Why Gray is Here to Stay

For the past two or so years, it seems like all all we've been mixing is gray paint! Now don't get me wrong, I actually like the color (or technically, the non-color) gray. It's one of my favorites along with blue. My entire wardrobe is gray. It goes with everything. And there are some great gray paint colors we have here at the store. Chelsea Gray and Kendall Charcoal are hugely popular for exteriors and they look great on a house. Cape May Cobblestone.. it's that perfect warm gray that everyone is after! Anyway, back to the point. All we mix is gray lately. Benjamin Moore offers at least 500 unique colors which I would consider to fall into the gray family, so really there's a gray available that can work anywhere. But what has made it so popular over the past few years? And why does that trend seem to be here to stay for a long time to come?

Trends are a big factor. It's 2016 and modern and contemporary is all the rage. And with these styles comes that cold industrial feel. Black appliances and stainless steel appliances have become the favorites, replaces the standard whites and almonds and bisques that dominated the market for so long. Exposed beams and pipes are popular so why not pick a gray to go with those metal tones right? Warm wood tones are not as popular as they were in the past and we are seeing a huge influx in people choosing darker or gray toned wood floors. Onyx and grayed whitewashed floors are increasing in popularity and therefore gray wall colors will follow suit. Modernity is cold and clean. It is efficient and emotionless. And what represents modern, cold and clean better than gray.

Another huge reason for us mixing gray nonstop?? ONE SINGLE COLOR. It is a color that has been around awhile. Years, decades it's been around. Just sitting in the Benjamin Moore fandeck patiently waiting for its fifteen minutes of fame. Waiting for its moment in the spotlight to become America's new addiction. A few years ago I'm guessing, someone randomly picked this color on a whim and painted their home with it.  And this person must have really enjoyed the look of their color and said "hey I'm going to post a picture of my new room color to Pinterest (or Facebook, or Instagram, or some social media outlet)," and from there it's all history. A friend shared it. And their friends shared it. And everyone shared it! And it exploded.. it's everywhere now, like an invasive weed that you can't get out of your garden. People come to the store in droves asking for it, sometimes one after another. There have been days we've mixed the color for five or six different customers. Customers stand at the counter talking to each other about how amazing this color is! What is this color? I'm sure by now many of you may have guessed. Maybe you've seen it plastered all over Pinterest. Maybe you even have it in your home (you're not alone!). It's Benjamin Moore's HC-172 Revere Pewter. This color that is somewhere in between gray and beige, yes it's really the definition of "greige" pretty much singlehandedly started that gray revolution, at least from what I've seen here at the store. It's a nice color, it really is. And it goes with many other colors. But I just have this idea in my head that every house you go into in Rochester (and who know, maybe the WORLD!) is Revere Pewter. When I can, I try to introduce other colors to people. After all we have around 4,500 color available just in Benjamin Moore.

I'm not against gray paint. I LOVE a lot of our gray colors and and more than happy to recommend them to a customer or client when they're the best option. But just remember that there are a lot of gray days in the year here in Upstate New York and having a gray home can get a little dreary. Another great quality of gray however is that you can accent it with pops of color. A bright pink or yellow pillow or throw. A cobalt blue vase. Deep burgundy rugs. Feel free to play around with color! Don't be afraid of it! Take a look below at a few of my favorite grays, including grays that have undertones of color to add just a touch of variation to your home.

Favorite Grays: AF-685 Thunder- a slightly deeper and grayer version of Revere Pewter. 2122-40 Smoke- that perfect gray blue. 2137-50 Sea Haze- can be gray, can be green, can be brown. 1473 Gray Husky- my favorite gray, just warm enough but still simple and gray. 1570 Gray Wisp- technically more of a green but with soft gray undertones. 1593 Adagio- for that cool steel gray. 859 Collingwood- a light warm gray, almost an off-white.

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter