Gray is here to stay. The popularity of gray home interiors is still going strong because it’s classic, neutral and versatile — what’s not to love? The gray trend is a blank canvas to coordinate with décor and accessories in nearly any color or style.
General Finishes recently brought out several new paint colors, including three from the gray family, so here is an informative comparison on the variety of gray paint available at Woodcraft. Use any of these colors for updating your cabinetry, painting interior doors or transforming something old into new again. Not quite 50 shades of gray, but certainly plenty to choose from.
GENERAL FINISHES
First, let’s look at General Finishes Milk Paint. When updating their color palette for 2019, GF kept trending colors in mind, as well as traditional favorites. Considering this, they added three new grays to the mix. As they like to say, “grays are the new off-white.”
Here are seven colors on GF’s gray spectrum. Millstone is on the warm side of gray, more of a “greige” leaning on the beige side — a popular neutral. The lightest of the three new shades is Reverent Gray, similar to Benjamin Moore’s favorite Revere Pewter. Seagull Gray is one of my go-tos, a barely-there gray that coordinates well with others. Empire Gray was a top seller in GF’s Chalk Style paint line, which has been discontinued, so they opted to reformulate it and introduce it in the Milk Paint line this year.
Perfect Gray, the third new gray for GF in 2019, is a mid-tone gray with no overtones of blue or green. Driftwood and Queenstown Gray are tried-and-true signature colors, the two deepest grays of the bunch.
RUST-OLEUM
Rust-Oleum offers three shades of gray in their Ultra Matte Chalked Paint family.
Aged Gray is a soft gray hue that is lovely on its own, but could work together with either or both of the other two offerings. Country Gray strikes the middle chord in the trio – a slightly darker gray that’s a nice neutral. Charcoal, the darkest of the three colors, is a deep, smoky gray.
BLACK DOG SALVAGE FURNITURE PAINT
The versatility of Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint lets you mix and create tons of colors from the 16 signature colors. Available in three sizes (quart, pint plus and half pint) so you can just buy what you need for mixing. [You can find all BDS recipes here.]
Galvanized is their pre-mixed gray but we selected another seven recipes for “mixing it up” to create other shades. 611 Steam combines 2 parts Clean Canvas, 1 part Dog Bone and 1 part Galvanized for a whispery gray. Going slightly warmer, Putty uses 1 part Dog Bone and 1 part Galvanized. Silver Lab is a rich, elegant gray mixed from 3 parts Galvanized, 2 parts Dirt and 1 part Black Dog.
Mountain Mist is a misty gray combo of equal parts Galvanized and Roanoke Rain. Tranquil gray Fog uses 3 parts Roanoke Rain and 1 part Black Dog. Gunmetal is a deep, blue-gray comprised of 1 part Blue Ridge and 1 part Dirt. Coal Dust rounds out the list – 2 parts Black Dog and 1 part Galvanized.
WHAT’S YOUR SHADE?
With so many options, you’re sure to find that just-right shade of gray for your next project at your local Woodcraft store or online at woodcraft.com. Let us help you with not only paint, but other supplies and advice, to get the best results that you deserve. Come and see us!
We hope you’ll be inspired!
