Are you searching for the perfect gray paint for your home? I’ve been searching, too, and it’s tougher than I thought! In a previous post, I wrote about starting my search for the perfect gray paint for our family room. I had bought samples of two popular Benjamin Moore (BM) gray paints to try the first time around – Stonington Gray and Revere Pewter. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced that either of those are “the perfect gray paint.”
Which is the Perfect Gray Paint? Another Round of Samples…
So, I headed to the paint store for more samples on Friday. I wasn’t going to be defeated this time around, and I had the paint guy mix up 6 new samples. These are the paints I chose (labeled in the picture below):
- BM Rockport Gray
- BM Nimbus
- BM Silver Chain
- BM Smoke Embers
- BM Gray Husky
- BM Gray Owl
- BM Revere Pewter
- BM Stonington Gray
So many pretty grays! And the winner is???? Well, I think I’ve narrowed it down to a decision between Nimbus (#2), Silver Chain (#3), and Revere Pewter (#7). Yep, Revere Pewter is still in the running, even though I wasn’t completely sure the first time around.
Nimbus and Revere Pewter are more of a “greige,” while Silver Chain is more of a true gray. They look the best out of all the others in our house in both daylight and at night. The others have either too much blue or green undertones, or are just too dark.
I also looked through some online pictures of the three colors to see if that could help me make a decision. Here are a few that I found…
Nimbus (BM 1465)
Silver Chain
Revere Pewter
Tonight I think I’m leaning toward Nimbus. Tomorrow may be a different story. Why is this so difficult?!?! Check out the next post in this series (Perfect Gray Paint Part III) to see what we finally choose.
NOTE: I wrote this post before I became an interior designer, and it’s fun now to look back and understand exactly why I struggled so much with finding the perfect gray paint color. It’s all about the lighting conditions. Check out my post on Common Reasons for Paint Color Mishaps for guidance. Also, download my FREE list of Favorite Gray Paint Colors.
Thanks for your post! I am stuck between the same 2 grays (Nimbus and Silver Chain. Which did you end up with?
Thanks!
Well, I was all set on Silver Chain and just about ready to paint, when I visited the Sherwin Williams store and found another candidate…Mindful Gray. It’s another beautiful gray, and it derailed my painting plans for a bit. Mindful gray is my top choice right now, and we’re gearing up to paint again soon. I’ll post the final pictures. Good luck with your gray paint search!
Hi,
I just came across your post while looking for grey colours to paint my home. You are so right it is such a challenge! Did you end up choosing one of those greys?
Hi Christina! I was going to go with Silver Chain, but then I visited the Sherwin Williams store and found another candidate…Mindful Gray. It’s another beautiful gray, and now our top choice. We just haven’t gotten around to painting that room yet, but we will soon, and I’ll post the pictures when we’re done. Good luck with your gray paint search!
im really looking myself for a gray gray…so many when you get them dont look gray…to much blue or other colors in it…i really want a gray color with no others in it…when you look at it …you know its gray…so what color did you pick and if you have samples which one fits my choice
Grays are not easy to pick out virtually because one gray paint will look completely different in one house (due to lighting differences) than in another. I really wanted a true gray color for my house, as well. Of the colors I looked at, the truest looking grays were Benjamin Moore’s Smoke Embers and Nimbus (Nimbus is one shade lighter than Smoke Embers), and Silver Chain. I’ve also looked at Sherwin Williams of late, and they have a nice gray called Repose Gray (Mindful Gray is also pretty, just one shade darker). We decided on Mindful Gray for our house.
The best advice I can give you is to get a sample of several of these different grays, and paint them on some white foam board (painting them directly on the walls could alter the color a bit). Mount the foam board up on the wall of the room you are planning to paint, and stare at the colors in the morning and at night until one of them jumps out as the winner. And if none of them seem to be perfect, there might be one that’s close, and you can use that as a starting point for your next round of samples. I wish you best of luck in your search for a perfect true gray. My neighbor went through 25 samples to find hers!
We painted stonington in my son’s room. It looks like a pale blue.
I’m in search for the right gray for my kitchen.
I’m on 15 samples right now and counting as it shows the undertones a lot. Lots of purple blues up there.
My neighbor painted her walls Stonington, and it looked great, but in my house it looked blue. Lighting is everything. I agree with Jno that Gray Owl would be a good one for you to try.
You sound like me! I have 12 samples on my wall and not completely satisfied with any. All I see now are greens, blues, and purples (the main gray undertones). I don’t have the paint sample for Collonade Gray by SW, but am leaning towards it through a color swatch and Pinterest and blog articles. Any opinions? It is for the master bedroom.
We have Collonade Gray in our new house and we love it! What did you decide?
In my previous home I had Seattle Gray n it was a beautiful color. My son also painted his living, dining room n hallways Seattle Gray. After we moved I had painters n used the same Seattle Gray. My whole living area Is now light blue. The label on the paint can Seattle Gray so how can this be? So disappointed.
