Don’t get me wrong, I love painting. Or at least, I used to. However, I guess there’s just something about painting the whole interior of your house by yourself that makes you never really want to paint again. Ever. Needless to say, I am very happy that I’m done painting for awhile and I’m even more thrilled that I finally found the perfect gray paint color for my girls’ bedroom! If you’d like some tips for picking the perfect paint color, keep reading. I’ll even reveal the beautiful gray I discovered. There’s no gate keeping here!
my quest for picking the perfect paint color
I’ve picked out plenty of paint colors in my day, and usually pretty successfully. However, if you’ve ever tried to work with gray you know that it can be a tricky color. There are so many undertones to gray (or grey, for all my friends across the pond.) You could pick a “gray” color, only to discover in your room it looks blue, or green, or purple, or even yellow!
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So here are some quick tips for picking the perfect paint color that I’ve used over the years. I’m even including the easy, duh moment secret that finally helped me pick the perfect gray color!
tips for picking the perfect paint color
live with some swatches for awhile
Go down to your local hardware or paint store and pick up a lot of swatches. Pick out different tints, shades, and tones in the color family you’re looking for. Tape them up in the room you’re planning to paint. Sometimes getting multiple swatches of the same color is a good idea because then you can put them in different areas of the room that get different light. Then live with them for a couple days, be patient, see what they look like in early morning, bright afternoon sunlight, at night under your light bulbs. Make sure you see it against the trim in your room too, whether it’s white or wood tone or whatever, you want to make sure you’ll like it with what’s already in the space. If swatches aren’t enough for you then once you narrow it down to two or three, buy some sample jars.
take a picture–or two
I was surprised when I shared this photo on Instagram how different the gray colors translated on a screen. As soon as I saw this picture I could see that three of them were not what I was going for at all.
check it out online
Oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of this sooner. I mean, I had consulted my favorite blogs and Pinterest for opinions on the perfect gray. I’d looked for colors in the past before too. But what I hadn’t done is simply Google the colors I was already considering to see it in a variety of settings and lighting! I had two colors I couldn’t choose between so I searched them and found tons of different pictures with different lighting. Then I found some rooms with another paint from a swatch that I had already nixed. And I fell in love. I searched that color and adored every room that is was used in. What really sealed the deal was when one person said this particular gray was “the perfect gray, with no undertones of blue or purple in it.” That was exactly what I was looking for!
final thoughts on picking the perfect paint color
Just remember, don’t get discouraged. If you end up choosing a paint you don’t love, or it wasn’t really what you’d had in mind, then live with it for a little bit. If it doesn’t grow on you, it’s just paint. You can paint again. Paint is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to make a huge impact in a room. It’s worth it.
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So, are you curious what the perfect light gray paint color is? A gray that is somehow warm and inviting, with no weird undertones in it? Also, a gray that looks gorgeous against white trim and with dark toned furniture as well? Lastly, a gray that covered beautifully with two coats of paint?
You’re welcome.
Have you had any trouble picking the perfect paint color lately?
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17 Responses to picking the perfect paint color
That is a lovely color. We used "Ancient Stone" in our room by Behr. Love how it really brightened up the place. So crazy that gray can do that.
Ohhh! Love it! Can't wait to see how it looks in the room. And I spell it grey…I can't help myself!
hahah, okay I'm set now when I need to paint!! Dolphin Fin, behr. I spell it grey…that isn't right haha? Shoot.
My husband was loaned into a paint department at his job (Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control) for a few months and now he loathes painting!! And we need some painting done around the house. Of course! Thanks for sharing these great tips! I love the Dolphin Fin color!
I love gray! We did some renovation in our living room and kitchen last year (flooring, painting, cabinets, etc.), and I wanted a nice gray in both rooms. He said it was too dreary! (Says the man who is quite a bit color blind.) He absolutely was adamant. I'm showing him this post later as proof that it's not dreary! haha
That is a nice grey. I would not have thought to take pictures of the swatches to see how they look! I will file that away for when we paint again next. I'm a big fan of colour, so that is a really good tip.
I'll have to look Ancient Stone up and see how pretty it is. 🙂
I spell it both ways, I'm always double checking. 🙂
I know, it's so frustrating. I think in our next house we'll hire painters. 🙂
Can't wait to show the room as a whole, it really is pretty. 🙂 And luckily, my husband basically lets me make all final paint decisions.
This is a beautiful color! It's always a hard time for me to pick out paint colors
Omgosh I am soooo excited by this!!! You have no idea how hard it is to pick the perfect grey!!!! Hahahah actually yes you do because you just wrote a whole blog post explaining my grey trauma!
It is the hardest shade to get right ever!
I pick out a million swatches, I take them outside to see the colour in the sun, I take them and hold them against the wall, I try every trick in the book and I still end up with somthing too pale, too blue, too brown… Ugh it's infuriating.
I was so scared to go too dark in Elliott's room I actually went too light and you would think it's white if you didn't know any better lol
I am writing this shade down in my go to paint colours list!! :))))
Now I'm questioning my use of grey or gray??!? Heheh 🙂
Wow!!!! I LOVE the timing of this! Thanks so much! This is so helpful and I am pinning it now! You rock! PS I really like the color you picked!
Haha Holly, both are right!! 🙂
It really is so, so hard!! WHY?!!!!
Thanks so much! I am still really happy with the color, I kind of want it all over my house now. 🙂