Shades of Gray

The elusive pale blue gray paint...finding the perfect mix has not been easy.

I know it's out there but I simply can't afford to pay $110 a gallon for it. Yes, I am talking about Donald Kaufman's DKC-37. An indescribable shade of blue gray that has a luxurious velvety quality to it. The subtle green undertone adds even more depth to the paint. The way different lights reflect off the surface is just awe inspiring. 

Again, $110. It also can't be duplicated because DK's paint uses as many as 13 pigments to create the subtle shades while most paint brands use only 3 pigments. The variety of colorants and their unique techniques in creating paint also means a copycat will most likely be inferior in quality. The numerous hues in each shade also react to changing light with much of the same richness and range of color found in the natural world. 

So while I can't afford the paint at least I am passed the stage between having identified what I want but I guess finding it is a whole nother story...

Ok.

Well this story includes numerous trips to Benjamin Moore over the course of 3 weeks. Numerous paint samples - that are now part of my scrap book collection. Than there are the strips of test colors on the wall which serve as a reminder to me and the hubby how radically different the paint swatch is in comparison to the actual paint. This is the sorta thing that will lead someone on an unhappy path that ends in frustration...

FYI: C2 paint swatches are actually made with their paint. So what you see is what you get. Unlike most paint companies, a swatch sample is computer generated and since there is no industry standard for this, one paint brand's robin egg blue is another paint's brand ducky blue. Yeah...wtf.

I could not accurately rely on the Internet as computer monitors render colors differently (based on the calibrations). Also the inspiring pictures with the paint colors - well they look different under different lighting. Sooooo....

I checked out the painters' forums and read reviews upon reviews. Yeah I did my research than decided I had to order a sample of Farrow and Ball. This company is said to make the best paint. I also picked up a sample of Pratt & Lambert's White Smoke and C2's Dorian Gray which turned out to be our absolute favorite. It isn't DK-37 but it gets high scores for being the right shade of gray and blue. It is soft and subtle which we really like. It just doesn't have the same depth but it is a high quality paint. C2 uses a 16 colorant European tinting system (similar to Farrow & Ball's) which produces higher solid content and a rich color vibrancy. 

I am almost sold on this color. It looks great during the day and at night under lamp light, it is almost a wispy kinda February winter day. Yanno with floating greyish clouds.

I think Dorian Gray will also work with Benjamin Moore universally appealing cloud white as a trim (a crisp white that doesn't look institutional) or with Farrow and Ball Pointing, a white that can only be described as a pillowy pile of buttery marshmallow.

Dorian Gray by C2