Portland Gray. The adorable misfit and the will to be weird of grays. It's a cheeky gray with lavendar based undertones, that lives up to it's name, certainly.
I've been working on my art studio/guest bedroom for a number of years now. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the room is in the basement, tucked away from everyday living. So, shutting the door and pretending the project doesn't exist has become somewhat of a routine.
Initially, I was wanting a stark white studio. I mean, it's so modern and whatever, and any decor would totally pop against the paint. But because the studio space is so big, it felt really cold and impersonal. As it turns out, I have an attraction to white furniture as well. Needless to say, white furniture and white walls weren't doing the room any favors.
For reference, you can see the studio renovation progress here and here, and some additional photos below. The walls at the time were painted Decorator's White by Benjamin Moore. And because the walls were a little defective, we stuck with eggshell (to hide minor imperfections, but also for wipe-ability purposes).
After a couple of years of the bedroom being stark white, I got a hair up thee ole ass and started cutting in using some leftover Moonshine I had laying around. I'm a big fan of Moonshine in small, windowless spaces, because it makes the room feel magnified. But in big, bright rooms, it was showing a lot of green... a color I've been told to stay away from because it competes with warm tones.
Who pays attention to color advice anyway?
After cutting in 98% of the room, I let my logical self live with it for a few months, opening the door every so often to catch a glimpse of how the colors were coming across.
My facial expression was always questioning. And when my face says it all, it's a good sign it's not meant to be. I told myself the next time I take a paintbrush to that room, it's because I found a forever color.
Then something amazing happened within the last week. On a fluke, I found my forever color. And yes, the name may have pushed me to do it. Oregon is my favorite place on Earth. Ever. And Portland is my home away from home. So, why wouldn't I want to spend time in a space painted after one of the greatest and weirdest cities on the planet?
It all started when I found myself on Pinterest looking for "unexpected neutral colors," and came across Elephant Gray. After looking at about 50 bathrooms and 30 bedrooms painted Elephant Gray, I knew I was close to solving my paint color dilemma.
Because this guest room/studio space is my haven, I finally understood the value of creating this space for me, and making choices for me, not choices that someone else may appreciate. What I did like about Elephant Gray was how feminine it came across in every space. With its plum undertones, it looked gorgeous combined with light grays, bright whites, and teak/walnut stains.
But... it was too dark. Too purple. Yet so close to what I wanted.
I started clicking on shades that were close to Elephant Gray, and came across Portland. I knew that was my golden ticket to bedroom/studio inspiration success, and went for it. Well, kinda. I picked up a quart of Portland in eggshell to confirm via patch test, and ended up finishing off the quart, painting one wall, last night. Even this morning I woke up extra early to see how the color faired at sunrise. Um, gorgeous.
Similar to the big paint job in our main living space using Gray Owl, I had this feeling that this is the color that is going to stick with us until the next family decides to paint over it.
It's difficult to compare colors when you're looking around online, but just for fun -- because looking at paint swatches is the funnest! -- you can see the differences and similarities between Elephant Gray on the left, and Portland Gray on the right.
Thank you for sharing your tips! This is very helpful and I want to try it sometime!
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