A Lovely Shade of Gray

My living room was in desperate need of color and it just needed new paint. Hello tan, white and brown and more tan and brown. My accessories even seemed to be brown or espresso.

Living Room - Before

Don't get me wrong, I  liked the Laura Ashley Sand 3 color for over 10 years. It just started to look a little outdated, and my living room was, in a word, monotone. So I scoured blogs, Pinterest, my Sherwin Williams store until I decided on these four gray paint choices from SW:

I didn't paint samples on the wall, but instead taped the four samples in different spots in the living room so that I could see it during all parts of the day, near the windows and curtains, by the stairs, by the front door, how it played with the dining room...

I decided against Silvermist because it read a bit too dark in my living room. I also thought it seemed too blue. The samples above look so gray, but I took those pictures in natural light and away from my amber colored wood trim.

I decided that Sea Salt was a little too light in the living room, even though it was probably my favorite in the Sherwin Williams store.

I kept Contented and Comfort Gray around and kept going back and forth between the two. Contented had a lot more of the green undertones, and I have a love/hate relationship with green. I really liked how Nester's Comfort Gray worked with her sofa because the sofa looked about the same color as my living room drapes. That's what I decided to go with.

I left the ceiling as Laura Ashley's Sand 1 because it was in good shape. Here is the first coat:

The first coat almost looked fluorescent against the old Sand color, but my daughter (and paint cutter-inner) and I persevered.

I love the new paint color. It's a tranquil, but airy gray with a lot of blue undertones.

Living Room - After

I still need to purchase a sofa and will probably move the piano back across the room. I may repaint the ceiling so it matches the dining room ceiling, which is a creamy white instead of a light beige.

My living room paint color brings me so much joy!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Nicole

I am linking up at Thrift Decor Chick's Before and After Party, Remodelaholic