Best gray paint color?

[StacylikesSparkles]

I need help. DH is finished remodeling our front room and all that is left to do is to paint. The problem is that 4 paint samples on the wall later, I STILL have not found a great color for us! I first thought I wanted a blue or green to brighten up the room (there is one large floor to ceiling window that gives lots of light), but the first 3 colors I picked just didn't do it for me. I tried valspar 'magic spell' yesterday and it's a little too brown and dark for what I would want.

In regards to decorating, we plan to opt for a gray couch, white side tables, undecided on the coffee table and I would love to have purple accents in the room. Any and all help would be great, eve if you choose a completely different color that gray for the walls. I figured a light gray would be good with a gray couch and saw a few pictures online that made me think it could work.

 

[iluvshinythings]

I just painted my bedroom "coventry gray" by Benjamin Moore and I love it. It's a medium shade and it has blue undertones. I used "Gray Owl" on the ceiling. I can recommend either of those colors if you have a gray color scheme.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Thank you so much! That is a gorgeous color on the wall and I adore your bedspread!

 

[aviastar]

Warm grey or cool grey?

I'm going to step outside the box a little and suggest you also look at the Ralph Lauren metallic paints; I used the purple with the silver base in my old bedroom and it it AWESOME. You can come see it if you want to!

 

[amc80]

There is a grey at Home Depot that is awesome, it's called Cinder. I think it's Behr but might be something else.

 

[iLander]

Bring home a ton of grey paint chips and hold them up to your couch.

If someone suggests a particular grey, it could be too warm (yellow undertone) or too cool (blue) for your couch. I've seen grey with pink, purple, or even green undertones.

 

[TC1987]

I would get the gray couch first, and they choose a gray that works well with it. Paint colors are infinitely adjustable, but sofa colors are not. Let the sofa settle whether to get a cool gray or a warmer one.

 

[TC1987]

^ Great minds think alike.

 

[iLander]

Totally agree with TC1987.

And please, everyone, don't try to pick paint colors on a computer monitor. The colors on your monitor are broken down to red, green and blue, but paint comes in millions of hues and tones. And no two monitors will represent a color the same way.

There is no substitute for chips and paint on the wall.

 

[vc10um]

FPS, my sister used Sherwin Williams Repose Gray in her living room and it's GORGEOUS.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Thanks for the suggestions, ladies! We haven't purchased the couch yet and really wanted to wait to buy it AFTER all the painting and prep work was finished in the room. As it is now, that room is completely bare and waiting for us to make it completely over. The hubs has already torn down the wallpaper, stripped the paint, repaired the plaster, sanded and all that terrible stuff and is just waiting on me to get the paint color. I'm hoping to have something picked out in the next few days so it will be painted by the weekend. Scheesh. Who knew this would be so hard?!

 

[lizzyann]

I had a similar thread on grey paint awhile ago. I ended up going with Anonymous from Behr. It is carried at Home Depot. I love it! My comforter on the bed is a slightly lighter grey and my accent color is teal! Check it out, you might like it!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I just painted my bedroom "coventry gray" by Benjamin Moore and I love it. It's a medium shade and it has blue undertones. I used "Gray Owl" on the ceiling. I can recommend either of those colors if you have a gray color scheme.

So funny--I also have Coventry Gray in our bedroom and am thinking of using Gray Owl in the kids' bathroom. Do you feel like they work well together? I know ours would be in two different rooms, but I like the idea of all the rooms having a cohesive feel.

Also, love that bedspread (is it West Elm)? We're on our second West Elm duvet cover and I've loved them both.

I agree about getting the couch first, then choosing the color. I used Coventry Gray because it best matched the curtains I'd chosen. Grays are really hard to match, I've found.

Finally, I have to say that sometimes I wish I'd chosen a lighter gray than Coventry Gray. Sometimes I think medium grays can look too much like cement/cinder blocks. But that might just be me.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Since it's been me who has been holding up the front room, I told DH to just go to the hardware store, pick a light gray and be done with it. I know he won't pick anything terrible and I just want to use that room already lol I'll keep you posted on what he picks.

 

[iluvshinythings]

I just painted my bedroom "coventry gray" by Benjamin Moore and I love it. It's a medium shade and it has blue undertones. I used "Gray Owl" on the ceiling. I can recommend either of those colors if you have a gray color scheme.

