Mindful Gray: Top Rated Gray by Sherwin Williams

By Michael Joseph | 02/28/2022 |

Mindful gray featured image with background walls painted

Gray is the perfect color for any room. It has a calming effect and can be used in any space, from the living room to the bedroom to the dog house.

In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into one of Sherwin Williams most popular paint colors: Mindful Gray.

Here’s what this article covers:

What is the exact color profile Mindful Gray (SW 7016)?
Is Mindful Gray warm or cool?
Coordinating colors with mindful gray
What the LRV of Mindful Gray is (and why this matters)
Mindful Gray vs. Agreeable Gray comparison
Mindful Gray vs. Repose Gray comparison
15 Real examples of Mindful Gray used on a project

So sit back, relax and let’s explore this awesome Gray color that’s often recommended!

What is the exact color profile Mindful Gray (SW 7016)?

Mindful Grey is a light-medium gray with warm undertones that leans heavily towards a “greige”.

As with any neutral color, Mindful Gray is incredibly versatile and looks great almost anywhere including the walls, trim, cabinets, as an accent or even your entire exterior.

One thing to keep in mind is that mindful gray may bounce some light around a space, depending on the circumstances.

Mindful Gray Paint Can with Label and codes

Is Mindful Gray warm or cool?

As mentioned, Mindful Gray is warm paint color. Although some “greige” paint colors can show a lot or blues or purples, Mindful Gray is about as neutral as you can get. It has very subtle green undertones that may show up depending on the lighting, but overall, Mindful Gray is a “true gray” to most peoples standards.

LRV of Mindful Gray by Sherwin Williams

The Light Reflectance Value, or LRV, of mindful gray, is 48 which makes the color a bit darker than some other popular neutral colors.

What is LRV?

LRV is a measure of light reflectance. The higher the LRV, the lighter the paint color – so white has an LRV of 100 and black is 0.

With this is mind, Mindful Gray is that perfect balance of gray that sits right in the middle.

Is Mindful Gray a greige?

Mindful Gray is a near perfect “greige” color with a gorgeous mix of warm undertones that is about is about as neutral as it gets. There are no strong undertones whatsoever like mauve, peach or green as you often see with similar colors.

What are the Undertones of Mindful Gray SW 7016?

The hue of mindful gray is a warm gray with some green and taupe undertones.

Coordinating Colors with Mindful Gray

Baby Room With Mindful Gray Wainscoting and White Walls and Ceiling. Source: Forever 6 Acres

So what colors go great with Mindful Gray?

Well, most colors go great with Mindful Gray, but here are some of our favorite coordinating colors:

Snowbound – SW 7004 – white
Naval SW 6244
Pearly White SW 7009
Peppercorn SW 7674
Gauntlet Gray SW 7019

The easiest way to figure out the best colors for your project is by scheduling a color consult with a paint expert.

Office with Mindful Gray and White. Source: Sort Clean

When you work with someone who works with color every day, they’ll be able to guide you in the right direction based on the elements around your house and style preferences so working with a color consultant can save you a lot of headache and potentially help prevent choosing the wrong color.

What accents goes with Mindful Gray?

A popular accent is pairing with Gauntlet Gray as a second color and white as an accent:

Mindful Gray Siding and Gauntlet Gray Shutters. Source: Amber H

When you pair these two colors together, you get beautiful contrasting colors as seen above.

Mindful Gray vs. Agreeable Gray

One of the most popular Sherwin Williams Grays is Agreeable Gray – so how does Mindful Gray compare?

Mindful Gray is definitely a bit darker and has some of those green undertones that tends to pop up depending on the lighting or where it’s located on the house.

Agreeable gray has a bit more of the taupe undertones that show through so it will look a little more brownish grey.

Overall, they’re both great colors when you are looking for a gray – it just really depends on your preference.

Mindful Gray vs. Repose Gray

Another popular gray by Sherwin Williams is Repose Gray, so how does it compare to Mindful Gray?

Gauntlet Gray Vs. Repose Gray Walls. Source: Jenna Kate at Home

Let’s take a look.

Repose Gray is much lighter than Mindful Gray with an LRV of 60 compared to 48.

