sounds like the current color is tinting or contaminating the new color.

I think I'd use Kilz or something similar to cover the bright paint.

edited to add:

Heck, I forgot what forum I was reading!

Post on the Paint Forum; lots of very knowledgeable people over there.

Gray can easily turn purple depending on light. At my oldest son's wedding Mother of Bride was wearing a gray gown with dyed gray heels (shoes were the white dye-able kind). Inside the church the shoes were the gray of her dress; outside for formal photos they were purple!

Maybe take a look at SW Accessible Beige--It is a lovely greige, and I haven't seen it go "wrong" yet :)

"Also willing to ditch the rug." Oh wow. Maybe ditch it my way! Would love to see a full picture. And yes, the painting forum is good advise.

Go to the paint store and ask to see the formula for the paint. Often gray paint has a touch of maroon in it to keep it from reading "green". You may be able to get a test without the maroon and see if you like that better.

Balboa Mist will have a purple undertone... I wouldn't even bother with it, if you're detecting that already.

I'm afraid you're going to have to do some sampling because grays are just too unpredictable.

This Video 50 shades of gray (paint colors) looks like it could be helpful. She recommends starting with Stonington Gray as the most neutral, or true gray, and comparing the other grays to that to see which way they might lean.

I don't really want a pure gray but rather a greige. I have Stonington Gray and Gray Owl from another room, and it's too gray for my taste. Edgecombe Gray reads a bit greenish, something I really want to avoid.

To complicate matters, this morning, both Agreeable Gray and Balboa Mist look good.Does anybody know which one of the two leans more towards the red/orange/purple side?

(As far as the rug, I only meant "ditching" it from one room to the next, sorry)

I can't help you with your current colors but as mentioned above, accessible beige is really a nice greige. In my house it didn't have obvious undertones and it was crisp and not muddy.

RELAX - pigments dry at different rates and then the paint may appear dry but it can take days for it to settle down and for the nuances of the color to be apparent. Also your eyes need to adjust. Give it a week and then decide.

we love BM edgecomb grey at 75%. it is more of a greige, with warm tones. I felt at 100% it was slightly too dark for us (but it depends on your lighting too).

another color we love is a kelly moore called Bone. it is a very light greyish warm white that goes well with swiss coffee also.

Definitely try Accessible Beige. We have it throughout our home and love it. It's a true greige (at least in our lighting) that shifts hue slightly at various times of day, and each little nuanced change is lovely.

Will the ceiling remain turquoise? I think that is definitely influencing how you see the colors.

No, I am thinking either white or a very, very light blue ceiling (or maybe Healing Aloe). I have looked at Accessible Beige and that is too beige. Edgecombe Grey seems greenish.

SW Sedate Gray may work, but I think I really need to go over at least some of the walls and ceiling with primer.