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Exterior Design Dilemma Paint

Lightening SW Agreeable Gray by 50%??

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Looking at lightening SW Agreeable Gray by 50% so it’s not so dark OR should I buy a lighter color that is naturally lighter? I have read that lightening paint can mess with it… if I should buy another color, what would you suggest? This is for the exterior of a south Florida home… looking at SW Pure White for trim… would love your thoughts/ideas???

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Comments (6)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
29 days ago
last modified: 29 days ago
I often lighten colors to work. But I always get a sample can to test how it changes the color.
kandrewspa
29 days ago
I have also cut colors by 50% to get what I was looking for, but I think the results are more predictable with colors like blue and green instead of neutrals. Before you go down that road, look at City Loft, Drift of Mist, Eider White, Aesthetic White or Egret White. Agreeable Gray has a LRV of 60. The options I just listed are in the low 70's. Ten points in LRV makes a noticeable difference. The ones with "white" in their name are off whites.
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Same color would be pretty - and easy. When you cut or adjust a formula, you're creating a completely different color. Every dimension of the color is changed, hue, value, chroma, LRV. The new color might resemble the old color in some way, but there's no way to know until you have it mixed, dry it out and look at it. In the case of Agreeable Gray specifically, if you cut it by 50% you get a light gray that looks a lot like SW 6000 Snowfall. Agreeable Gray and Snowfall don't look good together - they don't "go" together. If you want a color that looks like Agreeable Gray, just lighter try White Heron SW 7627 for the ceiling. If you pull all three chips, Agreeably Gray, Snowfall and White Heron, you'll see what I'm talking about.
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sorry for the delay everyone, we ended up going with Mindful gray. the others looked too light. this is artificial lighting after just painting it. will post a picture when everything is back in its place and during daylight! :)
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Accessible Beige and Agreeable Gray together?
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Wordly gray and anew gray will make the alabaster molding pop , but anew gray have more contrast. Contrast invites the eye in and is what gives the wow factor. The more contrast the more drama. It gives your room a canvas where the tone is set to decorate and the music begins. Alabaster cabinets are beautiful with contrast when paired with black brushed granites and black matte knobs and handles. Don’t be afraid to contrast your wall color with a deeper chroma. As a designer, I see lots of people going lighter and before you know it the walls are all white. Look at paintings and study the art in museums no one paints an all white painting.
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No one has found a *slightly* lighter Agreeable Gray, right?
Q
Comments (53)
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!
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Marylee H
29 days ago
There’s no need to mess around with formulas, as you suspected.

You can compare these related colours in detail, by their objectively measured colour attributes of Hue Family, Value, Chroma, LRV, at The Land of Color.

Then you can pull paint chips for a visual comparison and to see how they render in context of your space, your lighting, before investing in gallons.
PRO
JAN MOYER
29 days ago
last modified: 29 days ago
Why gray at all? : )

What are the furnishings, the flooring? Gray is not the only wall color.

If you want a kiss of it, and the color of atmosphere? A chameleon of fail safe?

Cut Ben Moore "Wish" AF 680 to 50 % of the formula and roll. It goes with everything, is gorgeous with white trim. Has the bonus of not looking like every other house on your block. I've only used about 9000 gallons : )

I don't use S.W so can't help you there.

It's here......

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Sigrid
28 days ago
Get a sample of the paint you are thinking of using, paint a big piece of cardboard with it, in as many coats as you were planning to apply and evaluate it in different light.
anj_p
28 days ago
last modified: 28 days ago
Might be kind of tricky for an exterior to get it all to match since you'll need a lot of paint. We have drift of mist walls (inside) and they are just barely different from Pure white, which is our trim. Outside I feel like it might even wash out and look white. Google agreeable gray exteriors and you will see what it looks like. Especially in sunny south florida. I don't think you'd need to cut it at all but if you want it lighter just go white.

https://welshdesignstudio.com/sherwin-williams-agreeable-gray/

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