Gray, Grey or Greige {Finding the Perfect Gray}
Work is progressing in the kitchen and I finished painting the upper portion of the wall a very light greige (a cross between beige and gray.)
Light Greige
Our Kitchen Command Center – Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
With the abundance of light colors in the kitchen, I was craving a little dark paint for some drama. A small accent wall near the mudroom and pantry seemed like the perfect spot. I knew I wanted a chalkboard wall, but my sister (my interior design consultant) worried that black might be too dark. I filed her feedback in the back of my head as I headed to Lowe’s to buy primer. The paint gal tinted my primer with black to achieve a 50% shade of gray. (It is easier to paint dark colors if your primer isn’t a stark white.)
After applying the primer, I thought, “Hmmm, I kind of like this.” But decided to sleep on it. In the morning, that wall had a message for me:
The gray primer was a bit too blah for me. Simple black and white is like vanilla when there are more flavors of gray that have color undertones:
Warm Greige
Our Home Office – Benjamin Moore Hot Spring Stones
 Light Greige
Decor Chick’s Living Room – Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige
Light Greige
Our Bonus Room – Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (at 75% strength)
Light Gray
Young House Love’s Living Room – Benjamin Moore Moonshine
Light Blue/Green Gray
Centsational Girl’s Master Bedroom – Custom Color mix of ½ Benjamin Moore ‘Camouflage’ and ½ Benjamin Moore ‘Misted Green’
Olive Gray
Abby’s Kitchen via Two Story Cottage – Benjamin Moore Nantucket Gray
Greenish Gray
Our Humble Abode  Master Bedroom – Restoration Hardware Bay Laurel
Light Blue/Green Gray
Sand & Sisal’s Kitchen/Family Room – Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray
Blue Gray
Traditional Kids by Kansas City Interior Designer McCroskey Interiors – Benjamin Moore James River Gray
Light Blue Gray
Bits of Splendor – Glidden Quiet Rain
Which gray did I end up using? Chalkboard gray! The color of a black chalkboard after it has been perfectly seasoned
It may not have any colored undertones, but I really like the texture and movement in the eraser marks. Plus, I can achieve a lighter gray by wiping more chalk dust on it.
Now, if you are looking for the perfect white, The Shabby Creek Cottage has you covered!
Do you have a perfect gray, grey or greige? I’m always looking for more “perfect” grays (and less gray hairs.) Have a great weekend! I’m in the final push to get the kitchen painted and install the flooring by the middle of next week. I either need a lot of good luck wishes or more caffeine.
Want more tips on how to pick the perfect color for your room? Read: Isn’t it Amazing What a Little Paint Can Do
We painted our basement Sarah Richardson’s Cashmere (by Para) and love it. It has a warm undertone, but works well with almost any color. I guess you could call it a light greige.
Great paint choices Brittany! My current favorite is one we just painted our bathroom, Sherwin Williams Mega Greige: http://involvingcolor.com/blog/sherwin-williams-mega-greige/.
I love greige and have found one that I like in certain light, but not all over. It’s so hard to find a true-greige or true grey ! I don’t want undertones that are too brown, blue or pink or green! If I were to get any I prefer I guess that they were on the brown side. What are our suggestions? I’m considering revere pewter for our dining room, but afraid that it might be too dark, but seeing yours at 75% looks pretty light. I’m so confused!
Would love any color suggestions. Love using BM 😉
xoxo- Kaara
I love the combination of Green and Grey. I usually wear dress of this combination but never tried Painting whole room. after going through your work i love to try this combination at my place..
🙂
I haven’t gotten tired of grey! I painted my whole main floor SW Requisite Gray and I’m still loving it! Now I’m taking it upstairs 🙂
Your chalkboard paint was a great, useful idea for that small wall, I love it!
I LOVE COLOR! I love your blue shelves–did you make them? I am looking for cool ideas to store sewing/crafting in my bonus room (homeschool empty nest> Art Studio!) When we moved in our house 12 years ago I painted the whole thing in Tobacco Road. My paint store went out of biz, but they looked it up and matched it at SW (for touch-ups) It is time to redo, so I loved looking at all of your choices. I may even do a chalkboard wall somewhere 😉
The one with the absolute “WoW” factor for me is the stairs. the finish is brilliant. Furniture and carpet are the perfect match. well done, it is certainly inspiring.
Perfect timing with this post. Hubby & i are looking to buy a house this spring & last night we decided on a gray/burgundy bedroom & bath. =)
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I’ve been searching for the perfect gray/green/sage that doesn’t turn turquoise in natural light. I’m on my 6th sample. My kitchen cabinets look like a patchwork quilt. In the meanwhile, you might en joy this board: http://pinterest.com/greigedesign/greige-guest-pinner-gallery/.
I recall a blog called For the Love of Griege or something similar, but don’t know where I saw that. Now, of course, I can’t rest until I do! Thanks for sharing your fabulous ideas and work.
Love that WordPress alerts me to this stuff! Thanks for the link to my blog. My friend Abby just moved from her house and she was sad to leave her pretty white kitchen.
Love gray in all forms. I’m attracted to gray with a little green or blue though. 🙂 Love following your progress…
LOL @ Becky “BM Thunder” in your bathroom sounds more like a brownish shade, LOLOLOL!
Glad I’m not the only one with a boy’s sense of humor. LOL.
My mind went to the same place too! I couldn’t resist using the bad BM pun in my blog post 🙂
I love that you call it greige! Pics look great. It’s amazing how a coat of paint can change things (not that I know what yours looked like before, I was just thinking about when we first moved in and how the paint changed everything for the better.)
I painted my study (looks over a marsh) Sherwin Williams Sea Salt which makes me feel serene and creative every time I walk through the door. Loving it. Blue/green/gray. I may use it in a cottage kitchen, too. I always enjoy your blog.
I have Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in my living room and my bathroom. I just love that color! It looks different at different times of the day. Sometimes blue, gray, or green.
I LOVE GRAY!
Our front room is gray (Behs’s Ashes and the darker gray detail is Martha Stewart Cement Gray)
http://www.picardyproject.com/2011/12/painting-was-full-time-job.html
Our TV room is a dirty blue gray (Behr’s Rhino)
http://www.picardyproject.com/2013/03/before-after-tv-room.html
And my old office (soon to be nursery) is a really light blue/gray (Martha Stewart Dolphin)
http://www.picardyproject.com/2011/08/before-after-animal-room.html
Obviously I have an obsession with the color 🙂 Good thing my boyfriend doesn’t mind 🙂
I just recently repainted my bathroom in BM Thunder. I love how it turned out. You can check it out here