What Color Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls?
Grey is the neutral color of the 2020s… or at least, that’s what it’s looking like to me. Everywhere I look, I see magazines touting the perks of having grey walls. Grey is everywhere, and it’s being promoted by almost every interior design magazine out there. If you want to give this trend a try, it’s important to choose carpet and rugs that go well with grey walls. But, how do you do that without making your room look soulless?
Grey walls can work well with beige, cream, or light and dark grey carpet. Rugs with shades of blue, yellow, pink, purple, red, or green are also excellent color choices that go well with grey walls. Grey is a neutral color that tends to have cool undertones, so sticking to gentle neutrals and light colors is a smart way to go. But using darker shades can also create a dramatic design scheme.
Getting that effortlessly chic look that you see in design magazines isn’t always easy. However, it’s doable with any budget. This guide will help you out.
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What Are The Best Carpet And Rug Colors For Grey Walls?
The one thing you’ll learn about grey walls is that they are rarely ever just grey. They are light grey, dark grey, or grey with certain undertones. When we mention a color pairing, it’s important to consider what kind of grey you have on your walls.
Also, you don’t have to just paint your walls with a flat grey look. You can add texture by doing certain effects like sponging, or using various shades of grey layered o ntop of each other.
There are so many fun things you can do with grey walls, but you need to have a plan and maintain a good balance. Knowing that, let’s take a look at all the different carpets that work well with grey.
1. Beige Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls
Beige and grey are a wonderful pairing that’s both natural and modern at the same time. These two colors tend to work well with other soft pastels, not to mention settings where you want to add a nice sophisticated twist on things. If you’re a fan of minimalism, Scandinavian styles, or similar, choose this.
The reason it works is that beige is a little warmer than grey. This helps avoid the “soulless” look of grey and makes your place look homey. It also can present a fresh, cam look to a space. Adding in various textures can help create interest among these two neutrals, such as organic materials like bamboo, sisal, and wool.
Works With: All shades of grey.
2. Cream Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls
A big issue that people can get when they’re trying to put together a room with grey walls is the risk of having a dark and gloomy room appearance. This is where cream comes into play. Cream is a lot like beige, but lighter. It’s still warm, which helps balance out cool tones in a grey room. The lightness of a cream carpet is perfect for helping a home look larger.
Having a snowy white rug is not feasible for most homes. After all, white rugs stain way too quickly. Cream is the next best thing. However, if your heart is set on a white rug, you may wonder: Can You Bleach Carpet To Change The Color?
Works With: All shades of grey.
3. Blue
Blue is the most popular non-neutral color for a room, which means that you can bet that people will want to have it in their rooms. Both grey and blue tend to have cool undertones, which gives this combination a very harmonious look. Depending on the shade of grey, you might want to choose a light blue or a navy.
Do you love nautical looks? Maybe something a little coastal or traditional? This look will work for you.
If you want some more vibrancy, you can also opt for more jewel tones of blues like turquoise or a blue-green mix like teal. Both of these colors are also a good match with grey walls.
Works With: Light blue tends to go well with more pronounced shades, while navy works very well with light greys.
4. Pink Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls
Pink and grey are quite unusual as a pair, primarily because it’s a counterintuitive look. Pink and grey can turn up the contrast while warming up the home. It looks good, but it can be a bit of a visual surprise, especially if the grey and pink are a little darker than usual. This is the kind of combination that makes you go, “Hmmm…”
This feminine look is great for a modern girl’s room, but it can also work perfectly well in a chic office. Lots of coordination is emphasized.
Works With: Light to medium shades of grey.
5. Light Grey Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls
The best color to go with grey is…another shade of grey. Seriously. Look at most interior design magazines, and you’ll see a lot of grey on grey goodness. Dark greys are particularly hard to pair with, but if you have a room that has dark grey walls, it’s an easy choice. Light grey will help open up the home and make your room look brighter.
Bonus perk? These carpets hide mess pretty well.
Works With: All shades of grey.
