Yes, gray-z. Not crazy, but gray-z. That’s because we’ve got a whopping 16 paint swatches on our kitchen walls that we’re testing to find “the one.” Now, keep in mind, these colors may not be showing up on your monitor exactly as they look in real life, but it’s probably pretty darn close.
Here’s what you’re looking at:
colors on the left (from top to bottom; left to right; all Sherwin Williams)
1. Amazing Gray (a favorite)
2. Essential Gray
3. Proper Gray
4. Requisite Gray
5. Repose Gray
6. Mindful Gray (we like this one)
7. Pussywillow (this one’s nice too)
colors on the right (from top to bottom; left to right; all Benjamin Moore)
1. Cement Gray (too blue)
2. Gray Owl (too blue)
3. Cliffside Gray (too blue/green)
4. San Antonio Gray
5. Coventry Gray (too blue)
6. Stone Harbor
7. Silver Fox (like this one too)
8. Revere Pewter (a favorite so far)
The challenge we face with painting this new home is that the entire second floor is so open-concept that we want to find a gray that’s fresh and that we can use on all of the walls and the stairways.
I liked the accent walls in our last home, but for some reason I’m dead-set on one color this time around. Our new home was a model home, so it already had accent walls painted, and I just wasn’t feeling it for this home.
The look we are going for is fresh, crisp and airy. We are leaning towards the light grays—we are really loving Benjamin Moore’s “revere pewter” which is incredibly subtle and light. We also really like Sherwin William’s “amazing gray.” As you can see, we tried a lot of grays in the blue family and it just isn’t for us. The colors look almost pastel-blue in natural light—not the look we are going for.
We are finding ourselves attracted to the grays that are warmer and have more of a brown to them—in fact, I was warned online that BM’s “revere pewter” looks beige on the paint chip—but on walls, it transforms into a beautiful, true light gray. Here are some images of the color I found on Pinterest, for reference:
The next step is to probably get some BEHR samples and then get it down to a few colors we love and paint larger portions of the wall with them—and then decide which colors will go in each room. Although an open floorplan is awesome, it can also be frustrating because as I mentioned earlier in this post, we basically have to use the same color up the stairs from the first floor to the second and the second to the third since you can see both stairways from the second floor.
We have such dark hardwoods, cabinets and furniture that I thought a really light color would do the trick—but then I see some more saturated grays that really pop against white trim and I wonder if that’s the direction we should go in?
If you have a gray wallcolor you love or have any other comments, please leave them below! Let’s cross our fingers that I can make a decision in 2012!
xoxo,
Veronika.
I love the Ben's ones!
XoXo
Liz
https://itzalovestory.blogspot.com/
I have revere pewter in my guest room and love it! Highly recommend Ben Moore paint too. I've painted my whole house with it and it's the best!
Omg I LOVE the pinterest inspiration photos!
I def think you need to stop with the paint samples, LOL! It's so much harder to make a decision when there are more choices… Seems like you liking the amazing gray and revere gray, I'd pick between those two, or else you'll keep second guessing yourself.
We have the same issue with the open concept living area stairway, except bc of the stairs it goes 3 floors – so annoying. Because of this, I think a light color would be more versatile to work with and keep the more saturated for bedrooms/offices, etc. I would think the lighter ones wouldn't get dated or sick of so fast (and who wants to paint that much again?!) Good luck picking a color!
The Revere Pewter is amazing!
I also think you shouldn't get any more samples. Paint larger sections of the 2 or 3 you like best, and pick the one that looks right.
We have Stone Harbor in our kitchen and master bath. I really like the color, as it doesn't look as dark when it is all over the wall versus just a swatch. That being said, it does show up a bit taupe in color. I used Skyline Steel by Behr for our nursery and was hoping it would be a more true gray. It gives hints of blue and lavender at times though. I think you have to be careful of lighter grays. Go with a richer one if you have good natural light in the house! Here is a link to our nursery gray- https://davisdrive.weebly.com
Hey! I totally understand your frustration with gray! It's a hard color to get just right:)
I have BM's Galveston Gray in my living/dining room and I love it. It's warm and just the right amount of saturation for me:) I also have BM's Ozark Shadows in my half bath and it's a really nice gray as well..but much lighter than Galveston Gray.
