Agreeable Gray has a Lightness Value of 82.53 Chroma 5.53 H°91.12 LRV - 61.28

White Heron has a Lightness Value of 90.37 Chroma 5.36. H° 92.35 LRV - 77.11

Heron Plume has a Lightness Value of 90.08 Chroma 4.63 H° 93.20° LRV - 76.47

Moon Shell has a Lightness Value of 90.021 Chroma 5.44 H° 89.19 LRV - 76.77

Using the Hue Angle you can plot them on the Color Strategist Color Wheel from thelandofcolor.com. So you can see how close they sit within their Hue Family.

If one is more inclined to shift purple in your space, a tactic would be to try the colour furthest past 90° = Heron Plume. (Low chroma colours between approx 40-90° are more likely to shift purple in imbalanced light. They aren’t purple and don’t have purple ‘undertones’.) In your space they may equally render as their colour notation describes. It just depends on the available light.

Why cut a formula, when you have no idea what you will end up with, when you can be as precise as this for a shortlist? If you ‘cut’ the formula it affects all 3 dimensions of a colour, not just the Lightness you hoped to change. It’s a big gamble. Sometimes it works but quite often it doesn’t.

Hope this narrows your quest a little.

🌈

Although the properties are different as it has less yellow in it than Agreeable gray I have had success in using SW First Star with my clients that want something with more color than white but not as dark as agreeable gray.

I see someone mentioned Modern Gray. I used that in my last house kind of on a fluke and it was a great color,and I think it might be what you are looking for. Definitely give it a look. It worked out really well a good mix of beige and gray. I was forever getting compliments on the color. (LRV 62)

Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late in responding. I didn't even realize my question posted, because when I attempted to do so, I received a screen error from Houzz and it didn't appear on the discussion screen. But apparently, it did post. Thank you for the responses and suggestions! I will review some of these colors, though already know a few of them will not work. Some follow-up comments:

1) cawaps - Dot to Dot looks interesting. Is that an HGTV branded paint? I can't find any info. about it?

2) First Star looks interesting, but on a color strip, appears even cooler than SW Crushed Ice.

3) Patricia, I've read about/viewed Lori's Land of Color video and saw what happens when Agreeable Gray is cut 50% (totally different color), so I really didn't want to experiment with cutting it 25%. The BM Classic Gray in my home is actually darkened by 25% and looks beautiful (though still too light for my foyer), but I know darkening/lightening does not work with all colors, and it would seem Agreeable Gray is one of them, as tested by others. As for knowing LRV, I'm not a design expert by any stretch, but have found it to be really useful. I am a big fan of Samplize color samples (have also used quarts and white board method). Even with a large sample that can be moved around, it's hard to get an idea of how the paint will appear over a large area. Knowing the LRV in comparison to other colors in my home gives me a better sense of what it will do in my space, with my lighting. I've found it to be a helpful piece of data.

4) Marylee, White Heron OC-57 on the Benjamin Moore website is listed as having an LRV of 88.85 - very much an off white. I will check out the other colors you mention though.

5) salonva, I will check out Modern Gray. It is one I considered, but wasn't sure if it would read as "too gray." It is worth a look though. Thanks!

Has anyone used BM Light Pewter? That came up in a recent search and I am intrigued.

Thanks again!

Hi - thanks for the update. Sorry the one I was referring to was Sherwin Williams White Heron 7627. 🌈

Oh jeez. Marylee, that makes sense. I hate when paint companies have product with the same names. Lol. Like BM and SW Sea Salt. Of course, since Agreeable Gray is a SW paint, the White Heron you refer to would be the correct comparison. Quick Googling got the best of me. Even at 77 though, it's lighter than what I'm looking for. Thank you for the correction though! I wish I could figure out that color wheel, but every time I look at it and try to make sense of the numbers people are posting, it confuses the heck out of me.

