Whether it’s inspired by the notorious novel that made ‘shades of grey’ famous, or designers have simply run out of colour ideas, gray is enjoying a sustained run of popularity as a colour of choice in everything from fashion to automobiles.
Even in interior décor, gray has carved itself a niche as an understated, yet modern and elegant backdrop for any colour of the palette. And that may be its biggest advantage. It has the versatility of white (goes with anything), but it’s more interesting, and it doesn’t limit the rest of your décor’s colour choices , like other neutrals do.
So it was a complete surprise when we found none other than Architectural Digest (AD) touting gray as an exterior paint colour. Similar to our take above on the versatility of gray inside the home, AD has this to say about gray on the outside.
“Gray paint can exude elegance or make a strong statement. Gray also looks amazing on a number of architectural types.”
But, considering that most of the homes in and around Toronto use white as a way to highlight exterior features of the home, like doors, windows and brick work, it might take a bit of doing to make the leap to gray.
AD suggests some of the following considerations when choosing gray for your exterior paint colour.
- Think about how it will look with the landscape of your yard.
- The direction your home faces will affect the shade of gray. The same shade on a north-facing home will look much darker than it will on a south-facing home.
- Paint a test area on a side of the house that gets both sun and shade to see how the colour will look in all kinds of light.
AD asked the top paint manufacturers to tell them what were their most popular gray exterior colours. Benjamin Moore’s ‘Storm’ AF-700 is the first one listed. AD says, “taking a cue from its namesake, Storm is strong gray. The Benjamin Moore shade contrasts beautifully with black and softer shades of gray.”
To learn more about how to make gray work for your home’s exterior, stop in to see us or call us here at The Paint People.