I hope that helps a bit! I'm sure you'll find the perfect color that works for your beautiful home!
You can find pics in my blog, of course:)
Thanks for the tips! I’m in the same “gray-z” boat! I’ll check out your suggestions!
I love the light grays! I didnt do enough research and now we have a home office that looks like a baby nursery!! Good luck 🙂
Best gray color ever is Dolphin Fin by Behr (at Home Depot). We just painted our baby nursery this color and now I want it everywhere. It's a light gray and no undertones of any kind. Just a perfect gray!
Love your blog. I am also in Houston and a semi regular on the local nest. We have Sherwin Williams Anew Gray in our house. I love this color and it's a true gray color. Depending on the time of day and lighting the color looks lighter or darker. But it's never a omg why did I pick this color I hate it! Here is a post I did on my blog and you can see the color on the wall. We have tons of natural light in our house. I also love how the color pops with the white crown moulding. Good luck with your gray search!
https://firsttimehomeloving.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-difference-paint-makes.html
Check out Valspar (Lowes brand) color called Urban Sunrise. It's perfect 🙂
Try Stonington Grey fom Benjamin Moore!
Hi veronika, my favorite color for the house is from sherwin W. is called grecian Ivory it pretty close to grey but to ivory too. chek it
I'm a regular on your blog..I absolutely love it! My husband and I just went through a pretty intense gray-z period for our finished basement. We ended up with Sherman Williams "On the Rocks" (a very subtle gray) for the majority of the basement walls. On an accent wall we painted SW "Iron Ore" which is a great charcoal color that I love. We also have SW "Knitting Needles" in one of our bathrooms. I know it's a tough job to find the perfect shade since it looks different depending on what angle you're at, and depending on the natural light/time of day. Good luck, I know you'll find the right color!
I LOVE greys too and had the hardest time picking one out! We finally settled on Pittsburgh Paint Silver Dollar. It's a warm grey rather than a cool and it works wonderfully with cool accents and warm accents.
Good luck!
I am currently considering this color. Does it ever look pink to you? I'm curious to know what undertone it has. I got a sample for now.
no, it does not read pink ever, in any lighting
We just painted our nursery a warm grey – Cobblestone by Martha Stewart. Funny enough, the room next door is also gray, so I wanted to be sure they weren't too close, and the other one is much cooler than the MS paint (I think that one is Ashes by Behr). I share your love of gray and had a hard time narrowing it down! Go with your gut! 🙂
We JUST did the same thing in our new place, and ended up narrowing things down with Benjamin Moore's Pottery Barn palette. I think we have "Fusion" in the living room, but it might be too dark if you were to do the entire floor. I think we also looked at "Stonington Gray" (we might have this in the bedroom–too many colors for me to remember right).
I liked using colors that we could see online in rooms, i.e. Pottery Barn colors, Restoration Hardware, etc. We ended up getting them matched at Home Depot for 50% of the cost of Benjamin Moore ($30/gal vs. $63/gal) and the quality and colors were the same when matched. Good luck choosing!!
Yes, I second what another commenter said about no more samples! I tend to stick with Benjamin Moore paints because I know their quality is the best. When I tried looking at other brands I was overwhelmed because I then had five times the choices. Too much!!
What worked for me was narrowing myself down to my top three and painting a few larger swatches in areas that got different light. Sure it looked like my walls are a patchwork quilt, but it was a lot better than choosing the wrong color. I decided on Benjamin Moore Pale Oak (you think choosing a gray is hard try finding the perfect off white!). My house now seems more airy, light and clean with all the fresh white trim and doors against the soft and creamy walls.
Thanks for the tips! Can I ask what off white you went with?