Its rare paint companies share a paint name but I think they must be running out of names LOL! I recently ran into this twice. One was Santorini both SW and BM have the color and it is completely different. The other is Sea Salt. SW and Valspar both make a sea salt. Different shades. The difference in the name is that Valspars is Sea Salt Blue. All that to say they are doing no favors in the confusion this can create!

Yes, Dot to Dot is an HGTV Home color by SW (HGSW 4020). I had actually missed the distinction when I was poking around initially.

https://www.hgtvhomebysherwinwilliams.com/color-collection/Perfect-Whites

Hi RH. Once you get your head around that colour wheel, you will never consider colour the same way again. It really is very cool.

Any surface, paint chip/rug/tile/stone/wood has colour attributes that can be measured.

You are already very familiar with the power of one of those measurable attributes = LRV.

There are others as equally useful, if not more so.

The key one, is to which Hue Family it belongs. EVERY colour, including whites/greys and blacks belongs to one of those Hue Families on that colour wheel.

Which one, depends upon the DOMINANT wavelength reflected from the surface of the colour measured.

That measurement is given a Hue Angle in degrees. So you use it to plot where the colour sits, around the outer edge of the wheel. This tells you within which Hue Family it belongs and where within that Hue Family it lies. Powerful stuff! Especially when dealing with near neutrals, as you are, as it helps order and compare them.

It’s the same detail, paint companies use to create colours in the first place. And also to ensure a sample matches the paint chip and a quart matches the sample and gallon matches the quart. If they can’t measure it they can’t make, match or repeat a colour.

Hue Angle° - Hue Family - Lightness - Chroma - LRV. All measurable attributes, which tell us different details about a colour. Very useful objective information, by which to compare the smallest differences between similar colours, as you are attempting.

🌈

Marylee, if you are so inclined and have the time, would you mind explaining further how one obtains the numbers that you use to reference the color wheel? I need to see a concrete example to try and make sense of it. For example, would you be able to elaborate on BM Light Pewter?

Hi - lots of the most popular colours, are already done for you in the colorography lab at The Land Of Color. Also check out the videos on how to find a hue angle, for lots of big brand paint colours on the Youtube account of the same name. (And how to measure colours in your fixtures and fittings, with a tiny device which connects to an app on your phone.)

Lori Sawaya is very generous in sharing how to approach colour in this way. Those videos are a fab introduction.

I will post a sheet from the LoC site, which explains each of those colour attributes further.

Just looking at BM Light Pewter.

🌈

Hi - highlighted in blue are the attributes we were discussing.

Lightness - Chroma - Hue Angle° - Hue Family - LRV

Lightness - on a scale - 0=black to 100=white. (How dark or light a colour appears)

Chroma - the nearer to 0 the more neutral. The higher the Chroma the more colourful..

Hue Angle° - plots a colour on the outside of the wheel. Shows where in a Hue Family.

Family. - to which Hue Family does it belong?

LRV - how much light a colour reflects, whatever the available light. As a percentage.

So using the attributes to make comparisons, you should be able to answer the questions.

1. In which Hue Family does each colour belong? (Family)

2. Where does each colour sit in that Hue Family? (Angle°)

3. Which colour appears the lightest? Which colour appears the darkest? (Lightness)

4. Which colour is most neutral? Which colour is most colourful? (Chroma)

5. Which colour reflects the most light? The least light? (LRV)

Hello,

Sorry it's taken me so long to follow up. It was a busy week and I wanted to carve out time to thoughtfully look at Marylee's information. I'm still not sure I get it, lol. Marylee, in the chart you provided, does the blue highlighted "C" column mean Chroma? Because I see there is a separate Chroma column, and when I looked up SW Agreeable Gray on Land of Color and compared it to these specs, the numbers are all different, which I don't understand. https://campchroma.com/agreeable-gray-7029-by-sherwin-williams/

That aside, I considered the specs you shared, the color wheel and see how some of the numbers relate. I also attempted to look up a few other colors via Land of Color, but they weren't available, which further complicates this process for average homeowners. Here is my comparison of contenders, though hue angle is missing except for the one you provided:

BM Classic Gray (in use in my kitchen, but darkened 25%): 4.81 yellow, 0.55 chroma, lrv 74

SW Crushed Ice: 5.25 yellow, 0.47 chroma, lrv 66

BM Light Pewter: 4.49 yellow, chroma?, lrv 66.88, hue angle 96.07 (BM website says the lrv is 68.39?)

