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10 of the Very Best Slate Gray (& Blue!) Paint Colors for 2024

    Slate gray is equal parts soothing and moody. It’s an interesting way to add color that can still be quite neutral. Here we will see all of the best slate gray (and blue!) paint colors from Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, and more!

    All 10 of the slate blue and gray paint colors from the article over a slate background. Colors are Slate Tile, Dutch Tile Blue, Downing Slate, Adirondack Blue, Norwegian Blue, Charcoal Blue, Elephant Gray, Blue Spruce, Ashland Slate, and Charcoal Slate.

    Undertones and LRV of Each Slate Paint Color

    Each and every one of these colors will have a blue undertone, because that’s just the nature of these slate and shale colors. I specifically chose all gray blues because I feel like that’s the look.

    Because everything is on a sliding scale, let’s take a quick look at the secondary undertones of each color:

    Slate Gray Blue colors arranged by undertone from more green to more purple. Dutch Tile Blue, Norwegian Blue, Blue Spruce, Slate Tile, Adirondack Blue, Charcoal Slate, Charcoal Blue, Elephant Gray, Downing Slate, Ashland Slate over a background of the blue area on the color wheel.

    Of course the undertones may be more or less obvious depending on how saturated the color is. Typically the more gray a color is, the less predictable the undertone will be, at least in my experience.

    Graphic of a color wheel with a hand drawn circle of gray in the middle, labelled "the gray zone."

    The gray zone is where weird things happen, so it’s no surprise that a lot of these slate gray colors are chameleons!

    Here they are sorted from green-leaning to purple-leaning over a neutral gray background:

    Slate Gray Blue colors arranged by undertone from more green to more purple. Dutch Tile Blue, Norwegian Blue, Blue Spruce, Slate Tile, Adirondack Blue, Charcoal Slate, Charcoal Blue, Elephant Gray, Downing Slate, Ashland Slate over a background of gray stone.

    I find the underlying color much easier to see like this.

    Now let’s talk LRV!

    The LRV of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

    In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.

    I usually say that truly dark paint colors have an LRV around 10 or less. However a dark slate color will have a slightly higher LRV because under 10 would read more “charcoal” than “slate.”

    Slate Paint colors arranged from lightest to darkest over a slate background. All 10 of the slate blue and gray paint colors from the article over a soft white background. Colors are Dutch Tile Blue, Norwegian Blue, Adirondack Blue, Downing Slate, Charcoal Blue, Elephant Gray, Blue Spruce, Ashland Slate, Slate Tile, and Charcoal Slate. LRVs are marked beside each color where 100 is white and 0 is black.

    I chose all of these colors individually, so you can see that the perfect slate gray color will probably have an LRV somewhere from 15 to 25. That’s how these fell naturally.

    I probably wouldn’t choose a color with a higher LRV than 40. That is approaching “dusty blue” rather than slate. (Even Dutch Tile Blue is pushing it!)

    My Favorite Slate Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams

    Let me start by saying that there was really only room on this list for 3 colors from each brand, so of course there are many gray blues from Sherwin Williams that serve “slate.”

    These are just the most quintessential “slate” colors, in my opinion:

    Sherwin Williams Slate Tile (SW 7624)

    Slate Tile is a nice medium to dark slate color with a strong blue undertone.

    Swatch of Sherwin Williams Slate Tile below a photo of that color on the trim of a cream house.
    Photo credit: @powell_victorian_revival

    Slate Tile has an LRV of 15, so it is one of the darkest colors on this list. It is also one of the more green slate colors, but it doesn’t typically have a teal undertone. (It can though!)

    Here it is on an exterior with Sherwin Williams Alabaster on some of the trim and Colonial Revival Gray as the lighter blue gray on the siding.

    I do think the saturation is cranked up a bit on this photo, so expect Slate Tile to look a touch more subdued in real life.

    Sherwin Williams Dutch Tile Blue (SW 0031)

    SW Dutch Tile Blue is the lightest color on this list by far, and it’s also the most green-leaning. I had to include it though because I saw this kitchen and I thought it was such a slate slay:

    Swatch of Sherwin Williams Dutch Tile Blue below a photo of that color on kitchen cabinets.
    Photo credit: @spray_wizards_painting

    It actually reminded me that I was going to write this post in the first place, so of course it needs a spot!

    The LRV of Dutch Tile Blue is 39.

    In this kitchen, Dutch Tile Blue doesn’t look green in any of the photos, but I would say it looks like a gray blue-green about 50% of the time. That doesn’t really bother me in a slate color, and it is gorgeous 100% of the time!

    Sherwin Williams Downing Slate (SW 2819)

    Not to be confused with the greige color Downing Stone, Downing Slate is on the other end of the blue scale by the more purple-leaning gray blues. This one is a true chameleon however!

    Swatch of Sherwin Williams Downing Slate below that color on lockers.

    Downing Slate can range in appearance from the frosty skin of a blueberry to the murky gray-green of the sea. It most often looks like the picture I chose for the swatch.

    The LRV of Downing Slate is 21, so it is right in the middle of most of these colors in terms of lightness/darkness.

    If you would like a darker and more blue version of this, you might like Benjamin Moore Hale Navy. I find the undertone on the blue end to be quite similar.

