Office Paint Help (Gray or White?)
I mentioned last week that I was planning to paint my office gray and I just hired a painter! This room has three doors and a window, and frankly, I’m not in the mood to paint it myself. So, for $100, I’ll save myself all the taping (there’s 3 doors and a window) and let a professional handle it.
But, I need your help picking a paint color, and quickly, since the painter will be here on Saturday!
What color should I go with? I’m torn between Gray and White.
Originally, I was thinking a light or medium gray, something similar, maybe a little darker than our bedroom (Sherwin Williams Essential Gray).
Because I love Erika’s office.
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And this office designed by Jenny Wolf. |
But then, I’m also really smitten with a soft white wall.
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What do you think- gray or white? Do you have any paint color name/brand suggestions?
Would it be terrible to go with white, and if I don’t love it, then do gray??
I’ll be sure to share the results with you soon!
Have a great weekend!
I personally like grey (as we spell it here in the land of Oz 😉 ) as it's a little different to the rest of the house and grey (gray) goes well with yellows and blues and blacks.. Enjoy. $100 that is so cheap for a painter! 🙂
Depends on if you want the space to be relaxing or dramatic…I personally say to bring on the drama and paint it the darker grey like Jenny's office!
Depends on if you want the space to be calming or dramatic…I say bring on the drama and go with a darker grey like in Jenny's office. The contrast is gorgeous!!!
I say white…just because it is so calming and bright. White offices are gorgeous! xo Kristin
Classic Gray by Ben Moore is a nice pale gray. We just used it in our playroom, and it is so pale it is almost white-very neutral too. Good luck!
I like gray better.
I think grey is the way to you. There are a few white accents so I think you might get bored of the white paint after a while 🙂
This is a toughie. I love grey – so very sophisticated and elegant – but then again white is so calming…… Good luck and be sure to show us the results. xXx
With your beautiful window providing lots of lovely light, I'd go with the gray. White might make it too bright. Can't wait to see the finished room.
With the large, beautiful window you have in this room, letting in lots of light, I'd go with gray. White might make the room too bright. Can't wait to see the progress.
Grey definitely. I like the light, but some drama with a medium grey would look great too.
How about a really soft grey. I love all the white in the room already and think the contrast would be gorgeous.
Light grey!!!
I am a big fan of gray. But if you can't decide, Bejamin Moore's "stone white" is a good inbetween. Plus, its a Pottery Barn color for Benjamin Moore, which of course means you can't go wrong!
I am a big fan of gray. But if you can't decide, Bejamin Moore's "Stone White" is a good inbetween color. Plus, it is a pottery barn for Benjamin Moore color – meaning you can't go wrong!
I think both would look great, but gray just seems like it will be easier to decorate around. I am smitten with white lately, too. That's a tough one. White could be really awesome with the right accessories. Sorry, I'm no help!
I love Essential Gray, but it was too dark in my house so we had to go a little lighter (SW Mindful Gray). I think Essential Gray would be great in a smaller room with lots of light so it should look great in your office.
I think gray would be lovely. That room seems to get so much sunlight. As you know I have the same desk and expedite, and my office is currently a light khaki…I think a bit darker color would make more of an impact because my office to has a lot of white and gets a TON of sun.
Megan, one other thought just came to me…while I do appreciate crisp white rooms, I feel like the beautiful moldings in those rooms get lost.
I would choose white. I painted a few rooms in my home gray and I'm already tired of it! I love the examples you posted with white and touches of black and gold.
I'd go with a dramatic gray like the one in Jenny Wolf's office because it's all the hip right now. It will fit well with winter, too.
And if you get bored with it or need a change, come spring you can change in white 🙂
Gray!!! This room is so beautiful! What a great office!
I think grey would compliment all your white furniture. Maybe you can do an accent wall with grey and white stripes so you can have the best of both worlds.
Go gray {in a good way}!! I like the darker shade. And please, send that $100 painter to me in Jersey. I was just quoted $350 to paint a 9×12 room in my house 🙁
Have a great weekend!
