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eks6426

Looking for medium-light aqua blue that isn't shocking

eks6426
14 years ago

I have this image of a medium-light aqua blue wall color in my head but I'm having trouble finding the right actual paint color.

I will have warm white cabinets, lighter granite with some carmel and grey tones and then walnut colored floors.

I want the walls to be the aqua but it needs to be a more subtle version...not like the bottom of a pool. I think it needs to have a decent amount of grey to tone it down. Can anyone make any paint color selections. I have the Benj. Moore and Sherwin Williams paint decks.

Thanks.

Comments (45)

  • Rudebekia
    14 years ago

    Try SW Breezy. It is exactly what you describe.

  • boxerpups
    14 years ago

    I agree Breezy is lovely.
    Breezy by Sherwin Williams (Martha Stewart)

    Here are a few others that come to mind.


    verditer blue Sherwin Williams

    Aqua Chiffon by Olympic paints

    Palladian Blue Ben Moore

    Buxton Blue Ben Moore

    Mystical Blue BM glazed with Faded Denim BM

    Vintage Map by Martha Stewart paints

    Comfort Gray Sherwin Williams
    This has less aqua and more gray but in the right light
    it has a touch of soft blue.

  • penelopejosephine
    14 years ago

    I don't have any photos, but have a couple color cards for BM "In Your Eyes" and "Glass Slipper". I've been wanting to go get samples to throw on the wall. I'll post pictures if I get that far :)

  • plllog
    14 years ago

    If you're having trouble finding it in a fan deck, have you tried a fabric store, department store, stationery store? If you can find something that's just the right color you can either use it to find a chip the right color, or get a custom match.

  • gillylily
    14 years ago

    BM Beach Glass- It might be a little too blue and does have a hint of green, but on the same card is a lighter shade that you might like- I can't remember the exact name but it is pretty!

  • buildinginva
    14 years ago

    BM Woodlawn Blue. Scroll down to the bathroom picture in the link with our house pictures.

    Here is a link that might be useful: bathroom with BM Woodlawn Blue

  • boxerpups
    14 years ago

    I love love love...Glass Slipper.
    I am sorry I did not post this. On my monitor it is a more
    baby blue with a hint of gray. Truly a gorgeous color.

    Glass slipper BM

    Glass slipper in this room from Decorpad

    And here is Beach Glass BM

    And I have Woodlawn Blue too. I think I love these colors
    as much as everyone else. I have been searching for the
    right blue for my kitchen. Torn between a gray soft green
    called Silver Sage by BM and a soft blue like Glass slipper BM...

    Wood lawn Blue BM

    Another Woodlawn BM but with the light looks different

    And here is another to really drive you nutty.
    I can't help myself I love them all.
    I wish I knew the color... it is from Luluinteriors blog
    I believe it is Heavenly blue by BM

    And here is the one I keep going back to. My own
    kitchen is white cabs, dark ebony chocolate floors,
    jet mist blk/gray swirly granite with lots of windows.
    so while you are thinking about your color maybe
    you can help me with mine. Thanks.~boxerpups

    Silversage BM

  • eks6426
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Oh, thank you everyone for the responses and pictures. Most of these colors are dancing around the one I have in my head. Breezy and Glass Slipper are close but I wanted something with a tad more green to it but not as much as Vintage Map or Silversage. Beach glass is really close.

    I was looking through the fan deck last night at came up with BM Ocean Air 2123-40 or maybe the one above it Seafoam.

    How do you think this one would compare to the lovely pictures above? I can't seem to get the BM color viewer to work for me.

  • gillylily
    14 years ago

    I just remembered the other color in the same family as Beach Glass- Quiet moments.. It is a shade lighter but has a tint of grey in it as well!! So many choices- :)

  • jsweenc
    14 years ago

    I love this color too! I am adding many of these to my paint file for consideration.

    The ones I had already gleaned from here:
    Milk Pail by ?, BM Silver Sage, Misted Green, Saybrook Sage, Tree Moss, Grecian Green, Wind Chime, Piedmont Gray, SW Quietude

  • zelmar
    14 years ago

    We used BM soft mint in our powder room

    {{!gwi}}

  • judydel
    14 years ago

    Is this close? This photo was taken at night. If you want I can take another during the day.


    It's EK Gustavian Grey.

  • prill
    14 years ago

    I think Milk Pail is an old Martha Stewart color. I remember trying to find it once with no luck - maybe I'm wrong. And isn't silver sage a RH color Boxerpups?

