A Touch of Gray (31 comments)

oldcharm says:

I LOVE both the kitchen by Susan Serra, CKD and the bedroom by Gibbons, Fortman & Associates - beautiful!

chelzers says:

My house is full of gray paint! Martha Stewart does (or did) the BEST grays! I hope she continues some of the same colors with Home Depot that she did at Lowes. I would hate to see people miss out on colors like Soapstone (pale light tan gray--perfect neutral), Bedford (a darker more platinum gray) and my fave Pasture Gate (beautiful dark gray-brown). I love gray paired with dark espresso furniture/flooring to warm it up. So lovely!

pwalter says:

Love the combination of grey and white! www.satisfiedsole.com

bmcpheters says:

I found several sources for this contemporary wallpaper, and I'm sure there are tons more. The most popular one (came up the most in my searching) is Graham & Brown
Others include Cole & Son, Graphic Wall, Thibaut (also fabricates textiles to match wallpapers), Cominic Crinson (100% fleece, eco-friendly, fire rated, ok for wet areas), Marimekko, Jocelyn Warner, and Debenhams. Some of these work out of the UK, but I think they are all available to us in the US.

becky says:

Chelzers, thanks for the paint information!
bmcpeters, I'm confused, all of those places make the same wallpaper in picture number one? Or are you just talking about great sources for contemporary wallpaper in general? Thanks! Becky

chelzers says:

You're welcome Becky! I did a little searching on the wallpaper and while I haven't found the exact print, I found something really similar! And it's decently priced!! (around $40/roll--57sqft) The manufacturer is Holden Decor Ltd. and the print is called Nikita - color Silver. I will keep searching for that exact one though!

becky says:

Oh I LOVE it! I love that light/dark repeat on both of them - it's like the print has a silver shadow. That is a really good price - wallpaper has gotten ridiculously expensive lately!

amy_z says:

I never thought I would be a fan of gray but I'm loving this family of grays we have just painted our kitchen and adjacent areas. In our pantry/laundry room (in photo), the trim is Heron Plume and walls Popular Gray (both Sherwin Williams). We're doing one shade darker - Versatile Gray - below the chair rail in our foyer.

becky says:

Amy I love the color you chose - it's anything BUT dingy! Very warm, clean, and beautiful!

larndon says:

I too, am loving gray these days! It's everywhere- especially in paint and fashion. I have added several photos to my houzz ideabook recently in preparation for painting our "library".

Here are a few houzz images you might want to add to your list here:

This one I love! The collection of black frames is perfect on the gray:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/19095/DUMICAN-MOSEY-Architects---Fillmore-Street-contemporary-staircase-san-francisco

I woukd love this gray, but with white subway tiles, in my master bath:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/40898/casual-luxury--bathroom-toronto

Clearly, this is a commercial setting, but notice how the warmth of the wood compliments the cool gray... gray does not equal cold and boring!:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/35760/New-Gallery---los-angeles

seriouslyahomemaker says:

oops, becky, i just posted my response under my hubby's houzz account on accident... would love for you to delete it and leave this one here! thanks!...

I too, am loving gray these days! It's everywhere- especially in paint and fashion. I have added several photos to my houzz ideabook recently in preparation for painting our "library".

Here are a few houzz images you might want to add to your list here:

This one I love! The collection of black frames is perfect on the gray:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/19095/DUMICAN-MOSEY-Architects---Fillmore-Street-contemporary-staircase-san-francisco

I woukd love this gray, but with white subway tiles, in my master bath:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/40898/casual-luxury--bathroom-toronto

Clearly, this is a commercial setting, but notice how the warmth of the wood compliments the cool gray... gray does not equal cold and boring!:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/35760/New-Gallery---los-angeles

mikki says:

I too have recently come to love the color gray. In the past, I've always associated it with cold and sterile settings. Having recently embarked on a gut renovation of my apartment, gray surprisingly has turned out to be the dominating color palette for the kitchen, bath and most millwork! There is such range in grays (from cool to warm) of which I was never aware. It is now my new neutral.

sophie777 says:

I always thought gray was cold too, but found this beautiful bluish gray by accident. I could only get my floor tiles in gray and white so matched the walls to it. It's by Benjamin Moore, but I don't know the name as our contractor has the paint chip. I think it looks kinda' nice in our new "vintage" powder room.

cassie8978 says:

i LOVE gray! i have it in several places in my house- it is so natural and soothing, yet so overlooked. thanks for highlighting it in this article with such beautiful pictures!

