Gray: A ‘sneaky color’ is hot to paint interiors | News, Sports, Jobs


By Katherine Roth

Associated press

When it comes to painting rooms, gray is hot.

Benjamin Moore offers over 150 shades of gray, and Sherwin-Williams says that of its 50 best colors for interiors, 30 are grays.

“The gray trend started in Scandinavia, became significant in the United States about six years ago, and is still on the rise.” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams.

Benjamin Moore’s Andrea Magno says, “Gray is not going anywhere and continues to gain popularity. It updates things instantly and changes over time. And now we are seeing more gray cabinetry and more gray trim.

Barely 15 years ago, she said, “If you told someone you were going to paint your room gray, they would moan and say, ‘How depressing. Before about 2010, it was about warm Tuscan colors. Since then, it’s really about cool, modern grays, and not just for paint colors. Stone, marble, tile and wood have also gotten much cooler.

But choosing the right shade of gray can be tricky.

“It is crucial to pay attention to the nuances, and also to the way in which the light reacts to them” said Magno. “Gray is a very sneaky color.”

Grays have undertones of blue, purple, or green, and you’ll want to make sure the shades are compatible with the surrounding tiles, furniture, and fabrics, the designers say.

For a real “Gray in the middle” Wadden suggests Repose Gray about his business.

“For the walls surrounding the pink tiling in a bathroom, I would go with Repose Gray, which goes really well with the pink and creates a neutral background.” she says.

Amazing Gray has a greener undertone, while Passive is cooler with more blue.

“We generally try to steer customers away from the shades of purple. Usually we stick with real hot and real cold, and the golden mean, often referred to as French gray. They are real grays, “ says Cate Dunning, who, along with Lathem Gordon, runs Atlanta-based GordonDunning Interior Design.

In addition to shades, there is a big difference between cool and warm grays, with the former being better suited to modern interiors and the latter often better suited to traditional homes with furniture in warmer colors, according to Dunning.

A gray that’s too cold in an extreme sun, like Florida’s, can sometimes appear chalky, warns Wadden.

“My best advice is to pick your three favorite grays, paint a billboard with each of them, and watch them in your home for a weekend, noting which one you like best at different times of the day and the night. If you dive before doing this, you may regret it ”, Dunning said.

“You might like a photo you’ve seen in a magazine, but it’s important to remember that the same shade of gray can look totally different in your own home.” Gordon said.

While undertones are hard to spot in a paint chip, they become more evident on a larger area like a billboard placed prominently in the room you plan to paint, Magno adds.

Some of Benjamin Moore’s most popular grays are Gray Owl, Balboa Mist, Coventry Gray, Stonington Gray, Revere Pewter, and Thunder, she says.

Revere Pewter has a gray cast iron “but it’s warm and very livable,” she says. “For the cabinets, it’s Kendall Charcoal.”

What about the toppings? While grays are typically used with lighter grays, whites, and off-whites, the latest trend is to cut into the same shade of gray, if not darker.

“We like to do everything in one shade of gray” Gordon said. “It looks great, especially paired with a light linen drape with a little sparkle. We’re also seeing more interest in silvery grays.

Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, also considers gray with gray borders to be a trend.

“White always seems safer to some people, but it’s easy to forget how harsh white can be. Give the gray a chance, “ she says. “And if you’re nervous at first, I recommend going for a shade with undertones of blue.”

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