It seems like everywhere I turn these days people are buzzing about E L James book “Fifty Shades of Grey,”.
And I’m here to correct her. Dear E L James, there are not 50 Shades of Gray but rather 232 absolutely amazing shades of Gray made by Benjamin Moore.
It seems that these days Gray is hotter than a heat wave! While Jane Dagmi mentions in her post Gray Soothes the Soul No Matter the Style. “Gray, just like a giant cloud, brings the indoor temperature down.”; anyone who has read the trilogy would beg to differ.
In honor of the best seller, here are 50 hot Shades of Benjamin Moore Gray:
Well, this post will please lots of people in Seattle and the Northwest!..
Great post. The only other gray I would add is Horizon. Love it.
Pingback: {friday finds: it’s too red…too purple…too something} « Hirshfield's Color Club
I love this post!! Love gray tones, and I don’t think it will be going out anytime soon!! And I don’t think the buzz on this book will be forgotten for a while :)
Laters!
Thanks Christy!
I worked with Evelyn Benatar of New York Interior Design for a few years and still keep my favorite Benjamin Moore shades written down for future inspiration. My favorite grays are Brewster, Boothbay and Arctic but grays are easy to love!
Hi Misty, What a good idea to always have your favorite shades written down. Makes tackling a paint project much easier! – Michelle
I am looking for a “warm” grey but, they almost look purple on the wall????
Hi Noreen, For a warm gray with a slight purple undertones, we would like to recommend nightingale (AF-670), elephant gray (2109-50) and granite (AF-660). – Michelle
What about lighter warm grays WITHOUT the purple undertones? I agree with Noreen that sometimes the warmer grays can have purple looking undertones, and I need the warmer gray without the purple undertones.
HI!
We just painted with Revere Pewter-it is a beautiful beautiful color but because it was so warm it looked awful in our kitchen because it was to brown!! We have an accent wall painted in Granite which we love and it just did not go with the Revere Pewter-I bet Revere Pewter would fabulous in your space-it has a fantastic depth too it!
Hi Mindy, Revere Pewter is an amazing color but it sounds like it just didn’t work for your space. Did you choose another color or are you still deciding? – Michelle
I thought going gray would be easy but then I picked a sofa color that made it harder. The closest Benjamin Moore paint color to the sofa is Boca Raton Blue. Which way should I go with gray for the walls (and likely white woodwork)?
Hi Bill, For a warmer gray, how about revere pewter (HC-172) or thunder (AF-685)? For a cooler gray, consider arctic gray (1577) and half moon crest (1481). To really pop your sofa, kendall charcoal (HC-166) is the perfect gray to create an accent wall. – Michelle
Thanks, Michelle!
Pingback: Intrinsically Tricia Foley
Pingback: 50 Shades of Grey (Paint) « my sky is the limit
I am hoping someone here can help…I have very dark brown wood floors, a cream kitchen with tropical brown granite and copper handles. However, I have stainless steel appliances and ALL dark brown furniture. My kitchen, living room, and play room are all one big room. We usually paint one wall a much darker color and the rest of the house lighter shades of the same color. My husband wants the kitchen painted in a dark gray (trout gray from BM) and a couple shades lighter for the rest of the house. I am just not sure the gray goes with the copper handles. I was thinking we should do something with a little more color taken from the granite and handles (a rust color for the accent wall and a beige for the rest of the house). Does anyone have any suggestions for us? Will the gray look good and pop with the copper handles or will it look mismatched?
Hi Sandi, Try warmer grays such as ashley gray (HC-87) to tie in with copper handles and other browns in your living space. For similar grays, we would like to recommend iron gate (1545) and taos taupe (2111-40). For something with a little bit more color and to lighten up the room with heavy brown furnishing, how about stardust (2108-40), alexandria beige (HC-77) or rocky beach (CSP-190)? – Michelle
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Hi, I love that there are 232 SHADES OF GRAY! I would love to paint my living/dining room area in a color of gray that would coordinate with my furniture. I have a mocha color sofa and cherry wood furniture. What would color gray would be a nice contast to make the furniture pop. Also the kitchen is open to the living area and I would like to paint that in a different color. Maybe kalmata? Or something that would flow with the gray….I have white kitchen cabinets. Thanks for you help! Also what shade of white trim would go with the gray? Thanks so much!