    The Best Slate Gray Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore

    For 3 of the 4 darkest colors on the list, I happened to choose Benjamin Moore! Luckily they are nicely spaced in terms of undertone.

    Please note that each paint brand measures LRV differently, so an LRV of 16 in Benjamin Moore isn’t a 16 in Sherwin Williams. Use this number as an approximation.

    Benjamin Moore Ashland Slate (1608)

    Ashland Slate is the closest that any of these gray blues get to the purple end of the color wheel, but it’s also one of the most gray colors on this list.

    Benjamin Moore Ashland Slate swatch below a photo of that color on kitchen cabinets.

    Probably because it is so gray, Ashland Slate is one of the colors on this list with the most varied appearance. It can look anywhere from a plain mid-toned gray, to a saturated blue charcoal, and even almost black (in artificial light).

    The LRV of Ashland Slate is 16.1. (According to Benjamin Moore.)

    If you like this color, you will probably also like Sherwin Williams Cyberspace.

    Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate (HC-178 or PM-8)

    Charcoal Slate is the darkest and most gray of all the slate paint colors on this list.

    Swatch of Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate below a photo of thick wet paint.

    Charcoal Slate reads anywhere from true charcoal to a saturated blue gray with a definite purple undertone. It is more of a black slate color than it is a medium gray-blue shale color.

    Charcoal Slate has an LRV of 14.51.

    If you like the sound of this one, you might also like Benjamin Moore Soot.

    Benjamin Moore Blue Spruce (1637)

    Blue Spruce is one of the most teal-leaning Slate colors on this list.

    Swatch of Benjamin Moore Blue Spruce below a photo of the color on a wall in an office.

    It ranges in appearance from something like the photo to either a little more blue or a little more green. (Quite like an actual blue spruce!)

    The LRV of Blue Spruce is 16.81.

    Interested? You will probably also like Sherwin Williams Gray’s Harbor.

    Slate Gray Blue Paint Colors from Behr & Valspar

    For someone looking to get their paint at Home Depot or Lowe’s, you have options!

    Behr Adirondack Blue (N480-5)

    Adirondack Blue ranges in appearance from a perfect mid-toned gray blue, to something a little bit more hazy.

    Swatch of Behr Adirondack Blue below a photo of a blue door in a white house

    This is a beautiful smoky slate color that I think has all the tones you would expect.

    The LRV of Adirondack Blue is 23.

    Behr Norwegian Blue (N470-5)

    Norwegian Blue and Adirondack Blue are quite similar, but Norwegian Blue has more of a green undertone.

    Swatch of Behr Norwegian Blue below a photo of the color on a door.

    Norwegian Blue is almost like a very blue sage color. It reminds me a lot of this kind of stone:

    Swatch of Behr Norwegian Blue below a photo of green slate rocks

    For something similar that is a little more saturated and blue, try Sherwin Williams Foggy Day.

    The LRV of Norwegian Blue is 23, and it is the second lightest color on this list.

    Behr Charcoal Blue (N490-5)

    Behr Charcoal Blue is one of the most saturated slate colors on this list, so it’s a great choice if you want something that is equal parts blue and gray.

    Swatch of Behr Charcoal Blue below a photo of a home exterior in the same color.

    I wouldn’t say that Charcoal Blue looks purple, but it definitely leans more purple than the greener slate colors like Norwegian Blue.

    This is another color that I think is a great sort of “stereotypical” slate.

    Don’t confuse this with Sherwin Williams Charcoal Blue however! That color is much darker and less gray.

    Behr Charcoal Blue on half of a living room wall and Sherwin Williams Charcoal Blue on the other half behind a creamy beige sofa.

    The LRV of Behr Charcoal Gray is 19.

    Valspar Elephant Gray (4006-2A)

    It’s absolutely not fair, but I just squeezed in one single lonely color from Valspar for this list. Sometimes, I just need to stop myself!

    Elephant Gray is an oddly-named slate color that can range in appearance from the picture here, to a much lighter smoky gray-blue.

    Swatch of Valspar Elephant Gray below a photo of that color on a wall beside wood paneling.

    I’ll be honest and say that this color is pretty underused, but I don’t think it would ever have a greenish undertone.

    The LRV of Elephant Gray is 18.9.

    Here is another look at all of these gorgeous slate colors:

    All 10 of the slate blue and gray paint colors from the article over a slate background. Colors are Slate Tile, Dutch Tile Blue, Downing Slate, Adirondack Blue, Norwegian Blue, Charcoal Blue, Elephant Gray, Blue Spruce, Ashland Slate, and Charcoal Slate.

    Thank you so much for reading until the end! That really helps my blog. I hope that you found the perfect slate gray color for your next project, but if not, you might like these other ideas:

    Benjamin Moore Blue Heather in a color palette with Soot, Simply White, and Smoke Embers over a background of a dark vein running through blue marble.
    Paint drop of Homburg Gray over a living room with a mount on one wall and simple victorian Inspired furniture
    Color palette for Sherwin Williams Peppercorn features popular pairings including Accessible Beige, Agreeable Gray, Light French Gray, and Pure White.