It happens to us all. We go in a store to pick out paint, and we are so excited, because, let’s face it- seeing a space transformed by the power of paint is exhilarating! It changes everything. But…the excitement soon fades when we become increasingly overwhelmed by the tiny little colored squares with thousands of different shades of every color under the rainbow staring at us. How in the world do you decide?! How do you know which shade to go with? It is nearly impossible to tell anything about the color on such a small little area. Am I right? Did I capture the emotions that you feel when shopping for paint? Well, I have been there MANY times, and I am sure I will be there again, but as of right now, I am in a good place with my color selection, and because of that- I wanted to share.
Gray is the new beige {in case you haven’t heard}. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with beige AT ALL, but gray is becoming increasingly popular as the new “go to” neutral, and people are constantly looking for that “right” shade. There is literally no telling how many shades of gray there are out there, so finding the right one can truly be a challenge. If you are wanting a TRUE gray, then you want to be careful to get one that doesn’t have too much of a blue tone…or purple tone…or beige tone…or, well, you get the picture. You just want gray! How hard is that?! Well, it can be pretty darn hard, let me tell you.
In my current home, I decided to go gray, big time. The majority of my walls are some shade of gray, and I have to admit, I feel like it is the PERFECT gray. It doesn’t look any color except gray! Winner in my book! I went with Valspar brand from Lowes, and I used 3 different shades throughout my home. All 3 shades are on the same color pallete, so they all flow nicely together.
The Wet Cement was used in my living room, laundry room, dining room, upstairs living area, hall and stairwell. It is my favorite neutral shade, and I have gotten countless compliments on the shade. You won’t go wrong with this one.
The Organic Shale is a really dark gray that makes a true statement in a space! I used it on my dining room accent wall, and I liked it so much that I decided to paint my entire office this color {Can’t wait to reveal that space when it is finished!!} This is a really dark shade, so be prepared {pictures don’t do it justice}!
Madeline Steps is the shade that we used in our Master Bathroom. It is so light that it almost looks white. It is beautiful.
I feel like it is so much easier to chose a shade of gray if you have seen it in action, so I hope this helps you out when you are looking for that perfect color!
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Last Updated on October 21, 2015
Brooke,
You are absolutely so right about colors and the shades of gray. I recently moved into a ranch townhouse and had my whole house painted with Sherwin Williams’
Cement Gray with white trim. I absolutely love it and I too, have gotten many compliments. It is such a calming soothing palate and even though it is a neutral it just seems so much more exciting than “beige.” The pictures you showed of your home are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Carol Paulus-Kalis
Thank you so much 🙂 Yours sounds like a very similar color! I am sure it looks great, and I totally agree that gray has such a calming effect.