Gray Color Schemes

Go Gray! See how to make this trendy hue work in your home with color combos for every room.

Debra Wittrup

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Inviting Color Scheme

Seaside Color Scheme

Glamorous Color Scheme

Dynamic Color Scheme

Relaxing Color Scheme

Museum-Quality Color Scheme

Soothing Color Scheme

Clever Color Scheme

Creative Color Scheme

Easy Color Scheme

Cozy Color Scheme

Casual Color Scheme

Vintage Color Scheme

Elegant Color Scheme

Easy-Going Color Scheme

No-Fail Color Scheme

Rich Color Scheme

Quiet Color Scheme

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Inviting Color Scheme

Charcoal + Apple

Bright colors work well when used sparingly and consistently against a neutral base. The gray, black, white, and tan background of this inviting breakfast nook is a calm foundation. Soft gray covers the walls and banquette cushions, charcoal gray appears in the banquette cabinets and pendant fixture. Tan tile flooring brings warmth along with the dark wood chairs. An abstract geometric gray rug provides soft texture underfoot. Dabs of apple green and chili-pepper red show up in pillows and accents.

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Seaside Color Scheme

Driftwood + Sand

Summery hues and beach house touches in this living room capture a fun-in-the-sun feeling indoors all year long. White furniture and driftwood gray walls provide a beach house ambiance. Sandy hues on the throw pillows and in the seagrass rug offer visual and tactile contrast. Color is introduced with accent pillows, artwork, and striped upholstery on one chair. Ocean artifacts are treated as sculpture, while graphic palm fronds and bird-of-paradise leaves add another natural element in deep green.

Glamorous Color Scheme

Dove + Diamond

Create a glamorous aesthetic with neutral colors, such as this diamond white and dove gray combination, accented with touches of black. Color is replaced by pattern, which is limited to the handsome period trim and the leading on the ornate fanlight and cabinet doors. The neutral walls complement an array of texture provided by the black linen-wrapped pier tables, a gray-banded sisal rug, and striated fabric-covered dining chairs.

Dynamic Color Scheme

Charcoal + Paprika + Mustard

A mix of warm spicy paprika and vivid mustard gold works in this living room because the vivid hues are set against the quiet background of a deep charcoal wall. To avoid sensory overload, pattern is limited to a chair, artwork, rug, and pillow while other furnishings and walls remain solid. On the floor, a subtly patterned Oushak rug complements the paprika velvet chair. If you're wary of bold color, start small. Upholster one chair, frame a piece of wallpaper to hang on the wall, or paint an accent wall in deep color.

Relaxing Color Scheme

Rich Gray + White

A decorative painting treatment in a rich gray with tints of blue and black adds depth to the walls of this relaxing bath and prevents it from becoming too sterile. The white cast-iron, hand-finished antique reproduction tub captures all the charm of its popular predecessors. Gleaming white subway tile and marble black and white basketweave floor tile add sparkle. A wool rug provides a bit of living room comfort.

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Museum-Quality Color Scheme

Gray + Black + White + Gold

Neutral grays, whites, and blacks come alive with a gold accent in this sitting area. When working with neutrals, textures play a significant role in creating visual interest. Here a faux zebra skin, gleaming silver ceramic garden stool, and sleek white leather chair offer textural contrasts. The small-scale and neutral furnishings allow the artwork to take prominence against gallery-gray walls.

Soothing Color Scheme

Steely Gray + Honey

This master bedroom uses a soothing blend of cool grays and warm golden honey hues. The harmony of these tones is perfect for relaxation. Gray walls and an upholstered headboard set the stage for the space while the golden notes are struck on metallic pieces, such as the light fixture, bench frame, and bedside lamp. The hues combine in the silk draperies and bed shirt. Additional texture and color is offered by the nubby decorative pillow and fabric rose trimmed throw.

Clever Color Scheme

Gunmetal + Olive

Gunmetal gray walls put the focus of this living room squarely on the furnishings that seamlessly blend traditional with contemporary. Large green club chairs covered in a tone-on-tone jungle print give the space a touch of the exotic. A traditional Moroccan pouf gets a glam look in silver leather. Overhead, a Fortuny light fixture stares down the textural flokati rug.

