Sherwin Williams First Star

Just another gray paint color or the right shade of gray for your project? Sherwin Williams First Star is like a breath of fresh air–light and airy.

But is this light gray hue right for you? I’ve got my full review below!

What are the undertones in First Star?

The blue undertones in First Star might not be overly apparent, but they are present, nonetheless. All gray paint colors have undertones. I know, I know, right about now you’re really wishing there was this perfect gray free of undertones, but alas, there is not!

Gray paint will either have blue, green or violet undertones and sometimes grays have two of these and a few grays also have all three…talk about making things complicated!

So let’s talk about First Star’s blue undertone for a minute. It’s a very subtle shade of blue. There’s a ton of grays that practically scream blue, like Coventry Gray, Gray Screen or Boothbay Gray do.

First Star’s blue undertone is much more subdued than a lot of gray blues and instead is closer to lighter grays with blue undertones like Horizon, Big Chill and Nimbus. As you can see below, First Star is fairly light, compared to other gray blues.

Tips for working with First Star

Pick a paint color like a pro when you follow these easy steps:

Analyze the undertones in your home

By now you know that the undertones in First Star are blue, but what exactly does that mean for you? Well, in order for you to love First Star in your home, you need to make sure the blue undertones go with your furniture and fixed elements.

You will not love First Star on your cabinets with a warm brown/gold/beige cabinet, as the undertones are not going to work together. You will love First Star on your cabinets with a marble or nearly white counter with cooler undertones.

Likewise, you’ll like First Star much better when paired with a couch that has blue undertones, rather than a couch that has purple, brown, or beige undertones.

Are you starting to catch my drift yet? The undertones in your fixed elements (anything that can’t be easily changed out) need to correspond to the undertones in your paint color.

It’s sometimes really hard to tell the undertones in paint colors, but grab samples of the paint colors you’re considering (or just read my paint color reviews) and simply put them next to each other. There’s no denying the undertones when you do it this way. Just look at all of these ‘gray’ paint colors! They look like everything from muted gray to greige to blue!

Observe First Star with the lighting in your home

The Light Reflective Value (how light or dark a color is on a 0-100 scale) is 69, which is quite light for a gray paint color. It’s not as light as a gray I recently reviewed, Gray Mist (LRV of 74), but it’s one of the lightest grays.

This means if you really wanted the gray to be fairly present but you have a ton of natural light, you might not want to choose First Light, as it will be washed out. You may want to try Big Chill or Nimbus if once you test out the color in your home you feel it’s too light.

Test out the paint colors correctly

You must be able to look at the paint colors without other colors crowding your judgement. To do this, either get a peel and stick sample of paint and place in front of a white poster board or paint a large square on a white poster board leaving a white boarder all the way around. See how I test paint colors.

It’s also a good idea to compare paint colors with other colors, like I’ve done below, too. You can really quickly identify undertones and asses which colors work best for your space.

Which trim color should I use with First Star?

First Star is a very light color, and it’s on the cooler side (thanks to those blue undertones) and for that reason, it looks the very best when paired with a crisp white like Chantilly Lace. Chantilly Lace is what’s known as a true white and it doesn’t have any undertones.

What colors go with Sherwin Williams First Star?

I have extensively reviewed gray paint colors with blue undertones and I’d suggest going with colors that are darker grays with blue undertones and also look at blacks with blue undertones, for pretty pairings. You could also look into navy blue hues, too.

Understanding how to decorate with First Star

This very quick mood board was put together to illustrate the point of understanding paint undertones and how it applies to your decorating strategy.

I’ve chose to pair First Star with Chantilly Lace and added Web Gray as an accent color. Web Gray is a very dark gray with a blue undertone, which makes it work really well with First Star.

Typically rooms are created using a pattern piece (usually this is the rug, but sometimes it could be drapery or throw pillows). In this very quick mood board, the rug is the pattern piece to base the rest of the design off of. You can see how the gray in the rug has blue undertones, making it really harmonious with First Star and Web Gray.

I opted for a gray couch, and didn’t just select any gray couch (because by now you know gray purple, green or blue undertones), but instead opted for a gray with blue undertones.

Now, take a look at this photo:

Here I swapped First Star for Edgecomb Gray (a gray with green undertones). Do you see how this paint color just doesn’t fit as well as the blue gray one?

When decorating your space, think about the undertones in each and every item and relate it back to each other and the paint color. You can even collect swatches of fabrics/rugs/drapes and put them on top of your paint color sample. Do they work together?

If you like the blue undertones in a gray paint color but don’t think First Star is quite right, check out more blue gray paint colors here.