6. Dark Grey Carpet And Rugs Go Well With Grey Walls
Dark greys work for the same reason that light greys do: they offer a crisp monochromatic look that’s hard to ignore. Dark grey carpeting can match with darker grey walls, or it can provide a bold contrast to walls that are just ever so slightly grey. Most people find the intensity of dark greys on one another to be a bit much in person, but when done right, it’s amazing.
All we can say is that we’d totally dig a dark grey shag rug. Of course, that’s probably the 70s fan in me.
Works With: All shades of grey.
7. Yellow
Yellow and grey are a unique color combination in terms of the mood it sets. The bold, in-your-face vibe that yellow has is a stark contrast to the cooling and chilling appearance of grey. Together, they tend to give a look that’s meant to shock. It’s sunny, but it’s techy. It’s warm, but at the same time, there’s always that sense of coolness to it. Bottom line? This is a pair that will make people say wow.
These days, yellow and grey are definitely getting their time in the sun. The question is, are you ready for this? It can quickly turn into a pretty intense look if you are not sure what to do with your room. Therefore, make sure to take your time on the front end of your project to carefully plan out your design.
Doing the prep work in the beginning will pay off loads at the end when you have a gorgeous room that you can’t wait to show off.
Works With: Primarily medium to dark shades of grey, but all shades can be acceptable here.
8. Green Goes Well With Grey
Green is a versatile color that comes in many different hues and shades, from mint green to neon green to emerald green jewel tones. Pairing green with grey can create a variety of looks, and one of the undertones you can often find in gray is green. Therefore, the two are pretty much a natural match.
Mint green with light grey delivers a soft, coming effect, while pops of neon green against a light or dark grey background produce a vibrant and fun design. You can also achieve a more dramatic look by pairing deep emerald and forest greens with light grey walls.
You may be able to even get away with green carpet in the whole room. If you are interested in getting a green carpet, check out What Color Paint Goes With Green Carpet?
Works With: Any shade of grey, depending on the tone of green you go with.
9. Purple
Purple is another color that can pair well with grey when you choose certain shade combinations. Pairing a royal purple with medium grey walls can deliver a regal feel. Conversely, a pale purple with a light gray offers a soft, feminine feel to a space.
You can also always create a cohesive and dramatic design mixing various shades of purple with your grey walls. Eggplant looks especially good against medium to dark grey walls, providing a lush, rich feel.
Works With: Any shade of grey, depending on the tone of purple you go with.
10. Red
If you want to create a super dramatic look in your space, consider pairing your gray walls with a red rug. Whether you go with a more muted tone of red, a rich ruby, or a vibrant shade of scarlet it can work well with grey walls.
The key is to not go overboard and to find a good balance between the two. Otherwise, you can end up looking like your room time traveled from the 80s. Red can work well with light grey or dark grey walls, depending on the look you want to achieve.
Works With: Light, medium, and dark shades of grey.
11. Orange
If you love orange then you’re in luck. An orange rug and other accents can work very well with grey walls. It provides a vivid contrast, so it is definitely something you would want more in a living room or kitchen as opposed to a bedroom.
Bunt orange can look excellent with light grey, while bright oranges can pop against dark grey walls. This rug features various shades of oranges that complement the dark grey walls nicely. It would look even better if they brought some orange up onto the walls in some artwork to help tie everything together.
Works With: All shades of grey depending on the type of orange you choose.
12. Color Combinations
Of course, since grey is neutral, it really works with a wide range of colors, even multiple colors. Obviously, you don’t want to go overboard, but you can easily use several accent colors in your space when you have grey walls as a backdrop.
For example, this colorful rug incorporates many of the colors listed above into one fun, vivid piece. The neutral grey wall really makes these bright colors stand out, making a big statement in a fun way. Remember, when it comes down to it, grey can work well on its own, or it can be the perfect way to make other colors shine.
Works With: Any shade of grey, depending on the color combos you choose.
What’s The Biggest Mistake You Can Make With Grey Walls?
Grey walls are great, but the hype they get is often a little extra if you know what we mean. The biggest issue people have with having grey walls is that they can be overwhelming. When you see super-dark grey rooms on interior design magazine pages, it looks bold and almost imposing. However, it’s important to remember that those rooms have a lot of lighting to make them look good.
