I’d never paint my interior gray. it just elicits no coziness, comfort, or happiness in me. The entire interior of our home was repainted 2 years ago. It’s a combo of creamy off whites, tans, blues, and greens none of which have gray undertones. We live in a wooded area surrounded by nature. A gray interior would seem off to me like it wouldn’t feel right for the setting.
I have some very bright and deep colors in my house. My bedroom is the closest color I could find to the old “magenta” crayon from the box of 64 crayons. We love it! Especially when afternoon sun is coming through the sheer curtains.
I fully expect to repaint when and if we sell one day. Paint would need refreshing anyway.
The only color I chose that I didn’t like was fine by itself, but didn’t look as good on the walls because green light ended up coming in the windows. That’s why you should do some large test patches before you commit.
I am definitely considering Grey, but I am not a fan of beige. Right now we have the yellow, white and natural wood look which I think is now dated. Grey is in and I understand the greige thing, but I’m sticking with grey and white.
We are in the middle of updating our house and have always favored warm beige-y neutrals but are changing over to greys. I am surprised at how much I like the cooler tones.
I was in some of the new-builds which were completely done in greys (as in everything) with lots of crystal door knobs and the like. It was like walking around in the really early morning when there isn’t much light and the house seems almost black and white. I think I can be saved from H’s manipulations by the fact that gray doesn’t really work with our stained trim, which is more of a Pecan shade, or with the colors in the rooms we would not be doing over.
I actually contacted Kylie M and did an online consult to choose a color, I think I had purchased 17 different sample or quarts of the wee little chip colors that I liked, but once seeing larger swathes, they were not just right. She had the knowledge of the way the little chips would transition to the huge tall walls. IIR, she gave me 4-6 colors to check, and they were all good, I love the one I chose, it does exactly what I want.
@oldfort You didn’t include the rest of my post: I"t’s a combo of creamy off whites, tans, blues, and greens none of which have gray undertones."
I have zero white-white in my home. Trim is BM Ivory White, the off whites are very cream/golden in color so yes, they are warm. Plus, much of the home is painted in the other colors I mentioned. Most grays are in the cool part of the color spectrum. Just like a light bulb that gives off warm yellowish light is different from the cool light bulbs. Relaxing is different than comforting and cozy to me.
Of course, colors make different people feel differently. I relate to @sylvan8798’s post that said “It was like walking around in the really early morning when there isn’t much light and the house seems almost black and white.” I live in a place where winter weather is around for 5-6 months and daylight hours can be shorter so, yeah, I don’t find being in a house full of gray comforting. Good thing is there are thousands of colors to choose from to please everyone.
The thread should actually be titled is “greige” on its way out.
Stark whites in a house would drive me nuts. I used to hate blues inside a house, but now there are various tones which I like. I used to love yellows and golds, now I would never use that as a wall color. I like certain grays, but too much gray, white, and black is depressing.
I think taste can often evolve over time. And as someone above said, it is interesting how colors elicit different reactions and feelings from people.
Before we bought the house, it had been in foreclosure. The previous owner had unplugged the sump, and the basement ended up with a foot of standing water. It destroyed the finished basement and sweated the wallpaper off the walls throughout the house. The bank had the entire house stripped and painted stark white. It took years, but there are no rooms that are still white. Our bedroom is a light cream and the living room/foyer/loft is a massive vaulted space that H and I did with a faux finish in tan and ivory.
@doschicos I almost mentioned yesterday about the area people live in, how grey affects them. Winter here is 5 to 6 months, no trees. Grey sky, grey asphalt. Once we drove back from spring break and commented we just live in grey all the time, I don’t want it in my house, either.
We have some friends who live in SanDiego, one block from the ocean. You can see the ocean from their living area and kitchen, which is on the 2nd floor. they have wall of windows That open completely to the patio. It’s like they live outdoors if they want. Their house is 2 years old and in light Greys and white and silver, it’s stunnjng and gorgeous and so Hollywood. I love it and it’s not depressing at all. I think the surrounding climate has a lot to do with it.
Oh-oh, we just painted our master bedroom Sherwin Williams “Popular gray”! It looks much better than the so-2000s yellow that it was, and gives more flexibility to changing the color of the bedspread etc. without fear of clashing.
I can understand your perspective. Houses with lots of windows that let in natural light that are also surrounded by beautiful trees or other landscape, or look to green meadows, lakes, or golf fairways can also go with grays, specifically so the interior doesn’t compete with the outdoor views.
I love yellow. We have a finished walk out lower level…with windows and door…and it’s painted a butter yellow with white trim. I find it cheerful. If the next owner doesn’t like it…they can paint it grey.