If you compare the two from a color strip, the difference is quite apparent:

Sheriwn Williams Color Palette with Repose and Mindful Gray

Repose Gray has slight undertones of blue and violet – but very subtle.

Whereas repose gray has some green and taupe undertones to give its beautiful color.

Both of these are colors are great and a classic you can’t go wrong with – so it really just depends which on you like the most and it will look great!

15 Real Examples of Mindful Gray Used On a Project

Now the question, is Mindful Gray the right paint color for your project? Well here are real life examples of the gray being used on projects across the U.S.:

Cabinets

Painting cabinets takes a lot of skill to produce a great result, otherwise; you could be left with brush strokes on the cabinets (if they don’t spray) or just a mess in general if the painter is inexperienced with cabinets (they all claim they can do this work).

Hardware can get lost, dust can be spread throughout your house and so many other things can go wrong when painting cabinets so it’s important you find a cabinet painter who really knows what they’re doing.

That said, what do you think of these kitchen cabinets that are painted in Mindful Gray?

Mindful Gray Painted Cabinets with Wood Floors and Marble Island. Source: Shaded Feather

Or on these awesome bathroom cabinets:

Bathroom Cabinets Painted Mindful Gray. Source: Shaded Feather

And here’s what it looks like on bathroom cabinets and walls:

Bathroom Cabinets and Walls painted Mindful Gray. Source: E. Lynn Design

And check out how this kitchen turned out:

Kitchen Cabinets Painted Mindful Gray with Black / white Accent. Source: NF Interior Design

Pretty nice, huh?

We think so and if you need help with deciding if this is the right color for your cabinets, schedule a color consult with someone on our team.

Dining Room

Of course, Mindful gray also looks great in dining rooms like the image below:

Living Room

Or your living room:

Ceiling beams painted Mindful Gray. Source: Design Idaho

Basement Walls

Stairway Walls

Mindful Gray Walls in Stairway. Source: Realtor Carrie

Bathroom

How nice is this bathroom with the white finishes?

Bedrooms

Mindful Gray on Walls with Gauntlet Gray fireplace. Source: Eric’s Creekside Cottage

Exteriors

Using Mindful Gray on the exterior siding also looks incredible when colors are coordinated properly.

What do you think of this exterior with a Tricorn Black front door by Sherwin Williams?

Mindful Gray Exterior Siding with Tricorn Black Front Door. Source: Jessica Schmidt

Here’s how it looks with white trim and a red front door:

Mindful Gray Exterior with White Trim and Red Door. Source: Addicted 2 Decorating

And here’s a great example of a brick staining project where the brick is Mindful Gray, trim is pure white and black:

Brick Stained Mindful Gray, White Trim & Black Trim. Source: Barker Building

Doesn’t the brick look incredible? Love the way this project turned out.

And check out how Mindful Gray looks with Cedar:

Mindful Gray exterior with Cedar Front Porch Cover. Source: Life Among The Cedars

When you use this gray against cedar and white trim like this, the dimension is mesmerizing!

Here’s is what an entire exterior looks like:

Mindful Gray (top) and Gauntlet Gray (bottom) with White Trim. Source: Life Among The Cedars

Using a mid-tone gray on the outside of your house is an excellent alternative. It will give the appearance of a lighter grey paint color without being too soft.

Mindful Gray is a popular choice for exteriors because it’s a versatile color that can be used in a variety of ways.

Mindful Grays Trim Color

We’re a bit obsessed with mindful gray, so we want to make sure we match it with an equally excellent trim color. White is the most popular trim and baseboard color. However, not all white paint colors are created equal.

When it comes to whites with Sherwin Williams, here are our favorites:

Where to avoid using Mindful Gray

Quite frankly, we haven’t found a setting where Mindful Gray doesn’t look great.

You can truly appreciate how gorgeous this paint color is when you consider that it has several exposures or is best suited for warm light.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been unsure about whether or not Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray is appropriate for you, then hopefully this article made your decision a bit easier.

If you still need help with colors, check out our color consulting service.

Or if you need painters for your project, just start a project here (it’s free)

Let us know any of your thoughts in the comments!

Posted in Paint