SW Agreeable Gray: 5.537 yellow, 0.74 chroma, lrv 61.2

Classic Gray and Crushed Ice appear somewhat similar, which makes sense from what I have seen of those colors in my home/sample. Both are near neutral and low chroma, but Classic Gray has a higher lrv and reflects more light. Light Pewter might fall in between the two, but I can't say for sure and will need a sample to try.

At this point, I think I'll pursue one of those three colors (and perhaps check SW Modern Gray too). I do love classic gray in my kitchen, but worry the color will look too washed out in our south-facing foyer. While I worry about Crushed Ice appearing "too gray" for what I want, it will likely warm up from the southern exposure.

Thanks again for the contributions. If anyone has other info. to add, please do, as I will consider it.

I'm far from an expert but... Do you like Elephant's Breath?

https://www.farrow-ball.com/en-us/paint-colours/elephants-breath?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2ca7wdef6QIVibWzCh2pQAjWEAAYASAAEgKxuPD_BwE

"This warm and contemporary grey is renowned for its characterful paint name, originally created by John Fowler, the notable English interior designer. Elephant's Breath reads as an uplifting mid grey with its hint of magenta, but can become almost lilac in the cooler light of west facing rooms. Try offsetting with Charleston Gray and London Clay for an invitingly earthy scheme with more intense accents, or pair with other Contemporary Neutrals such as the softer Strong White for a sense of neutrality and calm."

Hi PeaceOfHome, the color appears lovely on my computer screen, but "hint of magenta" and "almost lilac" concern me. I saw photos of it flexing magenta. It's very pretty, but it wouldn't work for my house with some of our green and blue elements. And I didn't mention this previously, but ideally, would prefer to stick with BM or SW colors so I can have them mixed by their respective company, and are readily available in my area. But you have the right idea. Elephant's Breath is very pretty!

Following...so as to gain a "colorful" education.

Hi, thanks for the reply.

The Colorographies use the Munsell colour space and I was using the CieLab colour space for speed.. They are related, CieLab was modelled after Munsell. It’s just the Munsell conversion needs to be done on my laptop and takes a little longer.

They are both valid in their own right. Each tells you where that colour would sit, within that colour space. I used CieLab for speed and if you were to use a Color Muse that’s what it uses. But the Colorographies are even easier to view. I will be happy to convert any of your likely contenders to Munsell.

An approximate Conversion of CieLab to Munsell is to divide Lightness by 10 for a Munsell Value. Divide C (CieLab chroma by 5) for Munsell Chroma.

As for difference with LRV you noted? The LRV I used is from a mathematical conversion. I would always defer to a paint company’s own publication of LRV. Our version gives you a workable approximate.

Either way, Munsell or CieLab. The lightest colour will remain the lightest. The most colourful will still stay the most colourful etc.

So now you have all the colours discussed, set in both Colour Spaces.

You need to choose one in which to work and stick with it. Either,

CieLab Data which uses Lightness/C (CieLab chroma)/Hue Angle° or

Munsell Notation of Value/Chroma/Hue Family.

Use the numbers to make comparisons between the colours. Really helpful when as you see, some are quite similar.

The mention of F&B Elephant’s Breath sometimes looking purple, brings up a really important point to bear in mind and that is, low chroma, near neutral colours from approximately 40-90° can shift lavender/purple/plum brown under imbalanced light.

They aren’t purple & don’t have purple ’undertones’. It’s an effect of light and context.

That’s why some people swear they read just as the lovely near neutrals they are and some say they are positively purple! It won’t necessarily happen in your space, but it may.