  • megpie77
    14 years ago

    eks6426-so you want something a bit more green than glass slipper? I will try.
    silver crest classic color #1583 or pale smoke #1584
    ice cap classic color #1576 or actic gray #1577
    healing aloe classic color #1562
    grat owl color preview #2137-60
    gray cashmere color preview #2138-60
    silver marlin color preview #2139-50

    some of these might be more gray than you like but I've noticed with blues it takes A LOT of gray to tone it down. I painted our downstairs family room glass slipper and I will be repainting it. It turned out so baby blue it looks like a nursery. Don't get me wrong, it is a pretty color but would be best in a nursery, a master bedroom that had more masculine elements to tone it down, a shabby chic bedroom, a bathroom and perhaps a kitchen. However, this is just my opinion but also a word of caution.

    Hope this helps!

  • bestyears
    14 years ago

    look at SW Sea Salt too

  • lisa_a
    14 years ago

    My LR is painted with BM Buxton's Blue. Love it! My room used to be a Wedgwood blue (Miller paint, can't recall paint name), which was also gorgeous but definitely more of a cool, denim-y blue. In my LR with northern light, my walls look darker than the ones in the photo boxerpups posted but even with the northern light, it is a warm blue. I'll try to post a photo later.

    That color at half strength is also very nice.

  • earthpal
    14 years ago

    Take a look at the Mythic Paint website in aquas! They have lots of wonderful colors that sound like what you are describing plus the added benefit of minimal smell while the painting is being done and drying.

    We have Surf's Up on two walls and it is a nice brighter aqua than you are wanting but it is a nice complement to a warm amber and to the off white in our ceiling.

  • judydel
    14 years ago

    This is Milk Pail at 33% the formula. It's by Sherwin Williams and is a discontinued color in the Martha Stewart collection . . . but they can still mix it.

  • kimkitchy
    14 years ago

    What about SW Rainwashed? We have it in our upstairs suite on a couple of walls. As I recall, the paint chip looked a bit darker than the finished wall (which is odd because they usually come out darker on the wall than on the chip...). It is a mediumish blue/green with shades of gray. And, naturally, it could be mixed at a lighter percentage. Maybe I'll try and post a couple of photos tonight.

  • boxerpups
    14 years ago

    Oooooopppppssssss
    Yes, Silver Sage restoration hardware.

  • eks6426
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well, I went to the BM store and got the larger paint paper samples. It is amazing how different they look compared to the little chips. I hung them in my kitchen. I love Beach Glass on the computer screen but in my kitchen it reads as a rather dark green grey. Glass Slipper is very pretty but definitely reads as baby blue. Too blue for the look I'm wanting.

    I got it down to Ocean Air which is a little bluer than I wanted and In Your Eyes which is slightly greener than I wanted. I can't seem to find the perfect balance between green and blue. So, I am trying to decide if more blue or more green is the better way to go. I have a lot of turquoise/aqua dishes that will be displayed on open shelving. I know the wall color needs to be much more faded than the dishes so the dishes still pop.

    Which color is going to look "warmer?" I know neither is considered a warm color but still blues and greens can have warm or cool undertones.

    Cabinets are warm white that will yellow in time and flooring is a medium brown (50/50 blend of Provincial and Jacobean stain) Countertop is lighter granite.

    Picture of items in the kitchen belong. Disregard the tile samples. This was my original flooring that had to come up. It will now be a wood floor similar in color to the blind sample hanging over the top of the cabinet door color sample.

    {{gwi:1574228}}

    So, would the slightly more blue Ocean Air look warmer or cooler than the slightly more green In Your Eyes?

  • bestyears
    14 years ago

    Oh I am in love with all that you have picked out! Can't wait to see it come together...

  • plllog
    14 years ago

    I'm not following...was there a picture of the paint samples?

    In theory, a purer blue will give you more pop. A greener one will meld more with the yellow tones in the stone and the wood. If you want a "warmer" color it needs to have a little red in it, which puts it toward the gray side.

    I opened your thread just now because I just saw a color in a Pottery Barn catalog that made me think of you: BM Harbor Fog. I don't know if you've see that one, or if it's the kind of color you're looking for.

  • gglks
    14 years ago

    what is that granite????? it is gorgeous!

  • nicanewjersey
    14 years ago

    Yes, can you tell us the name of your granite??? It's really beautiful.

    Another vote here for Restoration Hardware Silver Sage.

