Looking for a beautiful warm gray for your kitchen cabinets? Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray needs to be at the top of your list! Learn all about this color and its undertones to see if it will look fabulous in your home.
If you think choosing gray paint for your home is going to be a cake walk, think again. Although gray is wonderfully neutral and one of my personal favorite colors, it’s anything but simple. Next to white, gray is one of the most complicated colors thanks to its many possible undertones.
I guess you could say it’s got layers. 😉
When I first started trying to choose a gray for our new house back in the day, I was a little overwhelmed. And impressed with the complexity that gray paint presents.
That’s why when it comes to gray paint, I prefer to stick with the tried and true.
Today, I have one of the most popular gray paints (and one of my personal favorites) to highlight. So let’s dive in and put the spotlight on Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray!
We’ll cover all the things such as Mindful Gray’s undertones, colors that pair well with it and show some examples of it in action. By the time you get done with this post, you’ll know everything you need to know about this beautiful and popular gray.
I have a feeling that once you learn more about SW Mindful Gray, you’ll understand why it’s on my list of favorite kitchen cabinet colors. With an LRV (light reflective value) of 48, it’s a very medium shade of gray that’s not too light or too dark. Instead, it’s just deep enough to give the impression of a deep gray without also giving the feeling that you’re in a dark room with no light.
Or, to put it another way, it’s darker than Edgecomb Gray but not as dark as Kendall Charcoal. I think that makes it pretty much the perfect medium gray paint!
Undertones For Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray
The hard part about choosing grays is working with their undertones. Gray paints can have any of three undertones:
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
You may think you can avoid them, but you would be wrong. So the key to choosing a great gray for your cabinets or home is to find one with undertones that work with your lighting and decor.
When it comes to the undertones in Mindful Gray, you’ll see that it’s a warm color with greenish taupe undertones. The green isn’t overt, as in, you won’t look at your wall and think, “why did I just paint that green?”. But, it’s definitely there.
Instead, what you will see is a lovely warm, creamy taupe greige that looks incredible in many different lighting situations.
How Lighting Impacts The Appearance of Mindful Gray
North-facing rooms have cooler, blue-er lighting. As a result, lighter colors appear almost washed out while darker colors pop. Mindful Gray tends to lose some of its warmth and appear cooler in north-facing light.
South-facing rooms are awash in warm, bright light all day long. This lighting intensifies colors, and almost all colors look their best in south-facing rooms. Mindful Gray shines in south-facing rooms.
East-facing rooms receive their yellow-orange light in the morning and lack light in the evening, making warm colors a great choice for these rooms. This beautiful gray works well in east rooms!
West-facing rooms get the lion’s share of their (orange-red) light in the late afternoon and evening. The ultra warmth of this light can make warm paint almost overpowering. Cool colors often work well in west-facing rooms. Mindful Gray will appear as a very warm taupe-leaning greige in west-facing rooms.
Pair These Shades With Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray
It’s time to point out some coordinating colors that naturally pair well with this warm gray!
Thankfully, Mindful Gray plays well with many colors! But, I think it looks especially nice with:
- Eider Gray SW
- Riverway SW
- Naval SW
- Pearly White SW
- Hamburg Gray SW
- Oyster White SW
- Sage Green Light SW
- Thunder Gray SW
- Smokey Blue SW
- Iron Ore SW
- Homestead Brown SW
- Illusive Green SW
Ways To Use Mindful Gray In Your Home
I particularly love using this color as an accent color – like for kitchen cabinets! However, Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray can also look awesome as a painted furniture piece or bathroom cabinets too.
Let’s check out some examples of the color in action. You’ll notice that it looks quite different in this collection of images. That’s due to the effect that lighting and decor have on the paint – and its undertones.
Contrasting Kitchen Cabinets
This drool-worthy kitchen from Eden McCleskey shows off the ability that Mindful Gray has. When used on the kitchen cabinets and hood vent, it is that perfect medium gray that pulls both light and darker colors together into one cohesive palette.
Two-Tone Cabinets
Two-tone cabinets are hot right now. I love having options and creating balance, so I personally love the look they provide. Here’s a great example of why from West Magnolia Charm.
The darker Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray cabinets could be too much as the only cabinet color in this small kitchen. By painting the bottom cabinets white, the two colors balance each other out and add visual interest.
Kitchen Stunner
Because this kitchen from 2 Cabinet Girls is large, open, and bright, using Mindful Gray on all the cabinets works really well. Plus, it somehow ties the light counters, stainless steel appliances, and wood floor together!
Is Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray Perfect For Your House?
There are few grays I love more than Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray for kitchen cabinets – or any room of the house! That said, it’s not the right fit for everyone or every room. Make sure to create a large swatch by painting a piece of cardboard and check it in the lighting in your home before committing!
Intimidated by painting your cabinets? I am a firm believer that anyone can paint their kitchen cabinets or furniture. In fact, I’ll show you exactly how to do it, step by step, in my DIY Cabinet Painting 101 class.
You’ll learn everything you need to know about painting cabinets from start to finish. And, I’ll be there to guide you every step of the way.
Trust me, it’s well worth your time to get the kitchen of your dreams!
More Posts To Read:
- 10 Worst Cabinet Painting Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)
- How Do Painted Cabinets Hold Up Over Time?
- Using Sherwin Williams Dover White For Kitchen Cabinets
- Kitchen Cabinets In Alabaster White
- How To Repaint Kitchen Cabinets
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