In real life, extremely dark painted walls with dark grey carpets can look pretty suffocating. Most homes that have too much grey and not enough softness tend to find their homes feeling a little foreboding or dystopian. What we’re saying is that adding too much grey can be a pretty big mistake.
A close second would be painting a wall grey without checking out how the swatch looks against the wall. Different lights can cause the undertones to show differently. Nothing looks worse than thinking your room will be blue-grey, only to realize it looks green instead.
How Should You Choose Your Grey Paint?
The best way to choose the bucket of grey paint for your home is very carefully. Grey paints always have different undertones, so it’s crucial that you get multiple swatches and check out how they look under a variety of different lights.
Even if you think you’ve found the shade you’ve always wanted, bring it home and test it out first. Otherwise, you’re going to have a bad time.
It’s important to make sure that you check out how the grey paint in multiple settings: morning light, no light, evening light, and with artificial light. If it doesn’t look good, then keep searching. Grey is a fickle color.
Once you’ve found the perfect color for your space, you also want to make sure yous elect the right finish. Paint comes in various finishes like flat, satin, semi-gloss, gloss, etc. The most popular finish for most rooms is satin because it offers a soft look while being easy to clean.
For trim, semi-gloss is a popular choice, and high-gloss can deliver a super, shiny look (often used for a lacquer-look on furniture). In general, the shinier the finish, the more it will show up scratches and fingerprints, etc. The duller the finish, the more difficult it will be to clean.
What Is Greige?
Greige paint is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of grey and beige tones that come together to create a new color. It’s a versatile neutral that gives a space a timeless, classic look and can work well with a variety of other colors. Therefore, choosing the right shade of greige can provide you with an excellent canvas to play with in your room.
It’s also a great option if you’re trying to sell your home and need to create a more neutral feel that will appeal to more buyers. You get a much more interesting, warmer look than just plain white walls. But, you don’t risk turning off potential buyers with overly jarring or trendy colors.
However, it’s important to try out several different samples, as each shade of greige has its own distinct effect on a space. Like grey colors, it also can change drastically under different kinds of lighting. Therefore, get several samples and paint large sections on your wall to try them out.
Then, observe how the color changes from daytime to nighttime as well as how it looks below the lighting in the room. Some shades of greige lean more toward beige, while others swing more toward grey. Benjamin Moore features several greige shades that are popular, like Balboa Mist, Revere Pewter, and Pale Oak (just to name a few).
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Related Questions
Is grey paint a good color for a bedroom?
While you can use grey paint in almost any room of your house, the truth is that grey is considered to be a star player in two rooms. The number one choice for a grey room is the bedroom since grey can offer a calming, mellow appearance. The other major favorite room is the living room, where grey often adds a bold (if dark) or airy appearance.Most people love the gender-neutral appearance of a grey bedroom. It’s hard not to enjoy the way it makes a room sophisticated. Grey is also often a popular choice for a nursery, thanks to its gender-neutral qualities. It also serves as a versatile neutral that can grow with the child, working as a backdrop for many different styles.
Is grey paint starting to go out of style?
Yes and no. Grey paint as the main color of a room is starting to fall out of favor, primarily because it was so overdone. Since it’s becoming a cliche, people are trying to avoid it. People are starting to avoid cliche grey color combos as the main color, sure, but it’s not a color that’s going anywhere anytime soon.While using it as the main color is slowly losing its veneer, it’s still fairly popular as a trim color. So, it’s more of a supporting character than the main attraction in trendy homes today.
What mood does the color grey evoke?
When it’s added to a room, grey can be formal, airy, sophisticated, and calming. However, if it’s too heavy-handed, it can start to look gloomy and depressing.It’s all about how to deliver the grey and making sure that you balance things out. Although grey is a great color for rooms, it’s always possible to have too much of a good thing. So, consider your overall design scheme carefully when using grey, as the other colors you choose will really set the whole tone of the space.
Ossiana Tepfenhart is an expert writer, focusing on interior design and general home tips. Writing is her life, and it's what she does best. Her interests include art and real estate investments.
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