Sherwin Williams Modern Gray: a complete color review

Looking for a warm gray paint color? Let's talk about Sherwin Williams Modern Gray and if it might be the perfect color for your home!

Modern Gray is a great warm gray paint color for a cozy feeling space.

This color is majorly effected by lighting. Since it's already warm, adding warm light can make it look VERY warm or even taupe and a touch pink.

However, in cooler light, it will look more like a neutral gray. That's why it is SO important to swatch paint colors in your actual rooms.

Sherwin Williams Modern Gray SW7632

Modern Gray is a very warm gray that can read as taupe, especially in rooms with lots of bright, south-facing light. In cooler or darker rooms, it will feel more like a neutral gray.

Color Family

Modern Gray is in the warm gray color family.

Light Reflectance Value

62

Light Reflective Value is the measurement of how much light a color bounces around. This is on a scale of 0 to 100 with 0 being pure black and 100 being pure white.

With an LRV of 62, this color is not a light gray but getting closer to mid-toned. It will look a lot lighter in rooms with bright natural light such as south facing rooms, but still hold its color. In darker rooms, it will look darker and muddier.

RGB Colors

R:214 G:206 B:195

RGB describes the amount of each color - red, green, and blue - present in a color. This is on a scale of 0 to 255 for each color. This is basically the color mix to make the color!

Hex Code

#d6cec3

Undertones

Modern gray has warm undertones. There is taupe or pink to it in certain lighting - especially in warm, bright spaces. It can sometimes also read as green or even a little purple.

Best uses

Modern Gray is neutral enough to use as a whole house paint color. Just know that if your rooms or spaces get wildly different light, the color will transform throughout the space.

I also love this creamy, warm color for a dining room, transitional hallways, a guest bedroom, or bathrooms. It's a cozy, safe, neutral choice.

Similar Colors

• SW Taupe of the Morning
• SW Windfresh White
• Benjamin Moore Alaskan Skies
• Olympic Tightrope
• Behr Granite Dust
• PPG River Rock
• Valspar Seed Cathedral

Coordinating Colors

I like to pair modern gray with blue-grays, dark greige, or creamy off-white.

Creamy off-white:

• Shoji White
• Alabaster
• Pure White

See my favorite cream paint colors here.

Dark greige:

• Chelsea Gray
• Dorian Gray
• Gauntlet Gray

Blue-Grays:

• Dockside Blue
• Bachelor Blue
• Brittany Blue
• Upward
• Distance

Trim Colors

Since this is a warm, soft gray, I'd choose a soft white for the trim.

Soft white trim colors:

• Sherwin Williams Alabaster
• Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Behr Cameo White

Sherwin Williams Modern Gray color palette

Modern Gray vs Gossamer Veil

Gossamer Veil and Modern Gray are both warm, mid-toned greige paint colors by Sherwin Williams. They have the same color depth, but have very different undertones. Placing swatches or samples of these colors next to each other will immediately bring out the difference in tone!

Click here to read my complete comparison of Modern Gray vs Gossamer Veil.

Thanks for reading!