How to Choose the Perfect Gray

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I spent the better part of a month making one very agonizing decision…what color to paint the inside of my home. Ridiculous, I know. It felt ridiculous but it also felt overwhelming. I just couldn’t decide. Until I did. This is how to choose the perfect gray for your space.

I decided on gray. Then I realized there are exactly 1.8 billion shades of gray: greige, green-gray, blue-gray, gray-gray and everything in between. This is how I decided on the perfect shade of gray {or any color} for me and how you can, too!

Here’s my living room before. But it’s not really before, it’s more like during. If you’d like to see my living room before we installed the faux board and batten and painted it neutral {instead of Granny Smith Green}, you’ll find our Living Room Makeover Part 2 post here.

So. During. It’s not so bad. It’s just not “me”. I chose a quick neutral color to pair with our brand spanking new board and batten and I was content. It worked but there was very little personality. It still wasn’t “me”. Still a little too green. And if I’ve learned nothing else from this process, it’s that I don’t care for olive green or red undertones. But more on that in a moment.

{Vintage Dresser Turned Pottery Barn Style Storage}

My biggest hurdle was the fact our dining room, foyer and living room are for all intents and purposes one very large open space separated only by white columns and archways, essentially making it one big room. What I made the mistake of doing was treating them like three separate rooms. A little neutral tan in the living room, a little burnt-orange in the foyer and…

{1970s French Provencal Dresser Becomes Modern Buffet}

And a whole lotta brown stripy-ness going on in the dining room. Individually, not so bad. Collectively, they just didn’t work.

My first tip for deciding on what color to paint your space is:

First, Understand Your Space:

Does it stand alone? Is it a room of its own or is it simply a separate space of a larger room?

In my case, what I had tried to do what make one large room into 3 different and unique spaces. I like a lot of things and wanted 3 rooms with 3 different personalities and what I wound up with was a house with an identity crisis. What I have learned from all of this is, if I want each of my rooms to have their own personality I can achieve that through décor but I am better off unifying them with color.

Now, that doesn’t mean I can’t have varying color schemes from room to room, that would bore me to death. It just means I unified them with one overall wall color thereby bringing them together in a meaningful way. From there, I can get creative. It’s like creating a blank canvas. And that’s exactly what I wanted!

My second rule of thumb is: Understanding Color:

Just because a selection of colors is on a paint strip together, it doesn’t mean they’ll all work well together on the walls in your room. Bob Vila.com has a great article on How to Choose A Paint Color that goes into a lot of detail about the color, color schemes, and lighting.

For me, I knew I wanted a monochromatic scheme because of the way my room is laid out but also because I tend to decorate more with texture than with color {more on this another time}. I wanted a color that would act as a backdrop for this.

The next thing I found helpful for me:

Understand a Color’s Undertones or Hue:

Before I started this process I was stuck on the phrases – Cool, Neutral and Warm {and all of the in between} in regards to paint color. I noted that when looking through magazines or at other spaces, I tended to lean toward “cooler” shades. A white room, a gray room with bluish undertones, etc. The problem was, I love wood, natural fibers and textures and warm, cozy rooms.

The thing I found more helpful than whether a color was cool, warm or neutral was understanding or recognizing, it’s undertones or hues. When choosing a gray specifically, I realized that I didn’t like anything with red, purple or olive green undertones. That helped to pare down the choices immensely. And while I tended to favor “cooler” colors, I still didn’t want the room to feel cold. And that’s how I found the perfect gray – for me!

Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore

It still reads cool while not being cold. There’s just the slightest hint of beige depending on the time of day or source of light. It’s gray without being too much…of anything. For me, it’s the absolute perfect gray.

It gives us contrast in our living room between the walls and board and batten. It brightens up our foyer and dining room all while unifying these three spaces. Now it’s time to accessorize which I could never do before because it just always felt…off. Hopefully, now I’ll be able to make each of the rooms different and unique without feeling like I live in a crazy house.

See? Everything looks great in here! Stay tuned for my Living Room and Dining Room reveals – hopefully coming soon!

If you think this has been helpful and you’re ready to get painting this weekend, be sure to check out my technique for getting the job done quickly, easily and paint your whole house over the weekend with one amazing tool.

So what do you think your perfect color is?

Comments

Mary says

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I know I had a very hard time deciding on what to paint the house – inside and out. I had a general idea of what I liked, but I have no decorating gene. Finally I just picked a couple colors and bought them. I am thrilled with my choices. I still have to decide on the outside. My bedrooms are one color and my connecting rooms – living room & kitchen – are the same, each contrast nicely with my white trim. I also learned I did not like certain undertones either.

I am looking for a blue/gray for my exterior. I want a creamy trim to go with it. I’ve not started that search yet.
You know I love your work!
Mj

- jamie says
  
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  I’m glad I don’t have to choose a color to paint the outside. That might be too much for me to handle! LOL