The Perfect Green-Gray Paint Color Part II

Going through this exercise once wasn't quite enough of a thrill, so I did it again! What can I say, I love excitement in my life in the form of playing with paint colors. The first post about finding the perfect grey-gray continues to receive the most traffic out of all of my posts, so I figured it would be worthwhile and fun to share my second run at finding another green-gray paint color.

This time around I was trying to find a paint color for my full bathroom which has just undergone a pretty hefty renovation. 

I read on a random website via a Google search that if you find yourself purchasing more than 4 samples of paint and are still having no luck it is probably wise to call in the help of a design professional. I have 6 color swatches on each of 2 of my bathroom walls (yes, plural--a few more paint swatches and I could have actually gone for a very unique swatchy-esque look as the final product). I feel like part of the fun of doing this is that you figure out what other colors might not necessarily work in one space but could certainly work well in another. For $2.97 a pop I still don't feel as much of a sting as I did when I bought 4 gallons of Benjamin Moore paint all of which I disliked (a $125ish epic fail). At the present, I'm working on lightening one of those colors (I'm at a ratio of 1 gallon of Beach Glass to 2 gallons of white and it's still not working for me). So, hey, it looks like I'm actually out 6 gallons of paint. Holler at that!

So, what green-gray colors did I experiment with this time around?

1. Pewter Tray by Behr
2. Gray Cashmere by Benjamin Moore

3. Healing Aloe by Benjamin Moore

4. Lime Light by Behr

5. Gray Lake by Benjamin Moore

6. Paper White by Benjamin Moore

(All of these paints were color matched at Home Depot using either their Behr or Glidden testers)

One of my top picks, Gray Lake, was a color I had on my bathroom board. My other top pick was Healing Aloe. Ultimately, I chose to go with Gray Lake. It's funny how much the color has lightened and changed now that it's not side-by-side with the other green-gray colors I sampled. My biggest hesitation with settling on Gray Lake was the fact that it appeared to be almost a powdery baby blue next to the other paint colors. Does it read that way to you in the picture above? This was definitely not the color or look I was aiming for.

Previous experience with choosing paint colors only to find that they are way too dark once on the walls is the ultimate reason why I chose Gray Lake; it was one of the lightest of them all and many of these colors were actually on the lighter end of their hues. It was a tough choice to make. Another $30 down the drain? I hoped not.

Now that I've painted my bathroom I have found that, on its own with the white trim, Gray Lake is very, very light. To my surprise I'm actually extremely happy with my decision! Score! There is no hint of powdery baby blue at all. Plus, the bathroom doesn't get a lot of natural light and I didn't want to make it feel any darker. This is definitely a clean, airy, and fresh color choice. Perfect for a bathroom! Here's a look:

Click over here to take a look at the full bathroom reveal with very exciting before and after photos. I'm still working on the finishing touches and creating more projects for myself (yep, in the bathroom). The fun never ends when it comes to renovations. Seriously.

Also, check out my recent post on choosing a paint color.

-Kristin