Hello,

Came across this fab website and would love some feedback on the colour 'gray' topic. I have BM Elephant Tusk in my hallway which leads in to a medium to large well lit living room. I would love to paint the room in a warm gray tone with a slight blue. I like bold colours however I'm having problems trying to find the right gray. I was thinking of trying BM raindance CC-680 or Piemont Gray CC-690. Any suggestions or comments about these colours? I'm accenting with chocolate brown and white.

Many thanks
muddyford.

pdx and Walt, would you mind posting some pics of your Cement Gray and Sidewalk Gray walls? I've been struggling to find the right gray for months now, and am still stuck. I have chocolate brown, white, and silver elements in a large living-room-slash-dining room, and want a clean gray that's not blue, green, or purple, but also doesn't seem too icy.

Re: the post by Megan, some grays with purplish undertones include the ones on the Dior Gray, Elephant Gray, and Metro Gray swatches. All are BM; the colors on the Elephant Gray swatch can go a little mauve-y but depending on your lighting situation can also just seem like a nice smoky, purply, taupe-ish gray.

I'm a fan of BM November Rain, a greige. Depending on the light this looks anywhere between khaki and dove gray.

I ended up using Silver Fox, which strangely seems similar to November Rain on my walls. Both turn slightly purply-brown on my walls. Not the clean crisp gray effect I was going for, but a nice color in any case.

Late to the party, but I've literally just painted my room with Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Gray and it's just perfect, nice and light and neutral but very distinctly grey. Looks wonderful next to white woodwork. Sophisticated.

Gray is a tricky color! I recently painted and settled on Sherwin Williams' Repose Gray 7015. It looks great with crisp white trim. It has an extremely slight warm hint to it in some lights, but it was the most gray-gray I found after looking at Ralph Lauren, Glidden, and Behr. It also dried the most "true to the chip" of the colors I was testing. Everything looks different in the space so it's always a moderate leap of faith that the color will turn out how you like.

Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter....a grey that leans a little bit more in the direction of taupe vs. a cool blue grey. It is one of my new favorites.

Guys,
Happy New Year, my gray of choice is Ralph Lauren Silver Chiffon. Please note could not tell how good it was going to look from the chip, just luck. It has violet undertones and pops against the (99% pure white 1%black) white trim and ceiling in our bedroom. Though it may not be as effective in a bright room.

I need suggestions for an exterior gray-beige for a Stucco commercial building that will look like a cement bunker if is painted a standard gray, that doesn't have brown in it.
Thanks.

I think what people need to realize is that like most "whites" there is no true gray color. All will have undertones of other colors and really do take on light and colors from furniture, windows, accessories so that they will very different in different houses, rooms, even individual walls and they will seem to change color throughout the day and evening.

One trick I learned is that you can get the pigment tone percentage increased or reduced thus making a paint appear more or less intense. For example, I wanted a certain gray a little darker and asked for 125%, in another room I wanted it lighter so I got the same color in 85%. It's subtle but there is a difference that works in different rooms.

That said, I'm still looking for "my perfect" gray. In my dreams it is very pale, almost like the wings of a gray dove, or a midwestern sky in winter when it snows and would be a perfect contrast to bright white trim and ceilings.

Two greyish tones I am in love with are Benjamin Moore's Titanium. I have it on three of my living room walls. It's a pale gray with just a hint of green undertone. I asked my paint genius at Powell Paints in Portland for a gray that looks like "a newly dried cement sidewalk". We stepped outside with the color chart, found a new sidewalk and I'll be damned, she matched it. With two red knoll chairs in boucle wool and a blue accent wall in Ben Moore's Kentucky Haze, alongside clean white trim and ceilings, it is so balanced and calming. Here are a couple of photos that my crappy camera magically did manage to capture the way the walls look in real life:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36176340@N00/4044294012/in/set-72157622421467531/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36176340@N00/4043548155/in/set-72157622421467531/

Another grayish color I discovered and haven't seen anywhere else is a mid-tone gray with purplish (not lavender and I hate to say mauve because it will turn people off with visions of 1980s bad decor, but it is kind of an updated fresh mauve) undertones called Shadow Orchid by Portland's Miller Paint company. I have the bottom walls of my bathroom painted this color and Ben Moore's American White on the other half. It's soothing and neither too masculine nor too girly and isn't dowdy in the least. Here's a couple of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36176340@N00/4044294110/in/set-72157622421467531/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36176340@N00/4044293646/in/set-72157622421467531/

I want to thank those who recommended Iced Cube Silver. I have a studio apartment in NYC and it gets no direct sunlight. I'd had used Edgecomb Gray (lovely but kind of boring after 6 or so months), started to paint it Palladian Blue (which in my small space looked like robin's egg blue on steriods) and realized I needed a new direction! The Iced Cube Silver seemed a bit pale at first, however, now that I'm nearly done, I am so pleased! It has brightened the space enormously and looks peaceful, calm without feeling boring (and it does look a bit blue at times). Thanks so much!

bunny gray by Ben Moore

I have a large dr/lr furnished as follws:

dr has dark walnut table for 14 upholstrered in red silk velvet
lr has 2 sofas in a med green with oak leaves detailed in goldy tan and inside of leaves criss crossed with a a red

I am really struggling with pulling the area together. I want to modernuze as the red velvet and the style of the chairs seem to be making it grannyish. My intent was more art deco.
There is also a piano in the lr which is a mid english walnut.
What do you thing of painting the walls/celings a greige or taupe something to neutralize etc. http://unionlightingandfurnishings.com/Detail.aspx?ID=24791

oh one more thing we have no cel;ing lights in the dr so am thinking of
http://unionlightingandfurnishings.com/Detail.aspx?ID=24791
If you want pictures send me ur contact info

I know I am about 5 years late here but I have the exact same scenario with the elephant tusk and looking for a gray with a slight hint of blue. What did you end up going with?

I'm also late to the game here.... but I just wanted to throw out my experience with trying to find the right color in case anyone is still looking. I have a one bedroom apt with dark hardwood that gets south facing light. I have the hallway/dining painted stonington gray (BM), which looks fantastic next to bright white trim (I used mascarpone, BM). It's very light and relaxing, even when its dark and gloomy outside. A very cool looking gray, but no visible blue. Tried painting the other walls palladian blue (looked very green), wythe blue (VERY loud for my small apt), and woodlawn blue (looked like a bright robins egg blue).... and I'm now at a loss. I just want a light gray blue, who knew it would be so tought to find?! Anyone have any luck?

Try BM Seattle Gray. Light, cool with blue. Good luck.