Paint Colour Review: Sherwin Williams Colonnade Gray

Colonnade Gray: LRV, Undertones & More!

If you’ve been with me for a while (bless your heart), you know that I love doing paint color reviews. Reviews are where all (okay, some) of the insanity that’s sloshing around in my brain comes out, and that’s precisely what’s going to happen with this review of Colonnade Gray – HOT DAMN, I love this color! And BTW, if you haven’t seen my paint color reviews on YouTube, you should check them out!

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IS COLONNADE GRAY A WARM OR COOL GRAY OR GREIGE?

As it relates to paint colors, a lot comes down to perception. What I see as a warm gray, you might see as a greige. What looks a bit too cold for your room could be WAY too warm for mine!

However, some colors have a pretty obvious baseline to work off of, and Colonnade Gray is a warm gray. Is it warm enough to be a greige (a warm gray with more beige)? Nope, not quite, but it thinks about it in some exposures!

Colonnade Gray & Benjamin Moore Gibraltar Cliffs

If you have northern exposure, you should still see a passive warmth in Colonnade Gray. I wouldn’t say it’s remotely overwhelming, but it will be softer and more inviting than a cool or super stormy shade of gray. On the other hand, if you have southern sun or western afternoon light, notice how Colonnade Gray can look warmer and greige.

WHAT’S THE LRV OF COLONNADE GRAY?

Colonnade has an LRV of 53, which ‘they’ call light (‘they’ being the peeps at Sherwin Williams). However, when you picture a light gray color, it’s often fresher or brighter. Colonnade Gray is not fresh and light; it’s soft and subtle but has some decent body, so it doesn’t wash out in natural light as some light colors can.

You might go so far as to call Colonnade Gray ‘muddy.’

Are you not familiar with LRV? It’s a big deal, you should read about it.

In the above photo, look at the contrast between the white trim and the switch plate – this gives you a great idea of the general depth you can expect to see.

WHAT ARE COLONNADE GRAY’S UNDERTONES?

If you subscribe to my blog and drink the Ginger-infused Kool-Aid, you know grays are NEVER simple…

Of course, Doug had to make an appearance – he was feeling dapper with his new haircut.

Grays have cool undertones of either blue, purple, or green, and Colonnade Gray is no exception. Warm grays cater to green or purple undertones (blue is more situational). As for Colonnade Gray, it favors a very minor green undertone. That said, depending on the time of day, I’ve seen it look greige and even a smidge gray-blue, particularly when the northern light hits it. In other words, it’s a pretty typical neurotic warm gray.

By the way, many of the photos in this blog post are from my own home (our previous home; we’ve since moved).

How to Choose Paint Colors for North-Facing Rooms

COLONNADE GRAY IN SOUTH-FACING ROOMS

In this next photo, look at how that warm southern light softens Colonnade up – I love it. I partnered it with Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze on the front door, which is pretty much the most badass color ever. Can I say heaven and bad-ass in the same paragraph?

The Best Paint Colors for Your Front Door

COLONNADE GRAY IN NORTH-FACING LIGHT ROOMS

In northern light, you’ll have a more challenging time pulling warmth out of Colonnade Gray as it will lean more into its gray roots than in south-facing light.

Get your Peel & Stick sample of Colonnade Gray HERE!

COLONNADE GRAY 25% LIGHTER (in morning east-facing light)

The carpet in our last home had purple undertones. However, I wanted to use Colonnade Gray throughout our main living areas, including the staircase, and its green undertone wasn’t cuttin’ it.

So, I experimented. 

I asked Sherwin Williams to lighten Colonnade Gray by 25%. When you lighten or darken colors, undertones can shift a little (or a lot). I didn’t think I could lose ALL the green, but I felt that maybe 25% could lessen its impact—and sweet hallelujah, it did!

I also love how Colonnade sits with Sherwin Williams Anonymous in the powder room and the stairwell feature wall. This was actually one of my favorite spots in our 4000 sq ft house—true story. The color combo just sat well with my soul.

WHAT WHITE TRIM COLORS GO WITH COLONNADE GRAY?

Colonnade is pretty flexible. You can try it with almost ANY of my top white paint colors, but my personal faves are…

• Sherwin Williams Pure White
• Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Sherwin Williams Alabaster

These next photos are from another one of my E-design clients. I wanted to quickly show you how Colonnade Gray looks with slightly warmer features and furnishings.

I apologize for the slightly smaller photo size/quality. My blog relies 100% on my clients, friends, and readers sending me their after photos. Interiors are DARN tough to shoot, but she did pretty good!

The above photo shows a bit more of the warm gray I love seeing in Colonnade Gray—what a gorgeous complement to the slate tile fireplace.

Below, see how well Colonnade partners up with subdued greige and grayed-out beige tones in this room!

DOES COLONNADE GRAY GO WITH CREAM TRIM?

It can. This isn’t to say it’s my favorite combo, but if your cream trim is light enough, you can pull it off in a pinch.

However, if your cream trim is similar in depth/richness to Sherwin Williams Antique White, I’d tread carefully—the more muted and subtle (and lighter), the better.

The Best Paint Colors with Cream Cabinets & Trims

DOES COLONNADE GRAY GO WITH WOOD TRIM?

Colonnade Gray is gorgeous with many wood trims. Just watch that your room has enough natural light. Without enough light and no white trim, a color like Colonnade Gray could look a bit drab and dingy.

In this next room, Colonnade Gray looks amazeballs with the golden oak trims. My Online Paint Color Consulting client didn’t want to blend in that beautiful wood, and Colonnade Gray did a job complementing it!

Paint Colors That Go With Golden Oak

Colonnade Gray is also highly tolerant to a wide range of species and stains, including white oak, maple, and red or cherry stains.

The Best Paint Colors to Update Wood Finishes

One wood finish that could make me a bit twitchy would be a stain with a lighter pink undertone, often found in light maple cabinets or red oak flooring.

WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO COLONNADE GRAY?

In your search for the perfect paint color, you must sample and compare similar shades. Here’s what I recommend…

• Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter is a bit warmer and muddier.
• Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray
• Even better, check out my CURATED COLOR BUNDLE, which includes Colonnade Gray and the above two shades!

WHAT COLORS GO WITH COLONNADE GRAY?

Thanks to its depth and muted undertones, Colonnade Gray is reasonably easy to build a room-by-room palette around…

• Tons of warm off-whites like Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White, Shoji White, and White Duck
• Darker shades of moody green
• Medium to dark greige paint colors like Porpoise and Urbane Bronze
• As shown earlier, I LOVE Colonnade Gray with moody blue-gray paint colors

Are you not sure if Colonnade Gray is the color for you? I’VE GOT MORE!

READ MORE

Sherwin Williams 10 Best Gray & Greige Paint Colors

Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Modern Gray

Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Repose Gray

Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray

Color Review: SW Collonade Gray vs BM Revere Pewter

NEED HELP?

Check out my affordable E-design packages! 

WRITTEN ORIGINALLY IN 2020 OR SO, UPDATED IN 2024

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