Oh we have been there! Our house has a grey pallette..its relaxing and neutral. My father in law is a painter/restorater by trade and what he suggested for us was to put the samples by different lights, windows and see what worked throughout the day. We ended up going with Martha Stewart Chinchilla, a full formula in the living room and 75% in the dining room – with a flat finish. Right now we are going through the saem thing with the nursery and I believe we are using Revere Pewter ( I see that you have that picked as well 🙂 The greys are tricky 🙂
I have Pigeon Feather Grey on my kitchen walls and bathroom walls…I think it's a Behr color. I like it a lot.
We have a very dark grey in our kitchen and hallway (one wraps into the other) and it remains our favorite paint choice in the whole house…it really just pops against wood floors and white trim, plus showcases artwork. We have a lighter dove grey in main bath and taupy grey in office that are great, but everyone comments on the dark grey.
I have to stay I love gray for paint colors. So crisp and clean. I literally went through probably 20 paint samples of gray before I got the right tone. It was for my daughter's nursery, who at the time, we did not know the sex of the baby. However, I wanted something neutral without being beige, and didn't want the usual pink or blue everyone does. Absolutely love it. we used Benjamin More paint, Aura line. The color is AC-28 Smoke Embers. The best true gray is one with beigey undertones. It won't look beige at all. Otherwise you will end up with the problem we kept having, blue undertones. Also, Revere Pewter is very nice, but be careful, it DOES have a slight green undertone in it. We have it in our bathroom. If you would like pics for reference, let me know and I can email to you. Each room on my second floor is painted gray, but with slightly different undertones.
katie—yes please! email me pics at veronabrit at gmail dot com. Would love to see them. To me on the swatch revere pewter looked beige but on our walls it's truly a light gray with no undertones that we can detect. Maybe I will check out smoke embers! please send pics 🙂
Turns out simply beautiful. It gives me a reason to start to love Gray. i like it.
Thank you so much for this post on grey colors. Brooke Gianetti from Velvet and Linen Blog, did a post on a beautiful kitchen that had grey cabinets and so I was dreading the whole looking for the right color in paint chips, and so I thank you for doing alot of the dirty work. (hee hee) Have a wonderful 2012…
Hi Veronika- I just have to let you know that 2 of the photos you posted are of my bedroom. I can't even tell you how flattered I am. 🙂 The photo of the box bay window and the double closet doors are of our bedroom when we moved in before we had any furniture. The exact paint colors are Ben Moore's revere pewter and the trim is china white. I love the color; it is so soothing. Best of luck chosing the right color for you. PS- I love your blog. 🙂
Isla—how awesome 🙂 I got them on Pinterest, they are very popular there!
How are you liking the color now? Sometimes we worry it will be too light. Do you see it as a true light gray? Are you still in love with it? Let me know 🙂
-Veronika
Moonshine by Benjamin Moore is what younghouselove.com uses. Looks pretty and we have it in our bathroom.
Ha! I had about 40 samples of gray all over my walls and in each room!!!! I went with Revere Pewter, and I do not see ANY green undertones like one poster said…….and I HATE green,so if I had any thought that I saw green, I'd repaint everything!!!! It's a gorgeous color and at different times of the day, you definitely do see the taupe or beige-ness of the color!
Love your post title! I wanted to let you know that after much debate we painted our kitchen "revere pewter" this year, and our guest bedroom "chelsea gray". The R.P. is actually more of a 'greige' and blends really well with the wood tones of our cabinetry and the grays in our fabrics – I love it and think it's the best colour in our whole house! The C.G. was a more daring choice, but I absolutely love it! It pairs really well with pops of colour (we have purple) and I'm very happy with the choice!! Good luck with your decision…
Hi Veronika, let me know if the email with the pics came through.
Our dining room is gray with white chair rail about 3 ft from the ground. What we did was paint the whole room gray (it was an oops paint so I can't tell you the color), then on the top of the chair rail we painted 12in silver vertical stripes 12in. apart. With the cherry colored hardwoods it looks awesome. I agree with the poster above, narrow it down to 3 or 4 then paint big swatches on all the walls so you can see how the light hits the different walls throughout the day.
