I can’t believe this is coming out of my brain onto the page, but I must admit painting walls grey is so 2019 and frankly not a great idea anymore.
Don’t get me wrong grey is a beautiful classic color, but there is A LOT of room for error. The problem is that even the most forgiving of greys are altered, through no fault of their own, by the light they are given.
Grey can look blue or purple or green or even more of a brown… which, if you wanted any of those colors you wouldn’t have chosen grey in the first place.
Here’s the issue with the “light”. Now, I ain’t no electromagnetic physicist but a simple explanation is this: Light is electromagnetic waves of energy that are altered by what they travel through and what they bounce off of. The interior walls of your house are a reflection of the journey of light from its source through the prisms in between, and essentially everything is a light altering prism.
Not so simple? ok, try this. A great example of a light changing prism are leaves and trees. All around my house there are lots of trees with lots of leaves. The interior light in my house is what’s leftover after the light from outside makes its way through the green leaves. In the winter, of course, there are no leaves so the light is brighter, more contiguous throughout the interior spaces, and more white light.
Continuing with our junior high physics class… “White light” is actually all color wavelengths traveling together and creating clearer white, to the eye.
Still confused? This is all you have to know. Grey is particularly vulnerable to color shifting which means what you see in the white, overhead store lighting of the Benjamin Moore store is not what you are going to see on your walls at home. That’s where the frustration comes in. The color can be a big shock after it dries on the walls of your own home.
The choice is yours, I just feel obligated to let you know what you are really getting into if you go grey. Just using a grey you like in a friends home won’t guarantee it looks the same in your home.
- I recommend getting samples of your favorite grays and putting them on the wall before you make a final decision. Notice how the color changes with the light in your home throughout the day.
- Take note of how the grey works or doesn’t with your furniture and other decorative accents in the room.
- Consider using grey as the color on a statement wall, rather than the entire room.
Grey has been a big trend in recent years but that’s just it. It’s a trend. Trends don’t last forever. It might be time to start phasing this out from the interior of your home.
If you want a good neutral color I put some of my favorites here.
At the end of the day, your home should be a source of peace and happiness… not irritation. Of course, paint is, well, paint. You can always change it ….
