When choosing which color to paint your living room walls, gray is a wonderful choice. It comes in many shades, from light to dark, and provides a versatile palette for various styles and decor. We’ve collected photos of 21 living room featuring gray walls. Check these out for all the inspiration you need to design your perfect gray-walled living room!
We sometimes include affiliate links and curated AI content to highlight top design styles.
1. Natural and Neutral
Pairing gray walls with gray furniture is a natural choice. This living room incorporates elements of nature with the choice of wood accents and lots of plants. The brown and green touches brighten the dark gray space while still maintaining an overall neutral palette.
2. On the Light Side
This living room with light gray walls also features a neutral palette that’s anything but bland. The light wood and the choice of baskets as wall decor bring a homey touch to the room. And the patterns in the black and white pillows, ottoman, and chair offer the intricate details to tie it all together.
3. Brighten Up
Including bright accents will liven up even the darkest living room. Bright yellows, blues, and reds provide the perfect balance to dark gray. And the texture in the dark gray wall adds even more interest to the room.
Click here for this hand-knitted cotton ottoman pouf on Amazon.
4. Floral Accents
Pinks and florals pair wonderfully with gray. Dress up a gray living room by filling one wall with floral wallpaper or a large piece of artwork in your favorite style. You can create a similar look without commitment with a removable wall decal.
Click here for this peel and stick peony wall decal on Amazon.
5. One Wall Only
You don’t have to paint all your walls the same. This living room maintains a bright, airy space by only painting one accent wall gray while leaving the others white.
6. Brick Wall
Wall color isn’t just about paint. Here, light gray brick provides texture, interest, and personality to an otherwise basic space. If you don’t want to install actual brick, wallpaper with a 3D effect can achieve a similar result.
Click here for this faux brick wallpaper on Amazon.
7. All Gray
This room is all about the gray. But by choosing each item–the walls, floor, furniture, rug–in a slightly different shade, nothing blends together, and the pink pillows offer the right touch of color.
Click here for this pink corduroy pillowcase on Amazon.
8. Bright and Dark
Dark gray walls provide the perfect backdrop to bright, bold furniture. This lovely turquoise couch wouldn’t make the same statement against lighter walls. Snazzy artwork draws the eye amidst a dark gray backdrop.
Click here for this velvet sofa slipcover on Amazon.
9. Set the Right Tone
This room maintains a nice balance between light and dark by featuring medium gray walls, light beige couches, and a dark wood floor. Dark gray accent pillows and dark gray features in the artwork tie the look together.
10. Deliciously Elegant
Red velvet isn’t just bold; it can provide a luscious accent piece to your room. If your furniture tastes trend toward formal and elegant, dark gray living room walls are the perfect color pairing with dark red furniture. Gray throw pillows and decor like the flower pot will coordinate the room.
Click here for this tufted velvet loveseat on Amazon.
11. Brick Backdrop
Painting this brick wall light gray provides the perfect backdrop for displaying artwork and furniture in warm shades of russets and browns. This room has smoothly blended textures from wall and flooring and details within the artwork and decor. Light gray brick allows the natural, warm colors to accentuate the room.
12. Sleek Shiplap
Shiplap is another wonderful way to feature dark gray in your living room. The light furniture and light gray flooring offer the right balance to brighten the dark walls. Dark gray accent pieces such as artwork and centerpiece tie the look together.
13. Cozy Up to Gray
Wood paneling in your living room won’t seem dated if you opt to paint it a trendy color like this steel gray. The raw wood ceiling offers a nice contrast in this warm and cozy living room. Tie in various gray shades with throw pillows and blankets, the light fixture, and the coffee table.
14. Stick to Gray
If you want to update your living room walls but don’t want to paint, consider an option like the stick-on wall paneling featured in this all-gray living room. This mimics the flooring, while dark furniture and decor break up the monochromatic room to offer depth and a textured rug adds warmth.
Click here for these light gray peel and stick wood planks on Amazon.
15. Totally Tiled
If you like a seamless look, opt to carry the same gray tiles for your floor all the way up the walls. The contrast of the bright, white sectional provides a natural divide between floor and wall. Intricately designed pillows, in black and white, soften the overall look.
16. A Slice of Sunshine
To truly brighten a dark gray space, choose sunny yellow for your furniture or accent pieces. The bold yellow and bright white pieces in this room call attention against the dark gray walls, so you won’t feel lost in a dark abyss.
Click here for this yellow mid-century modern couch on Amazon.
17. Consider the Contrast
Or, for a more traditional look, choose a white couch if your living room features dark gray on both your walls and floor. This living room takes that simple combination to another level by incorporating brown accents and colorful artwork.
Click here for these canvas poppy prints on Amazon.
18. Simply Smart
If you have a black sofa, opting for lighter gray walls is the smart choice. White curtains and a fuzzy white rug offer the perfect complements to finish the space.
Click here for this ivory and gray shag rug on Amazon.
19. A Perfect Showcase
Light gray walls offer the perfect opportunity to choose furniture in pretty much any color you like. Blue and yellow furniture plus orange accents give this room a jovial personality. Matching the shelving unit to the wall color lets gray stay in the spotlight.
20. Fun Formal
Green and gold pair gorgeously with gray. Opting for bold-colored couches adds flair to this otherwise formal living room.
Click here for this green velvet sofa on Amazon.
21. Rustic Room
Whether your style trends toward rugged or refined, you can’t go wrong when you choose gray walls. Brown leather and lots of wood help this room maintain its rustic vibe.
Summing Up
Gray walls are trendy and versatile, working with many tastes and styles. Dress up your living room by featuring dark gray walls, or provide a subtle backdrop to your furniture and decor by opting for a lighter shade of gray. Whatever gray you choose, if you opt for gray walls, you’re sure to create a living room you love and will love coming home to.
For more tips on decorating with gray, check out these other articles:
Which Throw Pillows Work Best With A Dark Gray Couch? [21 Ideas With Pictures]
What Carpet Goes With Gray Walls? [6 Top Choices]