  • eks6426
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hmm, I'm going to check out the BM Harbor Fog color. I like the Silver Sage but I do not have Restoration Hardware stores any place close to me.

    The granite is called Golden Antique. It was a major saga to get granite because originally I was trying to coordinate with my tile floor. I wound up having to take out the tile floor due to cracks. But I still love the granite and it was amazingly budget friendly. I needed 1 plus a small piece of a 2nd slab so on the last granite trip I looked for really big slabs of granite so I would only need one. This baby's huge which helped cut my costs.

    Here's all about the granite: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1018455232547.html

    I have painted a board with the ocean air color and will try to get pics tomorrow.

  • mereanne
    14 years ago

    We have BM Ocean Air in our bedroom and really love it because it is such a calming color and it looks great against the warm brown tones of our furniture. Ocean Air is definitely blue, but it reads as a soft grayish blue, particularly during the evening.

  • ejbrymom
    14 years ago

    I have SW Silver Mist in my bedroom. But it may be too much color for your kitchen. But it is beautiful and definitely has more green than blue.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Silvermist SW color

  • cocaty
    14 years ago

    Don't have a picture of it but I used BM Aura "Tranquility". It is blue, gray, green - depending. It is actually a little more blue than I wanted but it has some life to it and I was afraid to end up with something dull.

  • kompy
    14 years ago

    Restoration Hardware sells paint. Here's a link...if you look underneath the product info, they show all the colors in their green/aqua series. Maybe the Sea Green color?

    One of my clients did a color match on a restoration hardware catalog that had the perfect aqua. It looked great!

  • ejbrymom
    14 years ago

    I have REstoration Hardware's Silver Sage in my Laundry Room and I LOVE IT. Very soothing. Color but not too bold. WOuld work well in your space!

    Also a soft grey blue would work well in your kitchen also.

  • trixieinthegarden
    14 years ago

    We used Behr's Balmy Seas (490C-3) which is the perfect balance of blue and green. When I was painting the dining room I felt like I was in a pool! The slightly lighter colors on the card are Adriatic Mist(-2) and Ice Cube(-1).

    Here is a link that might be useful: Balmy Seas wall color

  • kompy
    14 years ago

    oops forgot to post the link. Here it is. Notice the color series beneath the product info.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Restoration Hardware Paint

  • firstmmo
    14 years ago

    I love the aqua in BM Clear Skies and Spring Mint is a bit greener.

    I am painting my office BM Fresco which is another of those blueish-grayish colors.

  • eks6426
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Is Restoration Hardware's silversage the same as Benjamin Moore's silversage?

    I do not have RH and don't have time to order samples then the actual paint because I need to paint this weekend.

  • carolinesmom
    14 years ago

    Depending on how soft and green you want the color, I used SW Nonchalant White (at the very top of a SW card). Its a very very subtle green (maybe not as aqua as you want), but paired with a warm white trim, the color really comes out. I've obsessed with paint for 18 months now, and have found that going with a warm or cool trim can totally change how the color reads in the room. Good luck! :)

  • mereanne
    14 years ago

    Shout out to Boxerpups! Your photo above showing BM Glass Slipper made me rethink the BM Ocean Air walls in our master bedroom. Although I loved the Ocean Air, I repainted it with Glass Slipper today and it looks amazing!!! I really love the color. Great recommendation!

  • Condoleeza
    7 years ago

    I also agree with Harbour Haze - gorgeous spa-like colour.

  • m_gabriel
    7 years ago

    We used SW Dewy in our dining area and it's very pretty. SW Dewy

  • lkplatow
    7 years ago

    Wondering if you ever made a decision. I am down to Ocean Air and In Your Eyes as well as Blue Bonnet (a brighter less muddied turquoise) and Slip (a grayed out lavender). Would love to see what you eventually chose!


  • Condoleeza
    7 years ago

    I just finished my bathroom after an eternal search for the right blue/green spa-like color. I tried about 7 different colors and I'm thrilled with the outcome. I used Para Paints "On a Cloudy Day" P5166-24. Benjamin Moore made the paint for me. The result is a soft color that reminds me of the ocean. I found Ocean Air which I originally loved to be fairly bright when I tried it out on the wall. These pictures are taken in a very sunny day so it looks a bit lighter but I think you'll get the idea.

  • bailey82
    7 years ago

    I had trouble with finding/deciding on the same thing. I decided on Waterscape SW-6470. I'm buying it this weekend after looking for ages.

  • Jessica Baake
    3 years ago

    Check out SW Watery. It’s perfect!