Using this framework of measurement allows you to manage that situation if It should occur. Strategies to try include, increase the Chroma so it is better able to stand up to the light. Or keep the Value + Chroma as they are, but move away from this zone. Try moving clockwise more towards, or even past 90°, or anticlockwise to before 40°. Sometimes even moving just a few degrees away can make all the difference.

Note* If colour shift only happens at night, then sometimes it can be possible redress the problem just by altering the lightbulbs in the space. But if it happens in the day, try one of the other tactics.

If you don’t have a framework such as this to support you, the likelihood is you might sample colour after colour in your space, just in the hope that one shifts less purple than the other. That’s no strategy at all.

This is why sampling a colour in your space is so important. To see how it renders with your light and context. It may have very different results to your friend’s use of the same colour down the road.

This info isn’t to alarm you, but better arm you. 🤓

I hope you may find it of use.

🌈

Thanks so much Marylee! I will examine the newest chart in greater depth soon. It's interesting that my top contenders are so similar in the numbers, which is good. At least I'm targeting something with consistency. We are a ways out from painting, but I'll check back when I make a choice, or if new variables come into play.

That would be lovely. Good Luck. 🌈

Not sure how I missed this post the first time around... I’ll be very curious to hear what you end up with because I’ve been sampling/experimenting with the exact colors you listed! We’re using Classic Gray in our kitchen/living area but although I really like it there it doesn’t work at all for my office & our guest room... so still trying to sort out other options.

D Walker, I'm curious what you have observed about the other colors? I have yet to get my hands on Modern Gray or Light Pewter (Samplize is temporarily closed and I haven't been to a paint store due to our state's Stay at Home order). If you've tried those, how they've compared to Classic and Agreeable Gray?

Part of my challenge too, is finding a color that sets nicely off of BM Stonington Gray, which is in our living room and is visible from the foyer. Classic Gray is adjacent to the living room in our kitchen/dining area and the two colors look great together. But as I said earlier, I worry Classic Gray will be too boring/washed out in our south-facing foyer, and/or too dull in our adjacent, darker hallway (which is why I was hoping for an LRV in the mid/high 60's range — I think a slightly darker paint makes smaller, darker spaces more interesting than a bright white). SW Crushed Ice might be the answer, but I am not one who wants "gray everything" in my house, and can't yet decide if it will look that way. I'm hoping to balance it all out with a color somewhere between Agreeable and Classic Gray (the latter of which does not look gray in my home, so much as a gray-tinged beigey neutral, though it pairs very nicely with other grays). We also have darker (but warm), walnut wood floors and light beige/oat-colored carpeting running up stairs, which is why I want a light, soft, neutral color that isn't too warm and isn't too cool and won't flex over to funky colors. At this point, I've probably over-thought everything! Lol.

Lol That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do - not too warm, not too cold, but just right.. whatever that means :-). I hadn’t looked at modern gray, though sounds like I should... Light pewter I had ruled out based on the paint chip but don’t remember why off the top, too many colors to remember! Truthfully although we’re planning to stay with classic gray in the living room I’m ready to try something completely different (as in a “real” color) in the office/bedroom because we are getting a funky reflection off our neighbors house/fence that makes all of them look pink on one wall in the afternoon... But I also haven’t been nearly as diligent as you have in studying/understanding the color science. Although it sounds like I should before I tackle those last 2 rooms (ignoring them for the moment since they are full of appliances, doors, etc)

Good luck. It is enough to drive one mad, but I never regret obsessing if the final product looks good. Paying money for a professional paint job (we will be, due to a high foyer ceiling and a lot of trim work) and not liking the color is far worse! For what it's worth, I have some "colorful" rooms in our house too - namely grayed down greens and blues, but also some pops of navy, aqua, gold, etc. We have an office that also is off our foyer and it has French doors. I plan on using a deeper color (possibly a teal of some sort) in that room. I need color in my life but prefer flexible neutrals for the main living areas. However, monochromatic gray or all-neutral color schemes everywhere don't cut it for me either.