HANDS DOWN= mindful gray. Best color ever!!!
I'm pretty sure we have SW A new gray in our bedroom and bathroom, but it's very similar to mindful gray, both are awesome, true grays that are kinda soft- not too dark though in case that's what you're looking for.
I so feel your pain!!!!! The last time I counted we were at 16 samples. I got so tired of looking at the small painted samples on the wall that I started painting full walls. I could have had my whole house painted by now!!!! Every wall is a different shade of gray! I too love the warmer shades of gray and Revere Pewter is a front runner for me too although my husband likes the cooler grays and they pull too much blue for me. I can't take this much longer and am actually losing sleep over this! I sure hope you can come to a decision! Good Luck to you….
We recently painted our kitchen BM's Ashley Gray and we love it. Also had Revere Pewter in our old house, and it's great as well. Good luck!
We recently painted our kitchen BM's Ashley Gray, and we love it. Had Revere Pewter in our old house, and it's also a great color. Good luck!
We recently painted our kitchen BM's Ashley Gray and we love it. Also had Revere Pewter in our old house, and it's great as well. Good luck!
I love this post! I shared a link in a post I wrote about how to choose the perfect gray. I'd love to know what color you chose. Love your blog.
Please stop by…
https://www.theyellowcapecod.com/2012/02/how-to-choose-perfect-gray-paint-color.html
Best,
Sarah
TheYellowCapeCod.com
Veronika – not sure if this is included as one of your SW samples but we just painted our living, dining, and hallway SW On The Rocks…it is such a soft and pretty grey…I LOVE it. My blog is fairly new but I think I've included a hallway picture with it.
Love your blog!
Good luck!
BM Edgecomb grey is a winner!
I just received the Farrow &Ball colors. I love the grays. We have pale gray carpets, mottled gray tile and other colors for brightness(reddish burgundy for one)
The color I am looking at is blackened#2011
This paint isn't everywhere, so I will have to have them ship samples to me.
You may like the Pavillion gray #242
I saw this company listed in Southern Magazine in one of their articles .
Good luck
I am very enjoyed for this blog. I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me
essential home accents
I'm in the midst of what you were going through last year. Our home is an open floor plan (open to second floor as well). We moved two months ago. All woodwork and moldings are left I painted, but stained a medium red oak color that my husband wants to leave unpainted. Yet, we are changing from a Navajo white, to gray in the space, and I'm afraid the woodwork must be a very precise gray to work well with the wood. I've come across this old post of yours and would love to know what you ended up with in the end. Give me hope that we'll find the right color soon!
Jessica- check out my post called "a painted house" to see the colors we chose.
Better late than never? May I suggest that you apply your sample colour on to a piece of foam core board then move it about the space you are planning to paint during different times of the day. Also, ensure that you hold a large enough 'white' background behind it. By doing this you will get a truer version of the colour as …. a) it will not have to compete with its surroundings. i.e: What is already on the wall in the form of paint or wallpaper. b) Depending upon lighting (natural or artificial); a colour will appear differently. Hopefully these little tips will help you out.
HAPPY PAINTNG!
