Gray paint. It’s all the rage. But how to choose one that doesn’t look flat and boring? How to know how dark to go or which room to paint which gray in?  Over the past few years, we have painted 17 different rooms and we have chosen gray 15 times.  Read on to discover which grays are my favorites and why.  This post will focus on Benjamin Moore paints because that’s the line of paint our local hardware store sells and I like supporting local businesses so I only buy from them.

Stonington Gray

Part of the historical collection by Benjamin Moore, Stonington Gray is my number one go to for an open living, dining, kitchen.  It’s light enough not to feel closed in, it’s got an absolutely gorgeous hue, and it’s ever changing in different lights.  Somehow, it manages to always make a space look polished.  It pops against a white molding, and also goes very well with the silvery gray of aged driftwood, which I use in my homes a lot.  My favorite thing about it is that although it looks totally different on a sunny day from how it does on a cloudy one, and again in natural light or artificial, it’s always beautiful.  There are subtle undertones of blue, green, and even sometimes violet in this versatile color.

Coventry Gray

Slightly darker than Stonington, but also a true gray that doesn’t show up greenish, purplish, or bluish, Coventry Gray is my top pick for a guest bedroom, study, or bathroom with white tile or vanity.  It goes beautifully with white marbles like Carrara, whether you are using that as a countertop or a mosaic tile.  Stonington also pairs very well with white subway tile like in the bathroom photo from the trailer project below.  I like painting different rooms in the house different colors, so it doesn’t get boring and when you stand in one room and look out to another, you can both see the difference in shades, and appreciate how the two complement each other.

Winter Solstice

Another shade by Benjamin Moore, and even darker than Coventry Gray, this gray is excellent for a small dramatic space like a powder room.  If you are looking to find a darker gray paint that looks great in person you may have found your solution.  We used this color in the Trailer Project on the tiny little jack and jill bath between two of the guest rooms.  This room was only 2-1/2 feet wide!  People may tell you not to use a darker color in a small space because it makes it feel smaller, but in this case it worked perfectly.  This is another of what I call a true grey.  No matter the lighting, I did not find hints of other colors within the shade.

Wickham Gray

Time to highlight one of my favorite grays that has a hint of green in it!  Sometimes you don’t want just gray, you want something with a touch of color, and Wickham Gray by Benjamin Moore gives us just that.  Living by the beach, we try to bring the colors that occur naturally outside in to our home.  Because of this, we end up using a lot of blues and greens.  Jason and I used this color for our master bedroom and closet in the Trailer Project.  We used it again in the master bath at the Farmhouse.  Wickham Gray is light and can brighten up a room.  This gray paint is also part of the Historical Collection.

Whitestone

You wouldn’t think this is actually a gray from the name, but Whitestone is a beautiful gray paint with a blue undertone. Whitestone has the ability to change colors in different lights and looks great in every case.  We painted our new master bedroom at the Farmhouse this color. At first I was worried it had too much purple in it.  But the purple effect was created because we were painting over blue and Whitestone didn’t show up well.  After priming the room and doing a test patch, though, we were convinced.  The depth of hue on this one is excellent and it really changes throughout the day.  It’s beautiful in bright morning sunlight or at night with just the bedside light on.

Hopefully we have been helpful assisting with your color choices.  Gray can be daunting since there are so many to choose from and you never know what undertones will show themselves until you get the paint up on the wall.  I do recommend testing the paint on your walls.  Make sure to prime first if you are painting over anything but plain white.  If you still aren’t sure, take 4 pieces of white paper and tape them to the wall around a square of the paint color. This will help you see what it really looks like.  Don’t forget to consider your furnishings and upholstery when choosing a paint color.  If you have items that will not be changing, you will want to try them near the new color to see if you like it.

We’d love to hear about your favorite grays.  Do you have any that we didn’t mention?  Or absolutely love a shade from another brand besides Benjamin Moore?  Please let us know in the comments below!