I am going to paint my upstairs a light gray. What is the best way to find the right shade? Help!!!

Joy2Journey
by Joy2Journey
  11 answers
  • Project Style, LLC Project Style, LLC on Apr 16, 2012
    What time of day does the room get natural light? Morning exposure has a lot of blue in the spectrum; afternoon exposure has yellow in the spectrum. A "cool" gray (blue-based) in a northern/eastern room can have a cold feel. It can help determine whether a gray is cool or warm by comparing it to pure white. We suggest purchasing the smallest size of your favorite color choices and painting 2 coats on poster board. Look at the poster boards at different places in the space and at different times of day. If you plan to use fabrics in this space, we recommend choosing your fabrics first.
  • Joy2Journey Joy2Journey on Apr 16, 2012
    I do have the fabrics ... a white sheer for the windows. And I have the fabric on the furniture too ...
  • Joy2Journey Joy2Journey on Apr 16, 2012
    My whole area faces southeast
  • Project Style, LLC Project Style, LLC on Apr 16, 2012
    What does the fabric on the furniture look like? Do you envision a true gray, a blue-gray, brown-gray, green-gray? Do you want a hint of color or a deep shade? Tell us everything you can about the room, or post some photos if you can.
  • Joy2Journey Joy2Journey on Apr 16, 2012
    Ok ... I want just a hint of gray. True gray or Brown gray (sandalwood gray maybe?) I am sending a pic ... hope it helps. There is another one on my profile that maybe shows up better?
  • Joy2Journey Joy2Journey on Apr 16, 2012
    This is a more recent pic ... today in fact :)
  • I like your thoughts on the color. I teach "Psychology of Color" & always advise buying a sample & painting it on foam poster board & living with that a few days in the room. You want the room to embrace you & give a classy tranquil feeling I assume. I like a taupe/gray (it would have brown undertones) in this case rather than a pure gray.
  • Gray is a challenging color. There are many different shades like a blue gray or green gray and when it dries can look different at various time of the day. Here are some experts in an article in House Beautiful that give their favorite color gray paint to decorate with. Hope this helps and would love to see the final results! http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/26-shades-of-gray#slide-1
  • PK H PK H on Apr 17, 2012
    Oh boy can I tell you how hard it is to find the perfect grey! My downstairs is an open floorplan. I wanted a monochromatic look throughout. I want the same color on the ceiling as the walls so my challange was not to go too dark. What I did was go too light. I am now repainting in one shade darker and even another shade darker for the 1/2 bath. My advice would be not to go too light.
  • Joy2Journey Joy2Journey on Apr 17, 2012
    Yes, this is exactly what I am going for! Now to find a taupe gray! :)
  • Project Style, LLC Project Style, LLC on Apr 17, 2012
    You might try Sherwin Williams 7030 nAnew Gray, Benjamin Moore 1005 Hazelwood, 1465 Nimbus, or 2111-50 Stone Harbor. The stain color of your cabinets and trim, however, may make it difficult to find a gray that works in this space.