It's no secret the grey is one of the hottest colors trending right now. It's everywhere! From wedding colors to everyday fashion, baby nursery to party themes. And, it comes in almost every color combination imaginable; pink and grey, teal and grey, blue and grey, green and grey, and probably the most popular, yellow and grey. Heck, I even selected grey for my blog and website design.
All around it is a great color.
Today though I want to talk about using grey in interiors, specifically as a paint color. It's a great choice in general terms because it still has that touch of neutralism allowing you to add pops of color through your accessories and doesn't overtake your room. However, using grey in interiors can be a little tricky if you don't know what you're looking for.
When selecting any paint I always recommend that you put a sample up in your house and watch it through out the day under all the different lighting it will go through, because the color will change in appearance. Grey is no exception.
Typically when you are at Home Depot or any other store you are looking at the paint samples under a fluorescent lamp which in basic terms means that blue is rendered onto the object the light falls onto where as your everyday incandescent lamp tends to project a more yellow tone. Thus it isn't unheard of to find a paint sample in the store that looks like a nice cool grey but in your home turns an interesting shade of green, especially at night.
SOMETIMES, the quick answer to avoid your grey turning green is to look for a more blue based grey as opposed to one with a yellow base.
(If you don't know how to tell, look at the colors that are around it. You can also ask to look at a paint fan deck which will have the colors divided by base color. )
Regardless patience becomes the key. When selecting paints I usually follow three simple steps.
1.) Find the paint chips (the paper samples a the store) that I think I want to try. I will get at least two or three samples. I then take these chips home and look at them in the spaces where they would be painted. I watch them throughout the day seeing how the color changes under the various lighting that is found throughout the space.
2.) When I think I have found the right color/s I will purchase a sample kit. If you don't want to paint directly onto the wall/s you can buy a couple pieces of cheap wood to test your sample on. After is has completely dried I again watch it throughout the course of a day to see how it changes. (paint tends to dry just slightly darker than what is on the paint chip)
3.) Finally, if my color selection has passed the two tests above I get to work. If it doesn't pass I start the process all over until I am completely satisfied.
Have you used grey in an interior space? What was your experience?
