I’ve been asked a lot about Conrad’s bedroom wall color. It’s Benjamin Moore Gray Owl. I’m sharing what I love about this very popular gray paint and how it looks in his nursery now turned big boy room! See how it looks in a REAL house and how it compares to other gray furniture around it.
Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore is a beautiful gray. But I’ll be honest, it looks more LIGHT BLUE than it does gray. Look at the image below. The curtains are a heather grey. The Ikea comforter is a grey checkbox. Look at the walls in comparison if you don’t believe me. The images below are close to what they look like in real life.
When we originally painted this bedroom, I actually wanted a really neutral gray in the space. After reading a few reviews that said it was one of the most perfect grays, I took their word for it. Boy, I sure wish I would have painted a swatch on my wall first!
Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl is more of a light blue color. So, basically it is a gray with cool undertones.
Originally, this room was going to be a small photography studio, so I really needed the color to be grey so that I didn’t have any colorcast on my subjects. After painting the space and realizing it turned out to be light blue (in all lights including morning, afternoon and indoor lighting), I was disappointed.
However, all is well. The universe has a way of telling me things because we had a little boy the next year, and the light blue tones were perfect for his nursery and big kid room!
Important Tip on Choosing A Neutral Gray Paint
My lesson learned from my own mistake is this: Make sure you paint swatches on your wall especially if you are looking for the perfect gray wall paint!
When you are choosing a gray wall, make sure you are aware of the undertones of those grays – determine whether it has a green, brown, blue or neutral tint. All of them have them!
To give you an idea of what I think is a true gray, check out my post on my FAVORITE gray paint – Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. It’s a warmer gray color, and has a deeper gray, but also as light as BM Gray Owl.
Who make Gray Owl Paint?
The Benjamin Moore line makes Gray Owl. If you wanted the specific number, it’s Gray Owl 2137-60 and you’ll also see it referred to as Gray Owl OC52.
The Benjamin Moore line is so hard to find in the midwest in my experience. Often, I will go and color match it at my local Home Depot with the Behr Marquee line. If you do this, make sure . you get swatches because the white in the base paint from brand to brand may differ in hues. So paint that test swatch. It is worth the extra $5 for the sample paint can!
Does BM Gray Owl look blue?
BM Gray Owl definitely has blue undertones without a doubt. I honestly think it’s a light, sky blue! If you have gray furniture or anything that compliments blue, this would be a great paint choice for your space.
Does Benjamin Moore Gray Owl look green?
In our little boy’s nursery that faces north, I cannot see any green undertones at all. I would say that Gray Owl has no green hue that I could see.
How does Benjamin Moore look in a dark room?
Gray Owl is classified as a light gray. If your room gets little light and you are using a lot of artificial light, it will definitely have a blue cast to it, but it does brighten up the room. On a sunny day, with the windows drawn, the walls are stunning.
Do BM Gray Owl and White Dove go with each other?
I would say YES! We have White Dove on our trim in our kid’s playroom, and I think that these two colors would pair well together. White Dove is a true white in my eyes.
What are some Benjamin Moore Gray Owl complementary colors?
There are so many colors that go with Gray Owl. Just remember that it has a cooler tone to it, so I tend to go with blues in this case. Here are some from Benjamin Moore that would really pair well with Gray Owl:
- Frostine
- Repose Gray
- Solitude
- Mindful Gray
- Kendall Charcoal
- Stunning
- Hale Navy
- Wrought Iron
What does Benjamin Moore Gray Owl look like in a nursery?
We did a photography session with my baby boy and part of it was in our nursery. Check out the video below to see the color from a videographer’s eyes!
Is there a Sherwin Williams or Behr equivalent to Gray Owl?
Honestly, each of the big brands have the most popular colors for the other brands in their system typically (this is for sure true for Home Depot). I can just tell them the color and they match it on the spot! I’m not sure if there’s a Sherwin Williams equivalent, but most stores do a really good job of matching the paint color to the original brand. I prefer Behr because it’s convenient. Their Marquee line is phenomenal – the paint is really easy to put on. If you can find a Benjamin Moore supplier, definitely choose them first before color matching!
What makes Benjamin Moore Gray Owl different than Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter?
While they are both on the cooler side, Revere Pewter leans towards the warmer side of cool.
I will say that I have another paint color in the main areas of our home, and they look drastically different during different parts of the day! It looks like I have different colors in each of those areas. Natural light is beautiful (especially for me as a photographer), but it can lend your walls to look drastically different from room to room especially with gray paint!
My Overall Review of Benjamin Moore Gray Owl
These images are from my real home and our nursery for our son. You can obviously tell I didn’t have time to clean and stage the messes 🙂
I would say that if you are looking for a neutral gray with no undertones, Gray Owl may not be the neutral paint color for you (seriously, check out my review of Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter). If I could do it all over again, I would definitely paint this nursery that color. We just didn’t want to do more work if this paint could work for the room (and it did).
Check out the video below for a quick tour of the bedroom to see what it really looks like!
As you are browsing for color inspiration, please don’t look at the swatches online because they look COMPLETELY different:
I hope this helps you as you start choosing the perfect gray for your space. Check out our nursery reveal to get a few more photos of Gray Owl in action! If you are looking for a neutral cream, this post is all about Benjamin Moore’s Simply Irresistible and what it looks like in our home.
Check Out My Other Paint Color Reviews
- Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter Review
- Benjamin Moore Best Cream Paint Color
- Benjamin Moore Antique Pearl (Lavender Paint Color)
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
Kathy says
after reading many, many posts about how great/neutral/gray BM Gray Owl was, i used it to paint my living room. i have a dark gray sofa. i couldn’t believe how blue my walls looked. i thought that maybe the previous color caused them to look so blue since i didn’t use primer. i’m so relieved to finally see someone post true pics that show just how blue Gray Owl really is. thank you so much!!
Jess says
I found that in eggshell it was an absolutely perfect gray time and time again but when I used it with a sheen in my bathroom it was blue.
Tracie says
In my experience, I have not found Gray Owl to lean towards blue. It my formal entry it is a true gray, however in my upstairs hallway, it appears to have a hint of green undertone.
That said, after 4 and a half years, I’m over gray. It’s time to call the painter since the days of gray as a neutral are ending.