I was searching for the best gray paint and stumbled across this brilliant post on Emily Henderson's blog. She highlights her favorite gray hues by matching them with fabulous shots of Ryan Gosling in various gray outfits. Not only is the article awash in eye candy, but it actually directed me to the gray paint I ended up using in my basement (Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore).
If you want to see Ryan — I mean, gray paint — at its best, check out Emily's article. And, unsurprisingly, Donna, from A Perfect Gray, also has some excellent and practical tips on picking gray paint colors. Her post is sadly lacking in any hunk photos, though.
For my basement, which has very little natural light, I narrowed my choices down to a handful, including Benjamin Moore (BM) Gray Owl OC-52, BM Horizon OC-53, BM Stonington Gray HC-170, and Sherwin Williams' "First Star". I went with Gray Owl and love it! There's the slightest hint of blue, but really it's just a good solid light gray.
What are your favorite grays?
(Image: GQ via Style by Emily Henderson)


Nomade Express Slee...
Great pics- both of decor and of Ryan. Yummy to both! And funny, too.
I read this post of Emily's and decided to use Gray Owl in my kitchen. Ugh. It is like an institutional green-ish blue, definitely not the warm gray she describes it as. It's almost minty. Now searching for another color.
What's with all the love of Ryan Gosling on the internet lately? I mean, I get that he's handsome... but lots of men are. This is a serious question. I want to know.
@StudioStarter - it's a meme. Actually, it's several memes.
http://hypervocal.com/news/2012/25-ryan-gosling-memes-ranked-from-best-to-worst/
Ryan Goslings signature color is "gray owl?" My brain cannot process this... hipster overload...
Ugh i just painted gray as well but it looks blue *sigh* and no money to fix it at this point!
I painted Gray Owl in my bedroom and it doesn't look minty at all. It does have a slight green undertone - but gray is all about light. Depending on the light in your room and the other colors you put in the room, the same gray will look so different in different spaces. I say just fork over the $5 for the test pot of paint. It's worth it to really SEE your color in the actual space.
gray owl and ryan –– oooh la la!!!!!
Hello, Mr. Grey!
@kate sharp - horizon (BM) is awesome. i read many pros use this color so i tried many
times, always a winner!
StudioStarter, I gon't get it either. I don't find him attractive at all and I don't get the Gosling mania. Him and Bradley Cooper, if somebody exported them to the moon I would not miss them.
Looks arent' everything...it's called CHARISMA.
I used 'driftwood gray' by Martha Stewart for my room and I love it! It is slightly blue hued but that's kind of what I was going for.