Seattle Gray is a lovely color that has blue undertones, and in different lighting conditions, it will look more blue or more gray. It sounds like your new home has very different lighting that your previous home. If your new home is bringing out the blue undertones, you’ll need to look for a gray with less blue in it, and/or more warmth to it. It’s possible they mixed the paint a little too heavy on the blue, and you could check that pretty quickly by getting a paint chip from your local BM store and comparing it with your wall color. But more often that not, it’s the home lighting conditions.
Gray Owl is a “light true gray” and Stonington Gray is a “true gray” as well. Stonington Gray is just darker than Gray Owl. I hope this help anyone with this dilemma. Happy painting!
Good to know. Thanks for the info!
What is with the picture of the boy looking up the woman’s skirt?
Oh my! I don’t recall ever putting that picture in there (wondering if this post was hacked somehow?), but I’m definitely taking it out! Ewww, totally not appropriate! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Gray Owl is a grey green. Wouldn’t recommend it as “true”. I am considering Silver Lining at this point. Don’t want something too dark or too light.
Thanks for your input. Benjamin Moore’s Silver Lining is very pretty! Good luck to you.
We used silver lining in the hallways has lots of blue tones not happy wanted a light gray
Shows light blue daylight and night should we put potlights ?
I have Benjamin Moore silver lining in my room and love it!
Looking for a beige/tan paint color with a darker grey accent wall. Any good combinations you know of?
Great question! I would recommend choosing a gray accent color that has warm undertones, like Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray. It will blend nicely with beige/tan paints. A good combination to try is BM’s Chelsea Gray paired with BM’s Sandy Hook. You might also consider pairing Revere Pewter with Chelsea Gray, although it might trend more gray than you are after. Good luck!
I’m having an aweful time with my grey paint!!! Did my bathroom and wanted a light true grey…ended up looking blue. In my living room used Sherwin williams less brown as accent wall. Other walls started with truly taupe and way too purple!!! Need something that does not have purple undertones!! Thank you:)
Oh no! I had the same problem in my house. I used SW Mindful Gray in our dining room, and loved it. But, when I painted it in the kitchen, it looked like lavender…big bummer. SW Less Brown and Truly Taupe both have purple undertones, so that explains why you’re seeing purple. You might try SW Collonade Gray or Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. These are very similar colors that tend a little more green than purple. Another good one to try is SW Analytical Gray. Good luck to you!
We are completely renovating the entire house and I’m on the fence with my kitchen cabinets. Right now I have a sample done up with BM 1465 Nimbus but I’m not sure if it’s grey enough for me. Granted I have a feeling with this color you can put many different colors with it which is also great as my family room is attached to the kitchen. Any thoughts? I’m also putting a glaze on the cabinets.
So ironic Melissa bc i have been searching for the perfect grey as well for my living room and i have the exact Pottery Barn rug that u have wth the same wall color, and a dark brown sectional! i just purchased a new rug from PB in grey and cream and looking for the perfect wall color too. Greys are so very difficult with so many hues???
I’m in search of a new rug for that room. It seems to attract my chocolate lab’s fur like nobody’s business, and it ends up looking super dirty (and hairy). Good luck with your gray paint search!
I’m planning on painting the majority of my house Stonington and Coventry Gray, but would like something lighter for the hallways. Wickham gray is on the same palette but I don’t really like it. Any suggestions?
I just painted an accent wall in my basement BM Owl Grey. It looks a very feminine blue-green shade under the halogen pot lights. I’m disappointed the colour was not grey under these lighting conditions. Pretty, but not what I had hoped for. However, I am investigating changing the halogen bulb in my pot lights to LED bulbs that might change the paint colour. There appears to be 3 types of LED bulbs that provide a range of lighting from white light to warm light. Home Depot has a display in the light bulb section with the 3 bulb types set up so I can try the colour chip under each lighting condition before I purchase the new bulbs. I think it’ll be less work than repainting the walls.
I am thinking of painting my dining room grey but am gun shy now. My dining room is normally dark day and night as it does not get much natural light. I am wondering if anyone can comment on their experience with a medium grey that works well in rooms with little natural light and good with incandescent light from a chandelier.
We are currently remodeling a home in Colorado where our blue skies strongly influence paint colors. Nimbus was our first choice because it seemed more neutral & leaned toward taupe. However many places it picks up the blue sky light and seems to look bright baby boy blue. If walls are close together this effect is even stronger.
I am now having to select some walls to be repainted an off-white just to remove the intense result. In small test areas this wasn’t apparent. The Benjamin Moore rep was just as shocked.
Anyone ever try BM Metro Gray or Cement Gray. I like the purple undertones but don’t want a purple wall.
On my second round of grey samples. I have tv wall painted black and I love it. I ants to paint the whole room black since it has lots of natural light and is only 2 more walls. But I’m cautious so am looking for a grey now. I’m overwhelmed and can’t find III. PS what do I do w all the samples ?
One year we held a garage sale, and someone saw all these paint samples in our garage and asked if he could have them. He wanted them because they were neutral colors and he was making a huge train set with a train town. Go figure! You could try posting them for free on Craigslist or on Nextdoor and see if anyone bites.