I am in love with Benjamin BMore revere pewter!
Ben. Moore. Sorry for the typo
I definitely vote for a gorgeous gray! We just had our master bedroom, master bath and office painted Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter and I am in LOVE with it. Grays are SO VERY tricky and it's the first one I've come across that really does look good in any light!! Good luck – always fun to change things up a bit! 🙂
Go with gray. I think you will get bored with white after a while. A question for you and your readers: I am repainting my livingroom which is currently soft yellow. I have a sage green couch, can I do gray walls?
I like the dark gray like Jenny's office too!
Gray. Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter is an Awesome Gray!
Gray. Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter is a favorite.
I love the dark gray colour – plus with such a big window, you can afford to go with a darker colour!
white.
I think I would go with grey. I feel like it will make those curtains pop and the rug look gorgeous! Excited to see what you choose 🙂
Alicia
We just painted our kitchen and dining room gray (light gray and darker, respectively) in August, and since then, no fewer than FOUR people have asked me for the color in the dining room. It's Sherwin Williams Web Gray (7075). It might be too dark for what you want, but it really is gorgeous, so you might check it out. The kitchen is Software (7074).
And now that I've had professional painters paint, I am never painting myself again. They do a better job in half the time! Money well spent. 🙂
I think the dark grey color would be stunning. You have such great natural light in that room. I think a similar grey to Jenny's office would make everything in this room pop, but in a very calm, chic way.
I think the darker color from Jenny's office would be stunning in this room. It would tie in to what you have in the room beautifully!
Whie but either one will look lovely. You have enough white in your office furniture to handle the darker grey.
I like the darkest grey you posted…Especially if your desk is going to be pointed at the window now! I think the white might be too stark
Gray! I love the Jenny Wolf photo with the white popping off the gray wall. Looks amazing.
Gray! I love the Jenny Wolf photo with the white popping off the gray wall. Looks amazing.
white with big beautiful pops of bright colors! but it does look pretty open and bright so gray would work too! I'm sure whatever you decide will be beautiful!
xo, Courtney [http://itsprettycheap.blogspot.com/]
I saw gray! I am painting our foyer and hallway and went to Sherwin Williams to get the paint color you use…both the Agreeable Gray and the one in your bedroom. They have a lot of beige in them.
The color I ended up getting was Repose Gray which the lady who does Hi Sugarplum uses in her office. i loved it!
Plus your desk is already white and so is your furniture. White would get boring quick.
Gray! I went to Sherwin Williams to get the Agreeable Gray you use and another one but I think they have too much beige. I ended up using Repose Gray. It's the PERFECT gray! and I got it from Hi Sugarplum or House of Smiths. I can't remember which….whichever one uses it in her office.
Plus you have a white desk and a white bookcase. White walls with that sounds boring!
Definitely gray!!
Definitely gray! I did gray owl in my home and it's a light gray but I really think a more medium or dark gray would be awesome in your office. I say try gray and if you don't like it, go white.
Grey!!! not loving the white on white action…. I like the color!
~LC
FitFashLife.blogspot.com
I'm usually a fan of white, white, white but in this case…. Gray! There are so many good grays. I am currently infatuated with Valspar's Rugged Suede. It's a darker muddy gray and would look SO GOOD against the furnishings you have already. Go gray!!!!
I really like the gray like the Jenny Wolf one (it's the darker gray wall with the white drapes with the border). I like the way the white pops in the photo and I think it would look great in your office-your desk, rug, bookshelf and white ceramic stool will pop. The darker gray wall will allow you to insert pops of color; I noticed you like to do that in other rooms so I think it would look pretty.
