'Brown and gray are hues that we often see paired beautifully together in a space. The answer to pairing these together lies in their undertones. A warm gray will read more taupe and will work nicely with browns. However, a cooler gray will read blue and can work in a space with darker shades of brown.
Do grey and brown go together? Of course, they do! It's one of the classic combos.
Brown furniture is renowned to work well with white room ideas, but for an enhanced feeling of warmth, opt for a shade such as cream, instead; perfect for neutral room ideas.
Think warm golden yellow, soft medium blues, restful grayish-greens, creamy tans or soothing greys. The Inside co-founder, Danielle suggests looking through Benjamin Moore's Historical Colors palate for inspiration and ideas. The key is to think “soft” – you don't want your walls to pop so much as envelope you.
When grey and brown are combined, they're anything but ordinary. This flexible color palette adapts to even the most unique of personal styles, making it a foolproof choice. With two neutrals that can create any space you imagine, you have endless options for your grey and brown living room project.
Brighten up a dark brown couch.
First, paint walls a pale neutral, then choose artwork, accessories, and accent furniture in lighter or colorful hues to balance the darkness of the furniture. Light gray walls, white trim, and cream-colored accents keep the couch from feeling too heavy.
Brown Combined With Green
The complementary color of warm brown with a red undertone is green, which makes green one of the best colors that go with dark brown furniture.
Seriously — brown, no matter the shade, is considered a neutral, meaning it not only pairs well with other neutrals and earth tones, such as black, cream, white, and olive green, but works to balance out brighter statement colors, too.
Our 4 most popular warm greys are: Pebble Shore, Perfectly Taupe, Misty Mountain and Thimble Case. Team warm greys with White Cotton on the skirting boards, doors and window frames or paint the walls and woodwork in the same grey for a seamless modern look.
A good combination would be to pair a softer gray with either a richer tan or a darker brown. Also, it's okay to pair two lighter shades as long as there is enough contrast–and if your brown and gray are similar in color, you can still create contrast with a texture.
One of the best things about adding greige to a room is that it complements both warm tones of brown and lighter tones of white, gray, and black. Here, the greige walls play up the white elements in the room as well as the brown and tan of the rug and chairs.
This is proof that Classic Gray works well with both gray and brown – and that they can actually have a place together in the same room.
Jewel Blues, Bright Teals, and Greens
Pick statement pieces, such as blue accent chairs, to go in a brown room or place bright teal accents on brown furniture. Again, when choosing bolder and brighter colors to complement brown, you want to incorporate elements of white and beige to maintain an open feel.
Does GREY paint go with brown cabinets? Yes, brown cabinets look great with grey paint and the first fantastic technique to enhance the beauty of your kitchen is to paint the walls grey.
One way to style your dark wood furniture is to contrast it with light colours. This doesn't have to be a stark black-and-white contrast, but making use of lighter-coloured neutrals is a good way to go. Warm neutrals such as soft greys, stone and beige variants will pair very nicely with dark wood.
Silver is another metallic that pairs well with brown, especially if you're looking to create a modern look.
'The rule of thumb being match cool greys with other "chill" colours such as blue, pale greens and cool white. And match darker grey tones with warm tones such as burnt orange, mustard, and teal.' We asked interior stylists and design experts to share their tips on the best colours that go with grey.
Darker shades of brown wooden cabinets oftentimes look better with cooler-toned neutrals. These neutrals can include a lavender-toned grey, different shades of blue, sage green, dark blue-grey, or even greige (grey and beige).
Warm colors: Red, yellow, orange, gold, beige, creamy neutrals, brown, tan. Cool colors: Blue, dark green, gray, slate, deep purple.
Every light shade of blue works with all shades of brown (including dark chocolate brown). And all light browns go well with every shade of blue.
Pick a Warm Gray
“Warm grays are my go-to neutral to pair with rich brown furnishings," says designer Allison Knizek, who is particularly drawn to Benjamin Moore London Fog. "It's like a soft blanket of gray haze, but rather than having a black base, it possesses a subtle, warm undertone," she adds.
Stick to the dark side
Wood does not have to contrast with grey. This dining space shows how choosing timber in a similarly deep tone brings a beautifully sophisticated feel to a grey scheme.
Along with mid-century-inspired curved furniture, the brown tones of this period are also poised to make a major comeback in 2023. This natural color—particularly its darker varieties—creates a sense of earthy stability, says Claire Druga, an interior designer based in New York City.