Whether you love rustic, modern or mid-century, the dining room is one of your best opportunities for showcasing your sense of style in your home. But it’s such a furniture-centered space that often it’s easy for us to overlook the potential of other ways to distinguish it. Even something as simple as a coat of paint can take your dining room in an entirely new direction—giving a sense of color and sophistication that usually isn’t possible with furniture alone. 

Just about every color pops against a gray backdrop, which gives you an infinite number of options for the color story in your space. Here varying gray tones on the wall and floor accentuate the greens of the chair and plants.

Darker tones of gray are a natural, yet still neutral backdrop for all of your show stopping moments. In this dining room the moody shade on the wall accentuates the lighting, contrasting with the bulbs and showcasing the metallics throughout the room. 

For rooms with classic architecture elements, gray is especially good for highlighting the details. Even without an abundance of furniture, the character of this room is defined by the color of the walls and floor and the built in design of the room.

When using gray in a space, look for useful contrasts with brighter tones. The mix of colors in this room tempers the vibrance of the yellow while energizing the relatively subdued tones of the rest of the space.

Gray is good for much more than a paint color in your dining room. The gray present in the furnishings and represented in the art give this dining room an undeniable air of quiet dignity.

Here again we see gray used in several parts of a room’s design. The lamps, credenza and even the floor tie together their gray shades with the dining chairs while contrasting with the lighter tones of the doors and table. It’s the perfect color palette for a space with such a classic aesthetic. 

Whenever you are using one color as the main influence in your space, it’s always good to find interesting ways to break up the blocks of color. Here a whimsical leaf-pattern wallpaper in gray maintains the color story while adding a fresh pop of pattern. If you can’t match the colors as exactly as you’d like, use stencils and paint to get the look you’re after.

Gray is a cool color, so any time you have a big infusion of a warm color, like the painting seen above, you have the perfect recipe for a big visual moment.

For a modern take on color, pair a classic neutral like gray with one of the new neutrals, such as pink. It’s a natural combination that will create a soothingly pretty environment.