Greetings! I am looking for another color to go with our grays!
We have an L shaped kitchen, the short part of the L opens into a eating area which then opens into our family room. These rooms are open to each other but they do have a small header and small walls-just enough for moldings that define the spaces. We have painted our kitchen two colors which we had mixed together-calm and cement gray-the result is a light silver color-love it! The eat in area has a wall that we painted Granite again love that color-the wall across from the granite wall is the same color as the kitchen. All the cabinets and moldings are a bright white. We would really like another color to paint the family room in and are at a total loss! Our house does have some windows but still is rather dark, the family room has a cream carpet and white built ins and fireplace.
Hi Mindy,
Great color choices! To brighten up your family room, how about jicama (AF-315)? This soft yellow will warm and lighten up the space. Also consider cool colors such as silver gray (2141-60) and nimbus gray (2131-50). These grayed blues are a perfect pair with granite to create a sophisticated color flow. – Michelle
Are there any grays that pair well with Squirrel tail? We have two walls in our living room/dining room painted this color and wanted to use a mid to light shade for a third accent wall. So far, nothing is working: La Paloma looked too violet, as does Museum Piece (too dark, also). I don’t want to use anything too warm or brown, but I’m thinking we need something with slight green undertones?
Hi Suzanne, We’re sorry to hear that you’re having difficult time finding the perfect shade of gray. Here are some of the colors that might help you. Take a look at cosmopolitan (CSP-100), winterwood (1486), seattle mist (1535), fieldstone (1558) and sea haze (2137-50). We highly recommend you to try our color samples first so that you can see how lighting in your house affects the color. Good luck! – Michelle
Pingback: Top Real Estate Stager Shares 5 No-Fail Paint Secrets
Good morning,
I would like to know what’s a nice color for my kitchen? I have dark cherry wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, new venetian gold grainte counter tops. My foyer enrty hallway is also in front of the kitchen, so what would be a accent color for that wall. I am a modern/contemporay mom of 2. Help please
Hey! I am going to do my whole house in Revere Pewter, but would like the kitchen a darker shade. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Can someone please tell me the teal color on the walls with the BM Storm shelving?? Thankyou
We are remodeling a small 100 year bungalow here in the Northwest. The home has have a Prarie Brown brown(warm) roof and lots of cedar accents, white trim. Currently the house is BM Norwich Brown, too much brown and too dark. Could you suggest a lighter gray that would go well with cedar shakes and a brown roof? Greatly appreciate any input!!
My new master bedroom has windows facing east. My bedding is lavender with dark purple. The floors and furniture are light wood. I’m thinking of a gray or violet for the walls but don’t know if I should be looking for a blue or green or violet undertone. Do you have any suggestions? The office across the hall needs to be painted as well. Thanks!!!
Good evening. I have about 50 shades of gray PAINT SAMPLES all over our foyer. I use only Benjamin Moore pain in our home, my husband wouldn’t use anything else either. We have Mt. Reiner Gray in our living room and we have a two story foyer that is very spacious that we want to paint a gray color. The floor tile is like a wedgewood blue and white. We have silver lake on the wall, horizon, and constellation and I’m still not sure what to do, any suggestions. I don’t want blue I want gray that will go well the the darker blue. To make matters so hard, our molding is stained and is natural oak and not white. HELLPPPP!!!!
I have a charcoal gray sofa and black side tables, tv console, etc. What color gray would look good with charcoal gray and black? I tend to like cooler colors better than warmer.
Pingback: {kendall charcoal hc-166} « Hirshfield's Color Club