Tuesday, December 22, 2009

In fact, it does exist

The perfect gray paint, I mean.  I'd like to give a big sloppy kiss to the folks at Benjamin Moore for coming up with HC-169, Coventry Gray.

This color rocks my world.  As you can see, it is one shade darker than the famed 'Stonington Gray' which you can read about on the best design blogs, like Colour Me Happy, Apartment Therapy, and Young House Love.  Stonington is very close to Behr's Dolphin Fin.  I loved the color, but it just wasn't 'gray' enough for my taste.  It was a little too beige.  So I tried out a bunch of BM colors, including Cement Gray, Stonington Gray, Iced Cube Silver, and Coventry Gray.  Here's a sneak peek at the winner:

And, I actually did prime the doors.  Not that you can tell.  I love how this shade jives with my $5.00 fabric.  My wallet is happy this fabric is working out, let me tell ya.

The color is not too light, too dark, too blue, or too purple, it is just lovely.  Even Shaun loves it, and the only colors he cares about are green and gold (not to bring up the Pack's crushing loss on Sunday).  Look how bad it makes that old color-matched swatch look!

I still have some touch-ups to do.  I wanted the walls to have a velvety finish, so they recommended the BM Regal 'Matte' finish.  It has a bit more sheen than a flat, and I do like it.  However, the paint itself is kind of runny and didn't cover like I expected a $34 gallon of paint to cover after one coat.  I also have to touch up all my baseboards because it splattered like crazy.  I think Behr is much easier to work with because it is thicker, it hardly ever splatters the trim, and covers more in one coat.  I think doing two coats of paint for lighter shades is lame.  I guess in the end I'm happy because the color is perfect, and I know it wouldn't be if I'd had Home Desperate color-match it. 

Seriously, dig this color with my white trim.  I die.  So, I'm not going to prattle on about this room anymore until after the new year when I can hopefully reveal the 'after.'  I'm waiting (very impatiently, #*%^$"!) for a rug to arrive, and Shaun is making the ultimate 'dude sacrifice' by taking me to Ikea the day after Christmas for some storage items.  I know, he's crazy!  Don't tell him, though. 

17 comments:

  1. Great pick and it looks fab! Can't wait to see the room finished!

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  2. Look Good! Finally, no more grey hairs.

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  3. That really does make a difference! I also hate Benjamin Moore paint...too expensive and not as good as Behr. Glidden is also really nice for colors. I have to repaint my primary yellow master bedroom something a little more sophisticated.

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  4. I love the color. And, I officially had my first temper tantrum of the morning - "I want a gray room, I want a gray room" - I don't know why I talked myself out of gray when I painted the whole house.

    Okay.... I'm over myself. =)

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  5. I like the gray walls. And I love that you stuck with the cheap- er, inexpensive, fabric. I just love that pattern!

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  6. Perfect grey.

    Happy holidays to you ... hope you get some time off from painting!!!

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  7. All of that testing paid off! I can't wait to see how everything comes together!!

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  8. Gorgeous color! Glad you found the perfect match :)

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  9. Wow! Looks great! I had originally suggested yellow, but the grey really looks fab! I used Behr for my latest room makeover and was incredibly dissapointed with how runny it was. I've always had the best luck with Sherwin Williams. Anyways, thanks for sharing! happy holiday :)

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  10. Great color chocie! It's close the the grey we painted our bedroom...love this color alot!!

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  11. Very nice! I seem to always end up at IKEA after Christmas, too. Good luck with that! When we go, my husband knows we'll be there for at least... uh... 4 hours.

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  12. The color looks amazing!!!

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  13. AAHH!!! It really is perfect! I am so excited to see this room when it's done. Grey and yellow is one of my favorite color combos!

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  14. I want to thank you for possibly saving my marriage.
    I love grey. It is my favorite color.
    And I love paint. But I suck at picking good shades and making a decision. Thanks to your tireless dedication, when I am ready to grey, perfection has already been defined and I don't have to risk divorce by dragging my husband to the paint store 20 times and painting dozens of swatches all over the walls. I will just use the perfect grey. Your sacrifice has not gone unappreciated.

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  15. Looks great!! Finding the right gray is so hard. Every shade looks totally different in different rooms.

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  16. That's my kind of gray--and it looks perfect with that awesome fabric!

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara