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Pale grey paint recommendations for hallway/stairs

33 replies

yawningbear · 30/04/2013 17:27

After watching The Ice cream Girls on catch up yesterday I have decided that the hallway needs to be light grey. If anyone has seen it, Serena's mothers house has a light grey hall and it looked stunning.

Now our house is about half the size and not nearly as gorgeous but it does have a similar hallway and it is very light as it has a really big cupola at the top. Can anyone recommend a pale grey paint? I really don't want to have to go and spend a fortune on testers.

I can also foresee difficulties with negotiation of this idea with DP, so decision needs to be made with minimum fuss Grin

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raisinggirls · 30/04/2013 17:39

Me too. Haven't seen the programme you are talking about, but I really want the stairs wall (the big one?) to be grey.
Lots of people will come on here and say it is already very dated.

I've picked "Elephant's Breath" as a colour from Farrow and Ball, but I'm going to get Dulux to paint-match it as I cannot afford the ££££ it would cost in F&B!

Florin · 30/04/2013 17:44

We have Elephants breathe in our dining room, it is a lovely colour. We didn't find the F&B that much more than dulux and it is a lovely finish.

MistyB · 30/04/2013 17:47

The hallway in this semi is beautiful!! I have no idea what the colour is but stylish grey with sparkling white is lovely!! (Not really very helpful, sorry!!)

peachypips · 30/04/2013 18:00

Oak Apple- Fired Earth. Lovely colour and coverage amazing. Other FE colours worth a look too..

GettingObsessive · 30/04/2013 18:03

We've just done ours in Thimble Case from the Dulux Classics range (B & Q) with the woodwork in Dusted Cappucino. Looks brilliant (even I I do say so myself).

lougle · 30/04/2013 18:13

We used Polished Pebble by Dulux in our lounge. It's bright and airy but peaceful.

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yawningbear · 30/04/2013 21:00

Is it very dated? I did wonder that raisinggirls, in fact that had put me off the idea but then I saw the house in the programme and it looked fab. I am also not someone who is ever going to be on trend or whatever the expression is.

This is not something that I can get wrong though as it is the one space in the house we aren't able to decorate ourselves because of the height of the hallway. So £££ are involved in imitation farrow and ball paint and labour.

So I had decided just to be safer and go White, which surely can't date, but now I can't get the grey off my mind. Will have a look at all your suggestions, liking the sound of Polished Pebble. And loving the semi Misty, amazingly like my gaff Grin

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Plopsicle · 01/05/2013 12:47

Just painted our lounge in polished pebble too, went though heaps of testers and this was by far the nicest all the others were either too blue or too beige.

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yawningbear · 01/05/2013 13:54

That's interesting plopsicle. I went to home base this morning and came back with a bag load of f & b testers which I had really wanted to avoid but didn't get polished pebble because it look beige, definitely don't want beige Confused

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Original poster
yawningbear · 01/05/2013 13:55

Looked - soft play and posting don't mix well.

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whosshe · 01/05/2013 14:03

I like paint by fired earth, it's not that mre expensive but the colours are just perfect and they go on really well. This grey is wonderful...

www.firedearth.com/paint/collection/mid-century-colours/skylon-grey-19143

You can order their paint cards online... And tester pots

LifeofPo · 01/05/2013 14:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tinyeyes123 · 02/05/2013 06:02

Sanderson Grey Squirrel is lovely.

nellyjelly · 02/05/2013 06:15

Lovely colours. Will they not look a bit cold?

Am looking for inspiratiom myself. Our lounge is winter white which is creamy. We have a beige carpet unfortunately. Would lime a who,e new colour scheme. Any suggestions of nice neutrals which wo't be too cool.

What colour carpet with grey walls?

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yawningbear · 02/05/2013 06:40

We have a grey carpet nelly, at least on the stairs and landing, hallway is sanded. It is inherited though and I think when I can I will change the stairs to a striped runner, which again I am sure some would say they are now dated but I love them. I'm hoping that if I get the right shade it won't look cold Hmm

I have put up big sheets of F & b Borrowed light & Skylight and a Crown Seldom Seen which I just liked the look of and I am now even more Confused They are lovely colours but the light is ever changing it seems, I think the big skylight in the roof is having quite an impact so it's hard to know how it would all look. They seem very blue times and whilst I love pale duck egg it's not what I want for the hall. DP is voting strongly for Seldom Seen which is by far the palest and I haven't even told him the price difference yet.

I'm thinking I need to get back to shops for more testers, exactly what I had wanted to avoid. Thankyou for all the suggestions, I will look at them all.

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lougle · 02/05/2013 06:52

We used blue lagoon on the largest wall to warm it up. It's nice and calm, but warm.

MyPreciousRing · 02/05/2013 07:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PoppyAmex · 02/05/2013 07:12

I painted the nursery in FB Blackened, it looks light blue online and in catalogue but when we tried a sample were delighted to find the nicest pale grey.

littleomar · 02/05/2013 07:18

F&B Cornforth White (quite cool - Elephant's Breath is warmer but a bit beige to me). Borrowed light distinctly blue. Disclaimer - do not know ice cream girls whereof you speak.

Alwayscheerful · 02/05/2013 07:54

I have used elephants breath in the hall stairs and landing of a barn conversion, the colour looks fab with oak beams and flagstones. It is definitely "greige" half beige, half grey it is not a true grey, it is a warm colour with a red base, it can have an almost lilac tone in certain light ie not in a north facing dark room but in a south facing room. I adore the colour but if you want a true grey use a different shade.

Plopsicle · 02/05/2013 10:07

The Polished Pebble doesn't look beige at all on the walls, just a very pale soft grey.

If you go on the Dulux website you can get 3 testers for £1, I went through loads!

tomatoplantproject · 02/05/2013 10:12

We have f&b pavilion grey (dulux matched) in our hallway and it looks fab. We have a grey carpet, and all of the woodwork is picked out in white (with the handrail also in pavilion grey). Our house is tall and narrow and we put in velux windows so v light and airy now, and the grey works really well, also contrasts really nicely with the other rooms which are mostly white.

mrspaddy · 03/05/2013 14:33

Recently painted out bedroom in Dulux Mulberry Silk.. It is lovely and subtle.

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yawningbear · 05/05/2013 14:12

Well jury is still out but oddles of testers later the hall is covered in large sheets of painted flip chart paper and the front runners are F & b blackened and Dulux polished pebble. The colour looks pretty smiliar but the finish on the F & B is nicer IMO, soft and chalky. Will need to work out the difference in ££'s and decide.

Thanks for all the suggestions, now I am on the search for Gorgeous wall lights to go with it, this may also be a difficult task given that there may be no such thing in exisisence.

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TrampyPants · 05/05/2013 14:15

ooh, I love the dulux polished pebble. We are having that for the living room. We have just used wilko's own cheapskate in pearl grey for our hallway, it isn't finished yet but its a lovely colour. theres a hint of lavender to it that warms up the greyness.