Not only did my mom use it, but I tried it in my 1940’s craftsman, in the one room that got only northern exposure, and it was just too purple. So I’ve yet to have a good experience with it. I went with gray mist in that room, which on the swatch was just blah, but on the walls it pulled the room together cleanly.

thanks again for all of your help! I’ve considered hiring a color consultant before, but we’ve never pulled the trigger.

If you don't mind the contrast then go for it! When I picked cement gray, I literally took a BM fan deck and lined up every gray from blue to pink undertones. Cement gray was smack in the middle as the most neutral. It can lean a tiny bit blue-purple in our northwest facing room though.

Overall I don't think I'd ever pay for a consultation again. I think color is just too personal and I really didn't like any of the recommendations. Which is the same reason you probably shouldn't listen to me about classic gray lol. It's so funny you like gray mist because on my wall it looked like primary color yellow. I almost wonder if they mixed up the mix color.

What about darkening up Swiss coffee 25%, or doing one dark accent wall, like maybe at the far end of the hall and on the left wall of the staircase? We also sampled Halo (next shade darker than Swiss coffee) and adore it, but paired next to red it looks very very green. So if you're ok with green walls that's fine but if not might want to skip it.

I have spent a lot of time (actually way too much time!) choosing colors when there is a wood tome to work with.

In our previous house our trim was a dark orangey-red mahogany from 1920. Floor was a similair tone. I wanted to get a fresh neutral and tried a ton of options. I read a rec somewhere for Benjamin Moore November Rain. I ruled it out when I did a small swatch on the wall. Revisited it as an option a year later, because of course I was still trying to find the perfect color. Did a swatch that filled an entire area so there was no influence from current color, and it was perfect.

In this house, almost every color ends up with a sick greenish undertone. It was very discouraging. We ended up going with Ben Moore sea pearl, with white dove trim, in all of the main spaces, and I love it. Just wonderful. Floors are now a white oak with yellow tones, but it's great with some of the more orangey furniture too. Close call between Dove Wing and Seapearl, but the Seapearl won. Reads as a light clean neutral gray(ish). No green, but also doesn't go purple/pink.

In the master bath with a more dark reddish toned vanity, I ended up with Etiquette, from the aura colors fan deck. I wanted a light neutral that leaned more gray, def not beige. Probably tried a least ten samples but nothing was right. Anything gray was just too gray. I love Edgecomb Gray, but there it looked kind of dirty and sickly. Then the Etiquette, and it was a home run. Worth looking at. (Pale oak was also a contender)

We have santos mahogany floors (has red tones) and used BM Manchester Tan on the walls in our kitchen/family room. It goes well with the greys from the marble countertops/backsplash. It calms the reds in the floor and is a clean (not muddy), easy to live with color with no green undertones.

I bought 5 samples today, one of them was a white for trim so just 4 for the walls. After considering what I already have, I decided to pick ones that had different undertones. As an example, I didn't get Horizon, b/c it's so close to Paper White, and i have that color in two rooms in my current house. It's pretty, but it definitely reads blue. I think this is partly due to my trim being Snowfall White, which is very close to Simply White. I think with a truer white it might appear a little more gray, although still cool. I ended up with Intense White, which is actually what I had wanted to use in one room instead of the Paper White. Also got Shoreline 1471, which reads a little more gray than Horizon, although I feel like the purple will come out I wanted to make sure. Also got Classic Gray ElleN, I'm going to give it one more shot. And Swiss Coffee, b/c my sample is so old for that one. I feel like with what I have and the new, I should definitely be able to come up with something. I buy these small flat canvases at Walmart in a 3 pack and they work amazing for paint samples. I have found that even foam board can curl pretty easily, and I'm not a fan of painting directly on the wall anymore, have screwed that up too many times.

ElleN I agree Halo is very green, so I don't think it will do me any favors. And Gray Mist is not a very fun color, but I can't believe it looked so yellow on your walls. I think you're right, they might have mixed something wrong. Here's a couple of pics of our old kitchen with it. It was a great neutral with the floors, cabinets and countertops.

krdpm, thanks so much for the reply. I totally know what you mean about November Rain, it was a contender at our old house, but it went so green. I'm worried about that with the floors, but I can always paint a sample just to see. And I do like Dove Wing and Seapearl, so if the Classic Gray isn't quite right but going in the right direction, I think these two would be next on my list to try. Etiquette is new to me, but I see that it is very close to the others, so I'll definitely keep it in mind too. I like what you are saying, something that's neutral and leans more gray and not beige, but isn't too gray. That's my goal, so maybe all of these are where I need to be looking, which is what ElleN has been trying to tell me all along!

Hi Stacy, I appreciate the reply. Someone else mentioned Manchester Tan as well. I wish I liked that color, it's just too earthy for me, even though I know it's not really and is a great neutral. I'm sure it looks beautiful in your space.

That's so crazy! It's second from the left in this picture but looks nice in your home. Good luck with all your samples! It's also good to know about the canvases. We were using carboard at first but switched to the wall because texture was so off.

Wow yeah there is no way that’s right. I’ve had them give me an aqua paint before instead of what I wrote down and I didn’t notice until I got home, so they definitely make mistakes!

im sure I’ll be posting progress reports as I go, I can’t leave everyone hanging ; )

the canvases were a lucky find in the craft dept, we live in a small town and only have a Walmart so I don’t have a lot of options. They’re only 8 in x 10 in, but u can get 3 for close to $2. And they’re very thin but sturdy.

So I've narrowed it down to two or three contenders. The main ones are Bunny Gray and Thundercloud Gray (thanks to the recommendations above), which totally surprised me! I've looked at my samples in the space and can't really decide if I should choose the darker or lighter color. Then I came across a post about Eternity, and even though I don't have a sample, I threw it into the mix too. I think I might start a separate post asking peoples' experiences with these colors.

I had to finally give up on the idea of 'light and airy' in the space due to the limited light exposure and floor color. Nearly everything looks kind of blah and dingy, so I had this little lightbulb moment where I realized that I needed to just work with the elements I had and not fight them! Which I'm sure you all realized from the get go ; )

Thanks to everyone for your input, I'll post pictures once the paint job is completed.

Referencing this thread two years later :(. What paint did you end up using??