fbpx

testing

Friday Finds: Again With The Grays

Benjamin Moore painted walls
Benjamin Moore Smoke 2122-40 Photo by DecorPad
Smoke 2122-40 Photo by The DIY Showoff
Photo by Happy Hermit
Benjamin Moore Harbor Gray AC-25 Photo by Happy Hermit
Photo by Benjamin Moore Flickr

Trim is Deep Caviar 2130-20 Wall color Silver Lining 2119-60 Looks like a glaze may have been used.

Photo by Bossy Color

AC-28 Smoke Embers

Smoked Oyster 2109-40 Photo by Pottery Barn
Silver Fox 2108-50 Photo by Apartment Therapy
Forde Abbey TH06 Photo by Ralph Lauren
Anchor Gray 2126-30 Photo by Apartment Therapy
Gray Owl 2137-60 Photo by Anchor Gray 2126-30
Sparrow AF-720 Photo by Pottery Barn

 So you still haven’t had your fill of gray? I can tell by the continued popularity of the black and blue and gray all over and gray, grey, greige posts on the blog. I put my curator’s hat on and pulled more room settings and comments from designers and everyday folk on the color gray.

 Jill, at our Edina location, said over the past couple months there has been increased interest in grays, particularly with purple and brown undertones…the chameleon colors. She mentioned Benjamin Moore’s Smoked Oyster which appears in the current Pottery Barn catalog and is shown above. Kim, from our Coon Rapids store, said gray is not as popular with her customers. One reason is that her customers’ base board trim and cabinetry colors often do not work with gray colors. Nate, from Apple Valley, said grays with brown undertones is the most popular at his store.

The colors I listed in this post are Benjamin Moore and Ralph Lauren paint colors. I’ll showcase the lovely Hirshfield’s grays in another post.

Wow! We have Silver Fox on 3 walls in our bedroom. The 4th wall is Sienna (a deep brown). I love the combination and Silver Fox is a favorite of mine.

Raccoon Hollow 978
We just got back from France, where I couldn’t help noticing that everything is painted what I call Avignon taupe — that flaxy natural color that’s a little on the gray side.” –Gerrie Bremermann

“We just finished decorating a bungalow where we struggled picking paint colors because the owner had just stripped all the wood trim and didn’t want to paint it. All the colors we picked changed totally in the presence of that orangey light brown wood. A contractor finally told us about Benjamin Moore’s November Rain — it’s a putty color, warm but not too warm, and it looked great everywhere we put it.” –Sharone Einhorn and Honey Walters
November Rain 2142-60

Our new grey is Ralph Lauren’s Artist’s Studio. LOVE it. Has more of a blue undertone than brown.

Silver Fox is a quiet classic.

…BM grey cashmere (not cashmere grey) it looks green grey on the paint sample but its really more a blue grey. However, if you are putting into a room with lots of direct sunlight it can be more blue. I have it above my wainscoting in a room that has lots of natural light not direct sunlight so it cast more blue grey.

Gray Owl is a good choice for all color schemes – a refined alternative to light blue. Very adaptable.

...tested out a couple of colors on poster board, the BM 2116-60, Touch of Gray was too light, and too pink. The 2118-50, Excalibur Gray, is nice, purple undertones, certainly not the Hollywood “Gravender” look, but it certainly looks more “modern” and current. I also liked Sweatshirt Gray (2126-40), this one doesn’t give me the gravender look but it does look nice and warm.

I just painted my sleeping alcove a Regent Metallics Ralph Lauren paint called Wadsworth Grey. I absolutely love it….

… Ben Moore color called Winter Solstice. Completely neutral gray color. On the paint chip the color looks a bit pale. However on the walls it came out a very nice midtone gray.

Any color can be a neutral if it is grayed off with a touch of black and used all over a room, without any other color interrupting it. I particularly love greens as neutrals: moss, sage, stone, hunter. I like to use many different tones.” –Stephen Sills
 Stone Harbor 2111-50

Abalone is my favorite grey. It is has the slightest bit of pink in it which makes it feel warm and inviting. Loved it next to my red dining room.

Is one of your tests “Ashley Gray”? We have painted our whole home with this colour. The reason … it goes with everything and we can accent each room with different colours. We also have an amazing view from our home and this colour made the view seem even more spectacular.

You still have time before graduations and confirmations to freshen up your home with new colors for your walls. No need to feel overwhelmed, stop by this weekend and let our staff assist you with paint colors. We got you covered.

4 Responses
  1. Annie, bossy color

    Thanks so much for including a picture from bossy color blog! Great pictures, great post. Three cheers for gray!

  2. Here at Hirshfield’s Woodbury store when our customers ask “what’s popular” we are guiding them to the gray taupes, dusty greens and blues. Of course, it depends on the other finishes that they have in their homes.
    This past Spring Parade of Homes I noticed the grays were much more prevalent than the past couple years.
    Also, I have noticed more and more of our customers are wanting information on enameling their woodwork.
    That’s it from Woodbury.

  3. Christina

    I saw two colors in your post that I’ve currently chosen for my house…November Rain and Ashley Gray…! What a relief! I WAS driving myself crazy wondering if Ashley Gray really looks plumb-ish (it doesn’t) and November Rain really looked like mint-ish (ditto). Now can I finally just go paint with confidence? Thank you for all the suggestiions…and I’m glad to see Annie @ bossy color here. I’m in good company, and I’m saving this post for when I doubt myself (every other 10 minutes, lol)

    1. Marsha

      Christina,
      Thanks for your comment. Happy to hear you found some reassurance from comments in the post. Remember to paint out a section on your wall, or on a sample board. Live with it for a week and see how it looks in different lighting. Happy painting!

Leave a Reply