Mission: The Perfect Green-Gray Paint Color

Wow. So many paint chips, so many similar shades, and yet so, so much of a difference when they end up on the wall. I feel like every time I paint a sample (oh yes, I've learned to buy the small sample at Home Depot for $3 a pop) I say to myself, "Oh, no! This has got to be a mistake. The color is way off. Mechanical error! Oh, wait... ::get's paint chip:: nope." Ugh.

As a result of learning from such a paint color selection mistake (make that two mistakes), I currently have four of these small samples in my possession.

I'm looking for a greenish-gray color. In my previous bedroom I used Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams. I liked it, but it was a bit darker than where I wanted to be this time around.

Old Bedroom

Here are the colors I purchased to sample at home (samples 1-4 purchased at Home Depot):

1. Aloof Gray, Sherwin Williams
2. Sea Salt, Sherwin Williams
3. Comfort Gray, Sherwin Williams
4. Dusty Miller, Glidden
5. Beach Glass, Benjamin Moore

After some deliberation by daylight and starlight, I decided upon Comfort Gray which is actually just a shade lighter than the Oyster Bay I once had. In my opinion, Aloof Gray and Dusty Miller were too gray. Sea Salt was too bright and blue (to my eye). I will be using Beach Glass (already purchased 2 gallons) in my living room/dining room, which is one big space (another project in the near future).

If you like something and it speaks to you, stick with it. Especially when it's painted walls that surround you in your own home.

*UPDATE: Be sure to check out my most recent adventure in selecting a green-gray paint color for my full bathroom that was just renovated. Also, check out choosing a paint color.

Pictures to follow of my bedroom redo experiment with colors outside of my comfort zone that ultimately did not turn out as I had hoped (at all). Of course, Comfort Gray came to the rescue to make my bedroom a place I can sigh with relaxation rather than regret. There's nothing quite like a space that makes you unwind in its presence.

-Kristin