Sherwin Williams City Loft is a gorgeous warm paint color that has really increased in popularity. Today we are going to go into all the details of why it’s so popular!
Gray is still the most popular neutral color but shifting a little to the warmer side of things. Greige has been king for a few years now as well as all things light and airy.
City Loft fits right in with that feeling and today I am going to tell you why.
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Sherwin Williams City Loft: Is it gray, greige, or beige?
City Loft is a gray paint color that leans towards greige, it doesn’t have green undertones though which would make it a greige.
It definitely isn’t beige. It sits firmly on the side of gray but a very warm gray.
City Loft Undertones
Undertones are what make a color look the way it does. City Loft is purple with a touch of pink.
Now most of the time you aren’t going to see these undertones unless you are very particular about pink and purple. I highly recommend getting a sample and testing it to see if the undertones bother you or not.
City Loft LRV
LRV stands for Light Reflective Value. It’s a scale from 0-100 that measures the amount of light a paint color reflects. Zero is the darkest black and 100 is the brightest white.
The LRV of City Loft is 70 which makes it a bright paint color. Typically anything higher than 60/65 is considered bright. If you want to brighten a dark room City Loft will do so nicely.
How Light Affects Sherwin Williams City Loft
Different lighting can make undertones more subdued or stand out. Here are some general rules on natural light:
- North-facing rooms have a light that tends to be a little cooler in nature and will come off slightly blue. Light colors will be a bit more muted or washed out while darker colors will be stunning.
- East-facing rooms will have brighter light in the morning and less in the evenings. The evening light will be a bit cooler. In the morning with sunrise, the bright sun will be warm. Warm color palettes are great for these spaces because they will help balance the cool feel of the evenings.
- South-facing rooms have consistent warm light throughout the day. The light really shows off the colors, dark will be very bright, and light colors will shine. Both warm and cool color palettes look good in a south-facing room.
- West-facing rooms have warm light in the evening and cooler light in the morning. Basically, it’s the opposite of east-facing.
City Loft is a warm color so when you have it in a north-facing room it warms up that cool northern light. You would think that in a south-facing room, it would be too warm but it’s actually not. It’s just a gorgeous warm paint color that you can’t go wrong with.
How to know if a paint color is right for you?
The best way to judge if a color is good for you then you will want to put a swatch on the wall and look at it over a few days. Look at it in different lights and decide if you really like it.
You can do this by getting a sample from the paint store and using a brush to put it up on the walls, but then you are left with a can that you can’t do anything with. Those samples are used with poor quality paint and aren’t meant for use on your walls permanently.
I recommend going with Samplize. They are a company that will send you a 12X12 peel and stick swatch of a paint color that you can stick to the wall. When you are done just peel it off and throw it away.
It’s easy and much less messy!
Sherwin Williams City Loft Whole Home Color Palette
Where can I use City Loft?
Because it’s neutral this color works wonderfully in any room of the home.Here are some of my favorite places:
- exterior
- cabinets
- walls
- shiplap
- ceilings when the walls are painted the same color
Now let’s look at some real life examples of City Loft in homes.
City Loft in a Living Room
As you can see City Loft is a gorgeous warm gray. It pairs really well with other grays but also with cool blues like those in the painting on the wall.
City Loft on the Exterior
When you use a paint color on the exterior it is about 10 times brighter than if you used it on the interior. City Loft has a good amount of color to it so it’s a great choice for the exterior of the home.
In this photo it is paired with Dorian Gray on the trim. It looks fabulous with the brick color too.
City Loft on Kitchen Cabinets
Using City Loft on cabinetry is a great idea for those who want a light and bright kitchen but don’t want white. It’s adds a softness to the space where there are a lot of hard, cold features.
City Loft in a Bedroom
City Loft is great in a bedroom because it lets your bedding and accessories be the star of the show. Here you can see how nicely it looks with the blond hardwoods and cool tones in the pillows and artwork.
What colors go well with City Loft?
City Loft pairs really well with most other paint colors. We have seen in the photos how well it goes with blue-greens and blue-grays. It also looks fabulous with darker warm grays and greiges.
I also love it with black!
What is the best white trim color to go with City Loft?
My favorite white to pair with City Loft is Sherwin Williams Pure White. It’s a gorgeous warm white that will blend seamlessly.
Other great choices are Extra White and Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
What colors are similar to Sherwin Williams City Loft?
I love putting colors side by side and looking at the similarities and differences.
City Loft vs. Aesthetic White
These colors are both light and bright and could be considered off-whites. But Aesthetic white is definitely warmer than City Loft. It has a lot of beige in it whereas City Loft does not.
City Loft vs. Drift of Mist
Both of these colors are light and bright but when you put them side by side you can see Drift of Mist has a healthy dose of green undertones whereas City Loft does not.
City Loft vs. Agreeable Gray
City Loft and Agreeable Gray are both warm gray paint colors but they are very different. Agreeable Gray has some green undertones which makes it more of a greige. It’s also darker with an LRV of 60. Remember City Loft sits at 70.
City Loft vs. Egret White
These two colors are nearly identical! They both have the same LRV and undertones. The big difference is City Loft has a touch more violet then Egret White. That’s it!
City Loft vs. Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
Classic Gray is a bit brighter than City Loft with an LRV of 73.67 but it also has some green undertones. City Loft does not.
Classic Gray is a greige paint color that I adore. I used it in my basement family room and I truly love the color. But if you aren’t a fan of green then City Loft might be a better choice for you.
City Loft vs. Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist
Both of these gorgeous colors have the same undertones. The big difference is Balboa Mist is a tad darker. Its LRV is 65.53 while City Loft sits at 70. Otherwise, they are really quite similar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is City Loft a good color for the exterior of the home?
It’s a fabulous color for the exterior of the home because it isn’t a true white. White colors can become really stark on the exterior of the home but because City Loft has some color it comes off as more of a soft white.
Is City Loft a good color for kitchen cabinets?
It’s a great color for cabinets! If you aren’t a fan of an all white kitchen but want something light and painted, not wood, give City Loft a try.
Is City Loft gray or beige?
City Loft is a gray, not a beige.
Sherwin Williams City Loft Recap
We have gone over a lot of information today so let’s do a little recap of the pertinent points:
- LRV of 70
- violet and pink undertones
- is a gray color, not greige
- is warm toned
- good to use anywhere in your home
- pairs well with blue/greens, blue/grays, dark greige, and black
Other Light Greige Paint Colors You Might Like:
- Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
- Sherwin Williams Worldly Gray
- Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray
- Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
As a licensed Real Estate Agent and an avid home decorator, I strive to give my clients the very best I can when it comes to staging, selling, and decorating their homes. I have lots of experience with paint color choices and love to DIY my home so I can have everything just the way I want it. I share my ideas and projects with the world in the hopes that I can help others have their homes just the way they want as well.