Hello, I'm checking back in after receiving more Samplize paint samples. Here are my preliminary impressions after comparing BM Edgecomb Gray, BM Light Pewter, SW Modern Gray, and SW White Heron. I viewed them in comparison to samples of BM Classic Gray (also have this in my living room, but darkened 25%), SW Crushed Ice (strong contender but slightly too gray), and SW Agreeable Gray (love the color, but it is a bit darker than I want in our two-story foyer).

BM Edgecomb Gray - I figured this wouldn't work, but wanted to be sure. Too warm/beige.

BM Light Pewter - At first, I thought it was a winner. It is a great light color and to my eyes, sits right between BM Classic Gray and SW Agreeable Gray in terms of lightness and gray/greige color. However, my eyes perceived a red undertone. I ruled it out. I strongly recommend others take a look though. It might work in your home!

SW Modern Gray - I liked it. But, there was a pinkish hue. Similar to the red I saw in BM Light Pewter. I'm sure it doesn't look at all "pink" on a wall, but I ruled it out.

SW White Heron (not to be confused with SW Heron Plume or BM White Heron) - I liked this color a lot more than I expected to. It's in the final running, despite being lighter than I thought I wanted. As far as I can tell, it doesn't flex into any funky colors and looks good in the south, east, and shadowed south/east light of our foyer. It also plays well with the other gray/blue/green paint colors nearby. There is very little info. about it and/or photos online though. If anyone has actually used this color, please tell me more!

At this point, I think we'll end up with a lighter neutral foyer color than I anticipated. SW White Heron and BM Classic Gray (not darkened) are my favorites at this point. They seem to work best with the other adjacent colors in our home, and a light, bright foyer is never a bad thing, though I was worried about the color washing out and/or looking dingy in our hallway (which also has light, neutral carpet). However, we do have a chair rail in the hall, which will be painted BM Chantilly Lace (already in use elsewhere on trim in our home). I had planned to use all one wall color top/bottom, but I might paint a darker color at the bottom for visual interest. In fact, I'm considering using the BM Stonington Gray that is in our living room for that purpose.

As far as differences between SW White Heron and BM Classic Gray: White Heron is slightly lighter (and has a higher LRV). But lighting affects them soooo much. I can look at the two samples in the darker hallway, and Classic Gray looks obviously lighter/brighter than White Heron. But from another angle or different lighting, you would swear it's the opposite. In general, I think Classic Gray has a touch more warmth/cream showing through, but it's subtle.

Hope these descriptions will be helpful to others who read this thread! I will check back in when all is said and done. And again, if anyone has seen/used SW White Heron, please tell me more! Thank you!

Btw, for a darker accent we ended up using BM La Paloma Gray (darkest color on the same strip as Classic Gray)... it looks beautiful!

Thanks so much for the feedback! Good Luck! 🌈

Check out SW 9566 Grey Heron LRV 65. On my screen they look similar and they have similar hue angles. I found it because I also had been looking for a “lighter agreeable gray”

I can’t pull up the data on that for some reason? 🤔

Yes it was weird for me too. Just type in “9566“ in SW website and it shows the color. Type in “grey heron“ in the sw website and it pops up with 2 other colors, agreeable gray and repose gray. Don’t type the number and name together, when you do there is no match ?? Also can do a “9566 grey heron” in a google search and it pops up.

Oh sorry! I was trying to get the Hue angles from EasyRGB without joy. Thank You for explainin.

Good shout with Gray Heron!

I can‘t seem to find it on EasyRGB and as SW only publish the hex codes for colours along with the equally unhelpful RGB values, I can only get approx data for it. But it appears to be a couple of points lighter and that bit more neutral than Agreeable Gray.

So if someone was looking for something just a little lighter than Agreeable, Gray Heron would be a good contender.

Thank You, I will add it to my list.

🌈

Now i see it’s part of the Emerald Designer Collection, “Minimal and Modern“ category. It’s only available in the Emerald Designer paint. The numbers start in the 9000’s. I don’t know how they have been out. How exciting to have a bunch new colors.