So funny--I also have Coventry Gray in our bedroom and am thinking of using Gray Owl in the kids' bathroom. Do you feel like they work well together? I know ours would be in two different rooms, but I like the idea of all the rooms having a cohesive feel.

Also, love that bedspread (is it West Elm)? We're on our second West Elm duvet cover and I've loved them both.

I agree about getting the couch first, then choosing the color. I used Coventry Gray because it best matched the curtains I'd chosen. Grays are really hard to match, I've found.

Finally, I have to say that sometimes I wish I'd chosen a lighter gray than Coventry Gray. Sometimes I think medium grays can look too much like cement/cinder blocks. But that might just be me.

I think Coventry Gray and Gray Owl are very similar and would work in different rooms. I'm a fan of painting a 2' x 2' square on all four walls to make sure the color works. The lighting in a particular room can make the same paint color look completely different.

(and I love all things West Elm and Room and Board)

 

[LALove]

Here's Farrow and Ball "Cornforth White" in our East facing living room. Trim is Sherwin Williams "Westhighland White" and ceiling is Benjamin Moore "Decorators White".

To me, it's a very true gray. I love it.

ETA: 1st pic is just before dusk. 2nd pic is early afternoon.

 

[LALove]

Here's at night with artificial light.

I do agree that you need to sample in your own space before fully commiting. I loved F&B "Elephants Breath" -which is a putty gray- in my living room but when I carried it upstairs (East and North light) it became pinkish-purplely gray and didn't work.

Edit: sorry don't know how to fix the pic, am on my phone

 

[kenny]

People can just rotate their iPhone or iPad.

Home computers, not so much.

 

[KristinTech]

Benjamin Moore Plymouth Rock!

 

[kenny]

People can just rotate their iPhone or iPad.

Home computers, not so much.


I heard about a school in Africa where the children have very very few books so they sit in a circle and all read the same one.

If you hand one of the children a book at the 'wrong' angle the child will not correct the angle.
(S)he will just hold it at any angle the got it, and read the book.

Perhaps we 1st worlders are finally catching up.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

LA Love, I'm obsessed with F&B paints and painted my entire main floor in various F&B colors. Now that we're focusing on our upstairs, I'm seriously considering using them again. The only reason I'm not 100% sure is because the upstairs projects are all for the kids' bedrooms/bathroom and F&B colors are very limited for those types of projects.

 

[LALove]

LA Love, I'm obsessed with F&B paints and painted my entire main floor in various F&B colors. Now that we're focusing on our upstairs, I'm seriously considering using them again. The only reason I'm not 100% sure is because the upstairs projects are all for the kids' bedrooms/bathroom and F&B colors are very limited for those types of projects.

FB colors are the best but I had the same concern which is why I had BM color match. I'm not paying a billion bucks a gallon and have kid prints etc all over the walls. I didn't want to deal with that and I don't want to enforce a lot of rules in kid spaces = no fun for them. The color match looks great though you don't get the same depth as its a semi gloss and the base is different.

Here's DS's room - Pointing walls color-matched, Cabbage White ceiling color-matched and trim is SW Westhighland White. I couldn't find colors I liked as much in BM or SW or I'd have just picked one of their colors.

Pink peachy room is BM Queen Ann Pink which is gorgeous in person.

 

[LALove]

To the OP: have you checked out Farrow and Ball grays? They have a lot and the ones I've sampled have all been soooo lovely.

 

[stargurl78]

Gray is the HARDEST color to get right. I highly suggest getting the little sample jars and try them on the wall before deciding, even getting the paint chips from the stores isn't enough in my opinion. Grays can look too purple, too blue, too yellow, or too green, depending on what else is in the room, the way the sun hits the walls, the types of light bulbs you use, etc. We just painted our nursery and ended up having to paint it twice because the first color ended up looking periwinkle, rather than gray. The final color we ended up with is Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore and I love it. We seriously tried out over 10 sample jars before picking the final color though.

Sherwin Williams had some great looking grays (Mindful Gray and Repose Gray come to mind) but I think their paints stink more than the other popular brands so we didn't go that route since I'm pregnant. Another color that seems to be very popular is Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. It looks beige-ish on the paint chip but the sample looks more gray and if you google pics of it, its really a lovely shade.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

After explaining what w ant to the hubs, I told him to surprise me with something. He came back with Sterling from Behr an it looks awesome! He just started the cutting in yesterday and I rally think it'll be perfect. It's a nice light gray with slightly blue undertones will be perfect for the couch we've been eyeing. Woohoo!!