Creative Color Scheme

Pale Gray + Blue + Pink

An artistic eye will take you a long way toward the ideal color palette. That's why a favorite painting can be so inspiring when it comes to choosing a scheme for your decor. In this eclectic dining room, museum-quality pale gray walls provide a subdued background for the bright figural painting. This, in turn, influenced the choice of furnishings, including a chalky blue hutch, a rustic harvest table, and flirty slipcovers for the dining chairs.

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Easy Color Scheme

Silver + Red

Pale gray makes a barely-there backdrop for solid neutral furniture in this family-friendly living room. Undressed windows let in ample light that picks up on the textures in the room -- the woven rug, rustic bench top, and baskets. Accents are mostly neutral, too, with a bit of pattern provided by lampshades. The big color statement comes from vivid red and white pillows that pop against the sofas.

Cozy Color Scheme

Slate + Chartreuse

A bedroom makeover in deep tones of slate gray includes a comfy nook for reading or conversation. Tucked into a corner between the master bedroom and bath, the small chair and ottoman offer a lighter take on the wall color and the chartreuse trim and pillow bring in a warm hue. The mirrored dresser injects a bit of glamour. A needlepoint zebra rug and the pops of chartreuse keep everything from looking too serious and make it cozy and welcoming.

Casual Color Scheme

Rich Gray + Off-White + Red

High contrast color schemes are the most interesting visually and they're as easy to achieve as a dark color against white. In this comfy family room, a deep rich gray sectional provides the foil to the white built-in shelving, walls, and architectural features. Then, to add a jolt of pure color, tomato red pillows are dotted around the room. A silver side table injects an unexpected bit of glimmer to the room.

Vintage Color Scheme

Warm Gray + Orange

In this bedroom, a contemporary paint palette of warm gray on the walls and an orange painted nightstand make the flea market furnishings shine. An old white metal bed is dressed in new vintage-look linens layered with an antique quilt made in a multi-color Dresden plate pattern. The cocooning color scheme wraps up style and function in a pretty package.

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Elegant Color Scheme

Cloud + Ecru

A soft palette of whisper-soft cloud gray and ecru expresses an elegant atmosphere in this muted and peaceful sitting room. In addition to providing a calm environment, the neutral color scheme links an eclectic collection of furnishings. Light gray covers the walls, silvery gray draperies frame the windows, and a pale gray slipcover updates an old sofa for its new home. Providing quiet contrast, an old cabinet painted in ecru gets a patina of age from a coat of antiquing glaze.

Easy-Going Color Scheme

Pewter + Mink + Orange + Yellow

Pewter gray walls envelop this casual and comfy living room. When you use large planes of solid color, such as the walls and deep brown sofa, you have more freedom to use splashes of pattern throughout the room. The mix of patterns on the sofa pillows is less jarring since all the yellow in the patterns are the same or similar. The largest and most energetic of the patterns is found on the brown and orange geometric rug.

No-Fail Color Scheme

Chinchilla + Brown + Green

Walls the color of a chinchilla fur create a restful ambiance for this small bedroom. The harvest brown and white linens on the bed are a no-fail pairing; the high contrast will look brilliant every time. Cheery green accents, along with golden notes in the coverlet and shams add liveliness to the more sedate neutrals.

Rich Color Scheme

Charcoal + Champagne

This dining room palette began with a sumptuous silver-leaf ceiling and branched out to a beautiful blend of grays and champagne. Charcoal silk velvet on the dining chairs adds to the rich neutral palette articulated by the whispery gray walls, silver-leaf ceiling, damask curtains, and geometric rug. Treasured antiques -- a Murano mirror, chandelier, and buffet table -- take pride of place in this jewel box of a room.

Quiet Color Scheme

Pearl Gray + Sage

As luxurious as a five-star hotel, this beautiful bedroom is a subtle feast for the eyes. Pale gray walls create a cocoon for the sophisticated furnishings. White-on-gray fabrics offer nearly tone-on-tone pattern on the headboard and bench. Sage green draperies, pillows, and accents bring in a colorful neutral to add depth to the color scheme. To keep a gray room from feeling cold, add patinated furniture, natural rugs, lots of linen, and warm wood tones.

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