Thanks dianeski! I will check it out. Are you planning to use that color in your home? Grey Heron is an odd one to search. It appears to be part of the SW Emerald Designer Edition, is only available to be mixed in that paint, and is described as a "proportioned palette of cool neutrals." I am intrigued, especially since the LRV is 65. But of course, it's not available via Samplize, so I'll have to go into the store and commit to a quart if I think it has potential. I am definitely interested, because as of yesterday afternoon and this morning, with warm, summer-ish light coming through our foyer, I'm questioning whether I need a little more contrast again. Lol. Ugh. It's hard when the seasons also affect the sunlight exposure in a space! I think a solid neutral with a mid/high 60's LRV is still my ideal. Thanks again for the mention!

Dianeski, yes. I was still typing when your recent response posted, but I thought the same thing. "Oooh, new colors!" All the better to fuel the madness. :)

For what it's worth: I just called our local Sherwin Williams and was told that while they do have paint chips for the new Emerald Designer Edition, they cannot yet make sample pots, as the colors are not in the system for samples. The staff person wasn't sure why. So for now, I can look at this color on a tiny square and commit to buying an expensive full gallon. No in-between. Ugh.

Still looking. It is such a process!! But so rewarding to select the perfect color. So many color mistakes are made that lead to depression and angst !!!

Years ago I mixed taupe wallpaper and yellowish off white counters and it was so wrong, but I did not know why. I have a technical background and I realized then I needed to learn the color code. I love Lori’s color wheel, easyRGB and Encycolorpedia . It helps me understand the properties of the color and how they relate to other known colors. I appreciate the gifted designers on these boards who can see color and matching so easily.

I have City Loft 70 LRV in a 2 bedrooms and it is lovely. The LRV is perfect for a bedroom, cozy, but still light. At times it can show the slight pink taupe color, but it usually reads greige.

I am looking at First Star 69LRV in a windowless laundry with 4000k LED and it looks nice. It is nice to hear Design Interior South had good results with that color. I also have vaulted open concept LR/Kit with lots of south and east light. I am looking at LRV above 80. My existing color is 87LRV, but I can still see contrast against the white ceiling and baseboards. I don’t like the paint to overpower the room. (Or I am scared to try). In a similar home, someone did deep aubergine vaulted walls and it was stunning.

Are the Sampilize samples are lighter or darker than the screen colors and the actual liquid paint samples from the stores?

Rant - I wish SW had a “back” button when looking at similar colors!!

Samplize samples are actual painted sheets of 12x12 peel-and-stick paper that you can peel off and move around a room. They use real sample paint from BM and SW and are printed with the name. Nearly all the colors are available. It was a game changer for me. I have always despised the expense, waste of product, environmental impact, and physical footprint of sample pots and wondered why there wasn't a better way. I happened to see an ad for the Samplize company earlier this year and haven't looked back. I highly recommend checking them out! https://samplize.com/

Colors on your screen will always vary - unless you have it specially calibrated (usually graphic designers have this). I do think Samplize is more accurate than the chips from stores. I have seen those vary before (one chip looks darker than another, probably due to a print issue or age).

Thanks, I am definitely going to buy some Samplize samples. Regarding accuracy, i have 2x3 and 3x5.5 paper samples of the same SW colors that are different. It is very frustrating. Good Luck with your foyer paint selection. It is tough to spend $$$ on samples. The SW website for AG, shows Grey Heron as a “similar color.“. So with its higher LRV it may be worth a try and just what you are looking for. If you don’t like it, you can always paint the AC closet with it !

Update:
I visited our local SW store and came home with sample swatches from the Emerald Designer Collection, including Grey Heron. Indeed, it looks really close to Agreeable Gray (great suggestion dianeski!) I question if it has a touch more green showing up, but might be imagining it. Ultimately, I can't bring myself to use one of those colors for a large paint job without having a bigger sample—which are still unavailable—and I refuse to buy a "test" gallon. It's a bummer. SW Lunar Lite 9546 was also interesting. Those colors have a lot of potential!