-Brenda-
Footnote: A piece of foam-core board about 11" x 17" should be sufficient in size. Many $-Stores carry it so you can purchase it dirt cheap. In case of future projects; label ALL your sample boards as one never knows when they might come in handy for reference purposes. ☺
As said above, you probably have decided on a colour by now but another trick I have used when doing an adjacent room with different lighting (natural or artificial) is; have your colour choice 'cut' which will ensure that the undertone will be similar. Most sales associate in any paint store/department, can explain its theory to you. i.e.: Half cut, quarter cut etc. -Brenda-
I used Sherwin WIlliams Mindful Gray in my kitchen remodel, on the advice of my wonderful kitchen designer, and I couldn't be more happy with it. It's the perfect gray, IMHO. I can't imagine my kitchen now in any other color. As my designer said, it's a true gray…not too much purple…not too much green. I highly recommend it. Here's a photo of the finished kitchen from my Pinterest board https://www.pinterest.com/pin/154529830938396824/
I'm in the same predicament with the grays! I love Light french gray and looking to do my entry way that color. I'm now wondering what would be a lighter version of Light French Gray that I could put in our kitchen. Looking for a light gray that would go well with dark brown cabinets
Hi, Veronika:
Thanks for your post. It reminded me of a few years back when I was driving myself gray-z (and my husband) to find the perfect gray for the main rooms in my house. I was much like you, I wanted some that felt like (coastal) air. The color I finally chose after months of searching was Behr’s Dolphin Fin. I LOVE IT!!! It gave me the exact feeling for which I was looking. If you haven’t painted yet you may want to paint a little of this amazing color on your walls to see if you like it.
Hi there! thanks so much for your comment 🙂 we just had our entire new house painted (this is our old house) and we used sherwin william’s “first star” in the majority of the house— it’s a very neutral and very light white/gray. Glad you found a color that works in your space!
Hi there! I know the OP is super old. But I just went through the same thing with my master bath colors! I ended up going with Greyish from SW. I originally had painted the whole bathroom cement grey and then when it was all done I had realized I forgot to explore SW paint and low and behold they had an even better color. The cement grey turned out too blue. The Greyish is perfect.
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What a a great post. I know practically every gray that BM has. I did bathroom in basement Stonehearth which is a beautiful warm dark grey/beige, Bennington Gray in my master bedroom which is more of a beige than gray but can see the gray and now need to decide on a color for my whole kitchen foyer area that all flows together as we are doing floors and kitchen over. Going to put in dark wood red oak flooring. Here goes the search again for me. Ugh.
So, what did you end up using?!! Revere Pewter? And, what did you paint your doors and trim in? I need to know ASAP, because I have to decide on our paint color today! ugh!
My old house is revere pewter, our new house is SW “first star” which I prefer. Here is a pic of that color: https://www.veronikasblushing.com/2017/01/lincolns-nursery-reveal.html
I do not know our trim color in either home— sorry! I love BM chantilly lace for trim— it’s very popular.
Try SW Collonade Gray. Similar to Pewter Gray. We have it downstairs, up the stairwells and upstairs landing and hallway. It changes color slightly depending on where you are in the house and if the sun is shining. Seems to work with all woods and metal finishes. Several friends have used it in their home after I painted mine.
We used SW ‘first star” in our new home and I love it even more than revere pewter
Hi There
Try Farrow & Ball’s Elephants Breath! It’s a gorgeous grey color. We were considering Revere Pewter too, but after putting the paint on the wall we realized Elephants Breath was the one. F&B makes great paints & has a color expert who does house calls!
Veronica, what Paint color did you end up choosing?
this is our old home, but we went with BM revere pewter. We have SW first star in our new home, and I prefer it.
We used Requisite Gray in Great room & hall & we are very happy. We also chose pussywillow for a bedroom, very happy with. Another great gray used in bedroom was Rockybluffs, & Amazing Gray used in powder room, not thrilled with it has a green cast. We don’t like any blue cast in our grays either. Goodluck!
I bought cadet gray for my cabinets my walls are blue. I have not opened the can but if i dont like the colors can i return it. I am only painting the doors not all the cabinet the rest will be left white. At the store they had a sample of cadet gray with the blue. Which gray would u recommend.
I just bought a house and had painters paint it – what I thought would be a great color. The chip is slightly different than the sample I had Lowe’s create – and the paint the painters came with is slightly different as well – and has a pink undertone. They have painted the whole inside and I hate it!
I am so frustrated. $6000 bucks and I hate it! I should have gone with my tried and true French Beige (less 25%) and just had it made into SW paint. UGH, I am soooo mad at myself!
Did you have it color matched? I always advise against color matching whites because each brand has a slightly different white base.