The mudroom and bonus room are the first two rooms to be painted with color. Both rooms are on the ground level where the garage is located. The mudroom faces north and the bonus room faces south. However, on a bright sunny day, such as today, the north-facing mudroom is filled with natural light.

I love color so I’m not really someone that is going to choose neutrals for my walls, however for these two rooms I wanted a color that goes well with a lot of other colors. I thought of gray right away but it had to be the right shade of gray; I didn’t want it too dark and I didn’t want it too light.

Gray paired with the white ceiling and white deep window sills, creates a nice crisp, clean contrast.

After a little bit of research, I discovered gray happens to be the new “IT” neutral.

So off I went to my local Sherwin-Williams store where I picked out all the paint chips in the gray family. I brought them home and I took over a week deciding on which shade of gray to choose. Of course, I asked for John’s input; fortunately we have similar tastes in decorating and design. In fact, in some ways, he has a better eye than I do (on certain things).

In the past few years, gray has undergone a transformation. Gray is no longer perceived as a gloomy color, instead it’s perceived as stylish and sophisticated. Almost any color goes with it, after all it’s black and white blended together.

So after much consideration I chose ‘Let it Rain.’  It’s classically pretty and a tad darker than a pastel gray.

I picked up 5 gallons of Emerald® which is Sherwin-Williams finest paint and primer in a satin finish (same as eggshell) so that the walls can be easily cleaned with a sponge. Emerald provides washability in all finishes along with advance stain blocking technology.

When the sales person placed the first gallon on the counter, I looked down at the paint sample on the lid and instantly knew I chose the correct gray hue.

After three straight years of working on this house, it was exciting to open up the first gallon of paint with color. Up until now, it’s been all primer for the drywall.

Of course, I had to take step-by-step photos. When John took the lid off, he said, “That’s a pretty color.” “It’s exactly what we wanted.”

After a little bit of stirring, the paint was ready to be poured in the cut bucket.

Yummy!

John’s favorite cut bucket is a Folgers coffee container because it has a handle so it’s easy to grasp and hold. I save every single one knowing we have an entire house to paint.

Now it’s time to cut in both rooms; the fun part begins!

 

Disclosure: I received paint from Sherwin-Williams as compensation for this blog post. All views and opinions expressed in the post are my own and no other compensation was provided.