The way I pick paint colors is this: go to the paint store or whereever you like and pick a ton of different swatches in all shades of gray or whatever color you like. Next, tape a piece of white paper on the wall with the most natural light. White paper won't influence the color you place on it. Next, hold the swatches up on the wall-you'll eliminate 90% of the swatches at this time. Once you do that, you'll have ten or so that you really like. Cut out the tiny sample and tape them on the white paper. As the day goes on, you'll eliminate a few more of them. At night, sometimes the one you loved during the day will wash out and you'll have a new favorite. The next morning, the swatches will look different again but by this time, you'll have narrowed it down to 2-3 swatches. You can pick your favorite from there or if you have another day, the choice will become obvious. It sounds complicated but it really goes pretty fast.
The other quickie option is to pick an accessory (could be home decor or even a piece of clothing) in your home that is gray that you absolutely love. If you love it in the room, then have the paint color matched to it. Most likely if you are continually drawn to that object in your home (or wardrobe) then you'll probably love it on the wall.
White paint would be my last resort. I'd try a gray color first; you could always do white in the end.
I think I would go with white. It would just give a totally different feel to the room – and I think it might spark your creativity even more. Its a blank slate and just really open up different possibilities for redecorating the room.
Oh, such a tough call. I first gut is gray. . but I am really loving the white offices lately. Have you seen Lauren's from Pure Style Home. Lovely. Both will be so soothing and nice, girl.
Gray, definitely!
I know white walls with white accessories and bright pops is a big trend these days, but I still like a little color on the walls. I love the gray! Light or medium. 🙂
I just painted my office white (Behr Polar Bear) and I AM LOVING IT! It gives such a great canvas to add any color or pattern to. Here's an idea though, I painted the room white just to the top of the window frames. Then, from the window to the ceiling I painted it a nice greige. I plan to put some trim along the line between the two colors and create a kind of photo ledge. Does that make sense? Anywho, you could get the best of both colors! XO!
Gray! 🙂
Gray! I love the color in your bedroom and Erika's office. Your white desk will pop!
GRAY….. A neutral gray that we have through out is BM Revere Pewter, BUT in one small reading room, we used
SW Pussy Willow & it is beautiful….. It's a darker gray, but also so calming.
Now to me Revere Pewter has a lot of beige in it. Its so hard to pick colors!!!
I think if you do gray, go dark and like others are saying your white furniture (and drapes) will pop! Otherwise, white will be fresh and energizing in the room.
Gray. But, I'm anti-white so I am biased.
You've got a lot of white going on there now so why not add some contrast with gray. but I too LOVE all white rooms with pops of color and if you go all white you could change out the drapery whenever you felt like it to add a pop of color.
Definitely a deep gray. The room seems like it gets plenty of light. I think the white and yellow would pop with gray walls.
I would go with white…I think it would be more refreshing.
Gray, it will make your desk and rug pop!
Gray! Benjamin Moore's London Fog. It's a beautiful shade of grey, there's no blue or purple tones even in the sunlight. Perfect!
Can't wait to see the after!
White for sure–that would be lovely. I think the gray in this case could be depressing.
White in this case–it would be lovely and give you a clean slate for creativity. Gray, in this case, and at this point in time, could start to get depressing.
Gray…check out Kyle's office — it's gorgeous!! Third photo here… http://knightmovesblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-done-to-dos.html
Her entire home is amazing!
I would think a little darker gray then your bedroom color would look great and make everything else in the room pop! Good Luck!!
I have to say I am partial to the yellow! 🙂
Gray
We have painted almost our entire house in Sherwin Williams Silverpointe. It is an excellent true gray. It truely does not have any blue, green, or purple undertones. Its a soft gray. I LOVE it and did a LOT of research before deciding on this color.
-Ashley Rimini
http://www.recentlyrimini.blogpsot.com
beautiful decor, I so want to change the look of my house.
Benjamin Moore rodeo (a greyish color).
Benjamin Moore Rodeo (a greyish color).
Had my room painted gray and I loved it!
Here are some photos of my workspace:
http://make-ideas-happen.blogspot.com/2011/01/1-create-productive-workspace.html
Had my room painted gray and I love it!!
Here are some photos of my workspace:
http://make-ideas-happen.blogspot.com/2011/01/1-create-productive-workspace.html