What color was it? Some grays do indeed have lavender tones.

With a lot of paint colors you can’t see the undertone until you paint a large area. That’s probably why you thought the gray you picked was good, even if you tested a small area on the wall, but then when you painted the whole room you saw the lavender undertone.

I used to have a lot of problems choosing paint, but I figured out a few tricks that work for me. Here’s an example;

I wanted a very light gray in my master bedroom. I have a rug in there that has a lot of muted colors in it, and one of my favorite colors is a very very light green/gray. So I decided that I wanted a very light gray that had a slight green undertone. So I got out my Sherwin-Williams fan deck and went to the gray sections anywhere from card number 211 through card number 217, and then 220 to 225 and 233 through 244. Since I knew I wanted a slight green undertone I looked at the bottom of each card where the darkest color is. I found a greenish gray color at the bottom of card number 239 that matched the bit in the rug. And then I followed the card up to the top where the lightest colors are, and found Sherwin-Williams Silverpoint. The dark color at the bottom tells you what the undertone is. If you just pull the card out of the display case at the Sherwin-Williams store it looks like a light gray. You can’t really see the undertone. But when you bring the sample home and you paint it over a really large area of your walls, then you can see the undertone. It doesn’t work if you only paint a little tiny sample bit on your wall.

You can repeat my example, by picking out something that’s in your room that you really like, such as a piece of art, and decide what color it is that you like in that item. Then pick out a light or medium gray that has an undertone that compliments the color you like. Hopefully my explanation isn’t too confusing.

Gray is very hard. There is an undertone to all grays whether it's purple, blue, green, brown.... You really have to do your research on grays. Mindful Gray, Agreeable Gray, Repose Gray, Revere Pewter, Gray Owl... Those are a few of my favorite grays. You really have to get samples & try different paints on your walls. Your lighting will play a role as well.