You’ll find gray paint with green, blue or purple undertones, for example, and each one will change the look of the space, and completely transform what you thought was the right gray, so before making the commitment to purchasing enough paint for a whole room I suggest first purchasing a few paint samples to test out in the space.
To figure out where to start in selecting a few colors, take a look at the most saturated color (darkest) of a particular color to figure out what the undertone will be. Below is an image of paint colors from Sherwin Williams, and you’ll see the most saturated colors vary from blue to gray to a deep green. The lightest shades on the top row reflect those undertones but are far less saturated. Using a square like this is quite helpful as it allows you look across various undertones.
After trial and error over the years, I’ve learned that I personally prefer less saturated colors, so I generally pick the lightest or second lightest color. To each their own.
Both natural and artificial light will change the way a paint color looks, including the time of day and the weather (is it a sunny day or a cloudy day?), so take a few days to see how the paint colors look and change with the time of day and the outside elements to ensure you are making the right choice.
Where you do fall on the color spectrum: Less or more saturation?
