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Original poster

One neutral grey for the whole house

43 replies

user1492186854 · 14/04/2017 17:58

I'm a newbie - just discovered this forum and its incredibly useful/ helpful. I am really stuck on a solution for my 1930's 3 bed house with large curved bay windows. The sun rises to the left of the back of the house travels to the right and is then at the front of the house by 1pm - god knows what that means re north/ south facing - please help. I'm useless on this .
I trust your expert knowledge and advice xx

I have oak flooring throughout and will be getting John Lewis's Finesse Retro Loop Carpet(Green Park) on the stairs.

The woodwork ceilings coving and skirting board will be brilliant white.

Im looking for a neutral grey to paint throughout the whole house bar the main bedroom and living room.

Wanting to go a little darker in those two aforementioned rooms. I'm looking for a colour distinction between the walls and coving etc in general as my whole house is currently white and I'm so bored of it now!!

Colours that I'm liking so far...

Polished pebble/ pebble shore/ dusted moss/ cornforth white/Egyptian cotton.

From your own experience/ knowledge what would you suggest please? Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
user1492186854 · 14/04/2017 17:58

I'm a newbie - just discovered this forum and its incredibly useful/ helpful. I am really stuck on a solution for my 1930's 3 bed house with large curved bay windows. The sun rises to the left of the back of the house travels to the right and is then at the front of the house by 1pm - god knows what that means re north/ south facing - please help. I'm useless on this .
I trust your expert knowledge and advice xx

I have oak flooring throughout and will be getting John Lewis's Finesse Retro Loop Carpet(Green Park) on the stairs.

The woodwork ceilings coving and skirting board will be brilliant white.

Im looking for a neutral grey to paint throughout the whole house bar the main bedroom and living room.

Wanting to go a little darker in those two aforementioned rooms. I'm looking for a colour distinction between the walls and coving etc in general as my whole house is currently white and I'm so bored of it now!!

Colours that I'm liking so far...

Polished pebble/ pebble shore/ dusted moss/ cornforth white/Egyptian cotton.

From your own experience/ knowledge what would you suggest please? Thanks

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 14/04/2017 18:01

Buy some tester pots, put two coats someplace, then compare and pick the one you wish,,light can change the colour and one persons preference may not be yours.

Dizzywizz · 14/04/2017 18:03

We put grey on our walls and then stood back and hated it - I was so looking forward to it as well! But it just looked like an office.

Original poster
user1492186854 · 14/04/2017 18:21

I will be getting a shed load of testers this weekend but would appreciate your suggestions ...

Thanks

OP posts:
Laquila · 14/04/2017 18:23

Egyptian Cotton is lovely. Comes up more like a very light taupe grey in our house but very neutral and soothing! If you want something much more blue-toned then Crown Seldom Seen is very nice - quite cool though.

7Days · 14/04/2017 18:26

I cant pick grey for the life of me, never mind for all the different lighting. But I was in a house revently that had Dulux 'perfectly greige', thought it really worked.

SummerHouse · 14/04/2017 18:28

Perfectly taupe and chic shadow. They are very similar but different shades. We were on the perfect grey quest for a looooooong time. Potters wheel is nice but dark so good for a single wall. Let us know what you go with and if you are happy. If you like a hint of green Jurassic stone is lovely but its not grey. We have French grey in our toilet which is nice but actually blue.

SummerHouse · 14/04/2017 18:29

Good idea to post BTW!

Thecontentedcat · 14/04/2017 18:32

F&b wevet

Ollivander84 · 14/04/2017 18:35

I have polished pebble and really like it Smile
Left the ceilings and skirtings etc white but walls in the grey and it looks really calming but fresh

Brighteyes27 · 14/04/2017 18:35

We have polished pebble in our downstairs study and I love it. It looks fresh clean and bright and has just enough contrast with white. However, we've even more recently painted DD's room in the same colour (as she wanted a more neutral colour and she'd messed the walls up) not sure which direction either rooms face but it looks very drab in there and I really don't like it.
To add another grey in to the equation we have Laura Ashley Dove Grey in our bedroom with a Laura Ashley Wallpaper and that is a very nice colour which I also love but again. that room faces in the same direction as our study. Maybe an interior designer type will come along soon and give a more professional take on things.

Original poster
user1492186854 · 14/04/2017 18:37

will definitely update you on the outcome

I'm looking for something calm tranquil expansive elegant that runs throughout the house - I hope I find this elusive colour

OP posts:
Bear2014 · 14/04/2017 18:39

We chose dulux pearl grey for our hall, stairs and landing. It's pale but fesh, we like it a lot,

7to25 · 14/04/2017 18:41

I think Egyptian cotton would be good. Chic shadow is too grey and possibly too dark.
I have something like "just walnut " which might go (light)

dilapidated · 14/04/2017 18:47

I've just gone cornforth white throughout my house.

With the chunky white skirtings and coving the contrast is perfect and it's a lovely warm colour and really changes and adapts with the light

Very pleased as I didn't bother buying any testers so just picked from using Pinterest

Original poster
user1492186854 · 14/04/2017 18:47

I havesome tips from scouring professional tradesman forums - johnstones do a very good colour matching service and their trade paints are superior in quality to many brands apparently plus their prices are so much better - you can haggle with them if you also buy in bulk

Was informed that its best to go for water based paint on interior wood as it doesn't yellow as fast as oil based paint. Also, durable matt is best for stairs/ hallways/ landing

OP posts:
Iloveantiques · 14/04/2017 18:50

Dusted moss all the way!

dilapidated · 14/04/2017 18:51

Another good tip from my decorator was using a colour matched undercoat if buying expensive paint and then you just use the expensive paint as top coat to get the finish.

Truckingalong · 14/04/2017 18:54

Chic shadow has lilac/purple tones to it. I definitely wouldn't do a whole house in it.

PurpleDaisies · 14/04/2017 18:55

We've just done our hallway in valspar whisper softy. It's a gorgeous warm slightly blue toned grey. Even though the hall doesn't get much natural light it isn't dark at all. It's miles nicer than the colour chip that comes up when you google it.

MoreProseccoNow · 14/04/2017 21:02

Valspar modern grey. I found so many other greys had brown/lilac/blue tones & this was pale grey.

Allthebestnamesareused · 14/04/2017 21:07

Dulux have a new one called Goose Down - just used it

Firstaidnovice · 14/04/2017 21:11

Someone mentioned upthread, but we love Dulux Just Walnut. It's not remotely walnutty. It's a soft warm grey, and worked well in rooms without lots of light as well as the brighter ones. We tried a lot of testers!!

Stoneagemum · 14/04/2017 21:27

One recently used Dulux Rock Salt, it is an off white grey, looks white until you put something white next to it

MrsELM21 · 14/04/2017 21:30

We have a beautiful grey lounge, it's only B&Q own brand but is called 'light rain' I'd highly recommend it