malenalott says:

While furniture shoppingrgus weekend I was really drawn to the gray sofas. Adding the plum is a great idea. Beautiful.

annicolf says:

Love this idea book. I've also been drawn to gray lately. I painted my bedroom Behr's Paint+Primer Silver Tinsel and it is incredibly soothing (attached photo). I also recently painted my powder bath Sherwin Williams Hardware and it's a fab dark gray-green.

interdesign says:

Grey blend Italian Glass Mosaic Tiles in redesigned powder rm. Custom cantilevered wall mirror conceals back lighting for the glass mosaic tile wall.

jen_s says:

There is such variety in grey. I once did my husbands study in a silver grey & used navy & dark red for the furniture & accessories (it hase since become a bedroom). We painted the outside of our house dolphin fin grey about six years ago ( I think it was a ralph lauren color). I was looking for a grey that was neither too green or too blue the dolphin fin was just right. I still love it.
We had a rain/snow storm last week & the sky was a pale grey with just a hint of blue & I am off to find a paint chip that color for my kitchen.

becky says:

It is so much fun to see everyone's grays here! Seriouslyahomemaker, it's too funny, that bathroom picture is what gave me the idea for the ideabook, but then I lost track of it, thanks for bringing it back to my attention! Unfortunately, I have no powers to delete comments, not even my own, but we'll know it's you ;)

eispy30 says:

I am totally getting into the gray scheme - saw a beautiful sofa from Crate and Barrell that was a gorgeous gray with white pin stripe and nickel naiheads... thanks for the different color names.

tmoya says:

I love the coolness of grey and it is sooo elegant in many of these pics! I have a tiny 1/2 bath I painted gray on the bottom half with pink and white stripe wallpaper on the top half - sort of cuts the sweetness factor down!

suiteinspiration says:

I've been in love with grey since last year. It's such a versatile color. Works with so many colors and decorating styles. Used a very pale shade in my dark basement and it lightened it without being as stark as white (the painter thought I was crazy). In the front section (the very cool hangout) as a backdrop to black and charcoal mid-century modern inspired furniture with silver and bright green accessories. In the middle section (my very elegant office) as a back drop to a mirrored desk, silver & black velvet chair and black & white damask accessories.

schieffs says:

Just completed a kitchen renovation and the walls are BM Bunny Gray cut in half with white. It is gorgeous!! Mixes well with the other materials (white cabinets and crown moulding, dark hardwood floors, carrara and stainless counters , chrome hardware and faucet, and white/blue/green small glass tile mosaic to the ceiling). The gray makes the whole thing. It's soft and pretty - cool toned but not cold at all. My home office is also gray (BM Horizon Gray) and has a bulletin board covered in Hinson Madagascar grasscloth wallpaper and looks terrific. Now hoping to do gray in my foyer but it has very little light and all my samples are looking drab. Suggestions for grays that work in low-light areas are welcome!! Thanks.

deodand says:

I painted the outward-facing walls of my living room a very dark charcoal grey a couple of years ago. I did it initially to keep light from bouncing back into my TV set and making it hard to watch. I've come to love it on its own, partly because it works with my red sofa and brown cork floors, and partly because its personality really does change throughout the day. It has a silver tone when the sun hits it that I love. I will always have grey walls somewhere.

capstonegranite says:

Love the GRAY color!! It works GREAT with PINK FUCHSIA!

laurelmurals says:

Here traditional French country life scenes in shades of gray transition to current day with pops of saturated color.

becky says:

Can I just tell all of you who commented how much fun it is to see all of your gray rooms and color suggestions? It's really making my week to see everyone participating and sharing ideas!

nidhimohta says:

Grey is a very versatile color indeed! And it changes the mood of the room from day to night. Grey and yellow works, so does grey and pink fuchsia like someone else mentioned and also grey and orange. My favorite gray color is BM's silver fox - it's a warm gray with just a hint of brown and it looks more gray and more brown depending on the time of the day. Here is a picture of my den converted to a reading area with one orange accent wall.

nidhimohta says:

Paired with pale walls and a gray couch

mbaime says:

I'd love to see Becky do a segment on whites.... It's so hard to peg that perfect modern white paint color.

becky says:

Thanks mbaime, and you're right, I don't think I've ever figured it out either, though everyone seems to swear by Benjamin Moore's Swiss Coffee.