Logan Mcfadden
The Best Green, Gray & BLUE Blend Paint Colour: SW Sea Salt Other than gray and greige, Sea Salt and other beachy-themed paint colours seem to be the most popular with today’s homeowners.
Well, like a good gray or greige, they can suit MANY spaces and styles – everything from beach-themed bathrooms to cosy cottages! I looked at it in north and south-facing rooms – morning, noon and night, so I could get a better idea for how it works and then share that info with you.
By the time I was done, my brain was swimming with the many ways Sea Salt changed throughout the day. So, the photos of these rooms are just examples of what you might be able to expect from a colour like Sea Salt in a variety of situations – it ain’t gospel, but it might be as close as we’ll get…just call me Saint Kylie.
Sea Salt has an LRV of 64, which means it can help a room feel lighter and brighter as it will reflect artificial and natural light back into the space, but it’s not SO light that it will save a dark room or OVERLY wash out in a reasonably well-lit one. That’s right, the world’s favourite green-gray paint colour is actually a flasher – and it flashes blue, leaving green in the dust.
In a well-lit room with a few different exposures (common in open concepts), Sea Salt will likely vary itself on a wall-to-wall basis throughout the day. Sometimes flashing slightly more green, other times a bit bluer, all the while having the gray base to calm it down.
In a room with a lot of direct natural light, you can expect Sea Salt to wash out a bit (due to its slightly higher LRV) without losing itself entirely. When there is very little natural light and a lot of shadows, you can expect this colour to look a bit more muted.
I just couldn’t get Sea Salt to completely lose the green, no matter how much those shadows wanted to interfere. No matter what exposure/room I was in, if it leaned a bit to the gray side with a cool blue cast, the green was always winking at me behind the scenes (don’t tell its wife) – but it DEFINITELY becomes passive. If you want a bit more colour and a touch more BLUE, check out Sherwin Williams Rainwashed.
Obviously, there’s A LOT to consider when choosing a paint colour – LRV, exposure, personal tastes and the needs of your home. If you have a north-facing room that’s bright and you don’t use many artificial lights, Sea Salt may appear slightly bluer. Once you add interior lighting (as long as it’s not those stark harsh white bulbs) the green may come back and balance things out again.
If you have a south-facing room , the green may be more apparent as the warm sun rays react to the cool tones of Sea Salt.