Also, our painter called and apparently is ready to start next week! A good two months sooner than projected, lol.

I am now back to looking at SW Crushed Ice (LRV 66) and BM Shoreline (LRV 68). I did not previously mention Shoreline. It's a sample I tried a while back that someone had recommended. I had ruled it out for fear of it flexing too gray/lavender/pink in certain lighting. BUT. In our current southern light, it's a lovely, pale, barely there gray with a softness to it. I think either of these colors could work and compliment the BM Stonington Gray of our living room. It's a matter of figuring out what I can live with as the lighting/seasons change, because the look of the paint color will flex no matter what. Right now, our home is at its peak brightness, but everything looks gloomier during snowy Michigan winters—despite southern and eastern light. I recently mentioned liking BM Classic Gray and SW White Heron (and still do), but on brighter days, they have looked too washed out and blended in with our neutral upstairs carpet (though foyer floors are dark wood).

Obsessing over this is ridiculous (though also a distraction from the serious current issues in our world). I'm sure any of the colors mentioned will look better than the dark, dirty taupe currently on our walls, lol. It's just a lot of money and I after hating the current color for so long, I want to get this right!

Paint Selection - It's Done!
Hello, painting is in process and the foyer/hall portion are complete! Thanks so much to everyone for their input. Despite the subject of this thread, I ended up not going with a "lighter version of Agreeable Gray." LOL. It's what I thought I wanted, but the more I searched and compared colors, the more I realized it wasn't quite what my house needed. For anyone scanning this thread in the future though, I recommend checking out SW Crushed Ice, SW White Heron, SW Grey Heron, BM Classic Gray, and BM Light Pewter.

What color did I choose? BM Gray Owl, lightened 25% (I know, cutting paint...) I have always loved the subtle warmth and blue/green undertones in that color, but it was a touch too gray and dark. After spending hours pouring over SW and BM chips and searching online, I noticed a lot of people have lightened that color with good results. So, I decided to just get a couple of samples mixed 25% and 50% lighter at the local BM store. Both were really pretty. Gray Owl lightened 25% was a subtle change, but definitely noticeable when painted over a 100% Gray Owl sample.

Gray Owl flexes a lot in different lighting. As annoying as that can be, I am attracted to colors that shift and change. It seems to float between a gray-toned neutral to a greenish neutral (minimal in my space), to an icy silver/blue in the evenings. My favorite is midday when it warms up to a soft, elegant neutral color. It works well and contrasts with both the dark wood and neutral carpet. I like it least in the evenings when it switches over to the cold blue tone. However, curtains, wall art, rug, etc. will all help when they are in place. And, I came to the conclusion there is no light color that will satisfy all the needs of an angular two-story foyer/hall, with a mix of dark wood and light carpet, all day, in all the seasons. This is close enough. :)

When everything gets put back together, I'll post a photo. Thanks so much!

I appreciate it when people follow up and post photos. It looks beautiful!!

Yes for sure! I fully appreciate your effort - it looks fab! I wish we had that light in the drab uk :((
I’m currently looking to achieve a warm feel with something similar to agreeable grey (live in the uk - so having to try match the colour codes!) in a north facing room that doesn’t receive much natural light. If anyone has any experience of something similar...would be great to hear it!

Hi - a near match in the UK to SW Agreeable is BM Collingwood.

Should it be inclined to shift purpleish in your space, a good alternative is BM Rodeo which sits a few degrees further clockwise on the Color Wheel in the Yellow Hue Family.

Try SW Grey Heron in the Emerald Designer Edition for a lighter Agreeable Grey. The paint colors for Emerald are beautiful.

We're using SW 9566 Grey Heron as trim for our exterior. We have been worried about doing off white with higher LRV's and popping too much. Not really relevant to this conversation, but I thought to add it because it is difficult to find any information about Grey Heron.