Choosing a gray

First off - who knew there were SO many shades of gray (other than 50 shades, which I won't even discuss right now because I wasn't apart of that book club. Don't get me started.).

Sherwin Williams has 137 shades of gray.

Twilight Gray. Repose Gray. Agreeable Gray. Functional Gray. Thunder Gray. Gray Clouds. Tinsmith. Cyberspace. Gris. Light French Gray. Serious Gray. Morning Fog.

Benjamin Moore has 232 shades of gray.

Gray Gardens. Street Chic. Silent Night. Pewter. Sweatshirt Gray. Dior Gray. Sterling Silver. Hearthstone. Timberwolf. Sabre Gray. Sea Haze. Pelican Gray. Sidewalk Gray.

Seriously!?

Some shades are considered "cool" and will make the room look very light and...well, cool. They tend to have a light blue tint in them. And in some instances, depending on the light in the room, and they can actually appear to be lavender.

Other shads are considered "warm" and will make the room feel warmer. These shades tend to have more of a beige and taupe hint. Hmm...I wanted to stay away from the beige, but I want that warm feeling.

Grays can be as dark as charcoal or as light as too almost appear white.

And some grays go well with light hardwood floors, but not dark hardwood floors.

Again - seriously!?

All I wanted was to paint my house gray. I wanted a neutral, calm, collective color. Gray. It's versatile. It's timeless. It's elegant (in my opinion at least) Plus, not to mention that it's agreeable with every other color out there so we could update furniture and pillows and throws as needed and not have to worry about changing wall color. Makes complete sense, right?!

Here are some images I found of gray rooms that I like and got me hooked on this color scheme.

SW - Gray Clouds

I don't remember what this one is. Oops. 

Benjamin Moore - Revere Pewter

Benjamin Moore - Willow Creek

So now I have 14 gallons of paint underneath my bed, waiting to be tinted.

Waiting, sweetheart. Just waiting.

The other day I did go to Sherwin Williams and get three small pints of paint colors that I thought I liked. I had picked up the small display cards and thought they looked good. Tinsmith, Gray Clouds, and Monorail Silver.

Well - not so much. Not that they were bad, but not quite what I was imganing. Tinsmith was too close to white. Gray clouds was ok, but again, it was too light. Monorail Silver was the best of the three, but I wasn't crazy about it. It was more silver than gray.

 If you look closely, you can tell the difference between the three. Kinda. These three just weren't "gray enough". You know?!

So back to the drawing board. Fortunately if I find a Benjamin color I like (aka - Willow Creek), Sherwin Williams can actually match it and make it for me. Good to know.

Hopefully we will find just the right color and be happy with it. Not too dark. Not too light. Not silver. Not lavender. Just gray.

One good thing - we should have great before and after pictures! Can't wait to post those! :)

God Bless.