Gray - I'm obsessed. Several of my client's have gray rooms accented with colors like blue, green, lavender and turquoise. Each one has left me with a soothing, inspired feeling that keeps me coming back for more.Logically it makes perfect sense - I've always loved dressing in gray and tend to gravitate toward anything silver, so why not a room? Psychologically gray is gloomy - but it's so so not. It's calming.
I remember the very day I fell for gray... I was on a house tour with friends, one of my favorite things to do, when we saw an amazing apartment done in many shades of gray. It was instantaneous - LOVE at first sight. So now after many years of absolute content, I'm leaving the comfort and familiarity of my whites and cremes for yet another neutral - gray paired with a bright, crisp white.
The perfect gray - what is it? There are many great ones out there but each has slightly different undertones that influence the overall shade - blue grays, green-ish grays, smokey grey-grays, purple-ish grays, and the taupe-gray. I'm looking for a true smoke gray. They all look "gray" on the strip but on the wall, they're not.
I have one with a proven track record - Benjamin Moore Wickham Gray. I just saw WG in 2 apartments this weekend and it was perfect, but not here. If only it were all for one and one for all. Varied light and exposure make things a bit more complicated. I'm on a lower floor now so, maximizing the feeling lightness is the goal. This keeps me focused on the paler side of gray - top of the strip only, not middle, not bottom.
I'm usually a confident color pick - straight off the strip, no samples. This time was a bit more complicated as everything kept turning blue, violet, and green. Finding a true gray is not easy, as evidenced by the 12 samples on my wall. I tried every manufacturer I could find, and as it turns out Farrow and Ball doesn't even make a gray - I now know why...
But I've found "the one"- after obsessing over countless choices and makers - Behr Sterling. Full strength is great but too dark so I will likely do 3/4 and 1/2 strength in my space depending on the room and the light.
Then of course I saw A Single Man and Charlie's (Juliane Moore) living room in creme with accents of pink and gold. Immediately I fell back in love with what I had all over again. OK stay focused on the future...gray. Fingers crossed Sterling is a keeper.
3 comments:
Oh, I have to agree...I am really liking gray now and have for the last year or so. I would love to paint my dining room a deep gray, which is outside my normal softer palette however living in an apartment, I probably shouldn't. I really love the deep steel gray with gold accents; I have a Louis XV gilded mirror and some crystal & gold sconces that I'd love on the gray wall but it won't happen. Ah, the joys of apartment living. Sometimes, it's like my hands are tied behind my back, not being able to change things. Sigh.
I do imagine the gray would be beautiful with the marble countertops or perhaps your new bathroom.
Limits I hear ya. Apartments can be restricting unless you have a giant one, which I don't. Considering the kitchen, dining, and living area is all one space, I only really get 3 separate rooms to decorate - common area, bedroom and bathroom. And since all the rooms can be seen from the others, I too have limits. Shoot...
Yes! I am with you all the way. Here's to finding YOUR perfect gray. I look forward to checking in on you. . .
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