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artemis78

Help with BM gray that doesn't read blue?? (xpost from Paint)

artemis78
13 years ago

xpost from Paint since I figured this forum might have some decorator-type folks with good color senses floating around. :)

We had picked out Coventry Gray for our kitchen cabinets, but when we got the sample door---it has hugely blue undertones in our space, which I hadn't anticipated! We picked it because it looked like a true gray on the 8" swatch.

Now I'm scrambling to find some viable alternatives. We are looking for something without blue/purple undertones for lower cabinets. Either a true gray or something with taupe/green undertones would work. We like the grayness of Coventry (i.e., it's not too dark or light---just the wrong tone!) Could go a bit darker for the right color, but not any lighter as we need to maintain a contrast with the Acadia White trim.

Other colors in play in the space:

- Acadia White for trim and a separate wall of cabinets

- Stem Green, probably with 20% white so a little lighter, on the walls

- Flooring is Marmoleum in three gray shades, some of which also read a little blue---so we don't want to accentuate this by drawing more blue into the equation.

- Red accent color.

- Charcoal-ish (slight green undertone) soapstone counters.

- Natural fir wood (a bit orange-y) on tables/furniture

Any suggestions?? Thanks!

Comments (11)

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks---we're not averse to going darker if we can get away from the blue, so I'll check that out too.

  • Suzy
    13 years ago

    i love revere pewter too...my whole kitchen & great room are done in revere pewter. but it reads a bit tan in some light. here's a pic, you can see it best on the piece of wall by the kitchen table:

    and here it is on the fireplace wall (which is not finished):

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks---great pics (and beautiful kitchen---hope ours turns out half as well! :) We managed to buy twelve hours so we have till mid-day tomorrow....so first thing in the morning we will head to the paint store to test some of these out! (Thankfully, the "color consultant" at our local BM dealer is also on duty on Saturday mornings...so maybe s/he will have some solutions too!)

  • kayec28
    13 years ago

    :I've made a study of gray paint, and I've got a multitude of paint samples to prove it. :)

    In the BM line, here are some nice grays that veer towards the taupe-y side, but no blue or lavender undertones:

    1. Senora Gray
    2. La Paloma Gray
    3. Smoke Embers
    4. Cumulus Cloud

    For a more true gray, I've found that a Valspar paint color called Notre Dame is the only one that doesn't seem to have undertones of some other color. If you liked it, you could have it made up in BM paint.

  • scanmike
    13 years ago

    My daughter has Coventry and I love it but agree it has blue in it. I also like Revere Pewter but it does read beige grey. Other grey's that don't read beige and don't have blue in them are BM Sea Haze 2137-50 and gray owl on same strip 2137-60. I see some green undertones in them. Ozark shadows AC 26 has less beige than Revere Pewter with no blue. It's also about as deep as Coventry. Harbor gray, one lighter on strip AC 25 looks more true grey but lighter than Coventry. I know you said no purple undertone, but my neighbor used a beautiful grey called Valspar Smooth Pebble, which looks like a beautiful med. grey in her bedroom. I wouldn't have realized it had purple undertones until we tried to have it mixed by BM. They screwed it up and it showed alot of purple on the swatch we painted on the wall. However, even as badly mixed as it was, once it dried , it dried a nice grey. But we didn't give it a chance cause we freaked cause her bedroom was painted purple prior to the grey. So she went with coventry. also, Silver Fox BM2108-50 is a popular grey but I do see purple/tan undertones, much like the Valspar color. I would try Silver Fox, Valspar smooth pebble and Ozark Shadows. If you want lighter and tanner, then Revere Pewter.

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks! I ended up getting samples of Fieldstone, Sea Haze, Revere Pewter, and Gray Horse---drying in the garage now so we'll see how it goes! Also looked closely at Senora Gray, which seemed like a good candidate (but was close enough to one of the others, can't remember which, that I didn't have them mix a sample).

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Update: Sea Haze won, with Gray Horse right on its tail. Revere Pewter read completely beige with our charcoal floor, unfortunately...fieldstone was okay but just didn't quite make the grade.

    Thanks for the help!

  • lindac
    13 years ago

    I've said it before...but will repeat.
    Go to your dealer and find out what goes into the color you are considering....if it has blue pigment in it it will go blue.
    A year ago I did some painting in my family room, I wanted 3 shades of a warm brown that didn't go yellow....so I asked what was in the samples and I have my warm brown with no yellow undertones.
    I asked my paint dealer to tell me what pigments the symbols on the paint samples were....and I have saved the list.

  • beekeeperswife
    13 years ago

    I have 30 sample pots of gray paint in the basement. oh boy, how I could go on. It's a good thing I have a project planned for them.

    Tomorrow our foyer is being painted Baltic Gray. No blue undertones.

  • mistychaz
    13 years ago

    Lindac...what color tan did you choose that didn't have yellow undertones?