Paint Recommendations

[Megan000]

Could anyone recommend a light grey paint that dosent look too blue/lilac? I’m in the process of getting a new house and was thinking to paint the walls a very pale grey instead of keeping them white but I’ve been looking online at grey paints and a lot of reviews say they look blue/lilac I don’t want to waste money on paint for it to come out a different colour so are there any good grey paints people can recommend?

Avoid Valspar - it's the mixing and paint colour matching service offered in B&Q - wonderful colours but if you search online (which I didn't do before I sanded down and painted the doors to a whole wall of wardrobes - 8 doors in all) there are many negative comments about it not hardening properly or an unpleasant odour - mine is like a thin layer of butter - you can scratch it off with your fingernail and it's been on for several years - I will sling the doors and replace them all one day - Valspar - won't accept any criticism of their product - they tried to blame the primer/undercoat - I used what they recommended; biggest home DIY project I regret doing. I stick with Dulux now TBH.

Perbeck stone farrow and ball

Greys are always tricky- e.g., the same grey can look bluey in one situation and yellowy in another. How greys appear is very dependent on their situation. Definitely get sample pots that look like likely candidates and try them out before you buy one- the natural light in the room and any artificial lights you may have can change greys dramatically, as can any other colours in the room, as they can throw their own colour on the grey even if they haven't got shiny surfaces, but can also make the grey appear less like them by contrast. The only way to know is to try some test areas. If a trial colour looks too blue, just keep going 'warmer' until you get what you want.

Paint at least an A4 sized piece of card with the tester so you can try it on different walls. Particularly helpful if you're thinking of the same colour in different rooms.

I love Dulux Polished Pebble. We first painted the kitchen cabinets in the Satinwood version and they’re so light grey they often look white. We then did the living room in the wall & ceiling Matt and it’s a little darker but not as dark as some of the other Dulux greys. We don’t get any blue tint in either room in natural or artificial light - we did go over magnolia walls though and primed the cabinets white first.
We also did a bedroom in Goose Down on top of a navy bottom half. I also don’t get a blue tint but it’s a colder colour IMO.

Invest in testers!

Grey is really hard to get right. You really need to do lots of testers. The direction the light hits the room will make a big difference.

I made the mistake of doing my hallway in Polished Pebble - which turned out looking really lilac. Gave the tin to my friend and her conservatory looks exactly how I wanted my hallway to look!