In my quest to repaint every room in my house at least 47 times before 2013…I’m repainting the Butler’s Pantry…. again.
And I’m going with grey.
I know you’re shocked. Perhaps even amazed….at this bold choice.
Neutral.
That’s how I roll.
There was really no need to buy gray paint samples.
I just went to the workshop that is filled to the brim with paint. Gray paint. Lots of gray paint. Because I had already painted this room gray and this room gray and then painted this room….wait for it….wait for it…..ummmm…..gray.
And after I painted these four swatches of gray…..I stared at them.
And squinted.
And looked at them with the light on and the light off and up close and far away and sideways and frontways and upside down.
And then I decided that I needed a second opinion.
me: Can you look at these paint samples and tell me which one you think I should paint in the butler’s pantry?
husband: (nervously glancing around) Ummm. Well. Ummm. (staring at ceiling…..as if seeking help from a higher power) I’m not really sure.
me: Really. I want your opinion. Which grey do you like the best?
husband: Okay…. (bracing shoulders and inhaling) Okay. Well….I think I really like number 4 or number 1? (more glances my direction) Or number 3?
me: (no response)
husband: Number 2? Maybe number 2?
me: (jumping up and down and hugging him) Number 2? You really like number 2? Because that’s my favorite! That’s the one I like. Seriously. You are brilliant. You have such a good eye with color.
husband: (hugging me back in relief now that the treacherous road toward picking a paint color has been navigated successfully) Really. It was nothing.
So number 2 it is.
SW Mindful Gray.
And thank goodness for the second opinion.
I don’t know how I’d ever pick a paint color without it 🙂
PS Stop back by Monday for the Butler’s Pantry in all it’s Mindful Gray glory.
PPS Can you believe I got this at a yard sale? A giant bag of dried lavender and 23 canvas bags? I know it says $10….but I got it for only $7.50?!?!
I am so happy!!! And I’m sharing this over at Rhoda’s. Where all the really cool people show off their soon-to-be Christmas present yard sale finds.
Number 2 is beautiful in case you need a third opinion. :D You are so funny. Have a wonderful weekend Karianne!
Ahhhhh!!!! and your husband lives to enjoy another day :)
Is that number two from the left? I hope so because that is my favorite. And, I totally realize the necessity of your butler's pantry being my gray of choice. That would only be because I am a long time lover of gray. Gray. Perfect grays only. Not any of those thousands of yuck grays that are out there to confuse people. By long time lover of gray, here is an example. Almost thirty years ago we painted the outside of our house in Fort Lauderdale gray - with black shutters and white trim. Then when we moved here twenty-two years ago, I couldn't wait to paint the outside of this house. Gray with black shutters and white trim, of course. I even have my home office studio, our television room, our back stairway and the inside of our garage painted gray. I say when you've found the perfect color go with it. Just in case you really ... need another gorgeous gray from which to choose in the future, just give me a buzz. I have a favorite gray at Benjamin Moore. Ah, to enjoy the subtleties of life.♥
what IS your favorite b-moore gray?
Too funny! I was cracking up reading this because I put my poor husband through the same thing! Nice choice!
too funny! enjoy the weekend!
that cracked me UP! my husband and i have a pretty similar conversation. :o)
I would have gone that colour as well! Just to add a little Aussie insight in Australia we spell the colour grey and the surname Gray, completely opposite!
Oh...are we saying goodbye to Rice Grain?.....but "Gray is good"...but is it "Grey"....no, it's "Gray"....I read it on the sample pot....So why do they confuse us...Grey, Gray....I always use the "E"...now I need to go to the "Websters on the Web" to make sure I am properly spelling that word...Now SW, spells it "Gray"...so I guess the gurus in colors know what they are doing when writing the word "Gray"..... In this house, I never have to ask for an opinion...he lends it gladly...but ALWAYS, ends the sentence with, "but choose whatever you like, but I like THIS one...but whatever you like, but THIS one really looks good"...... Have a great weekend!
I love the second from the left, Karianne. Was that #2? How funny ~ are you sure he wasn't watching your facial expressions to see which was the right one to choose? : ) When we were going to paint our laundry room {before I left for NY to visit} I gave my hubby two color choices. They weren't very different, but there were two all the same. I figured he could handle the choice of one of those and he did, wonderfully. You gotta make them feel like they are involved and making decisions about the decor, too! I came home to a freshly painted laundry room.
You and I are on a similar quest when it comes to painting the house... luckily for me, I am now throwing away empty paint cans instead of stockpiling them in my mechanical room. Only 3 rooms left to paint!!!! There IS light at the end of my self-inflicted tunnel :) Can't wait to see your butler's pantry (although I am quite envious of the fact that you have one!) xox
Mindful Grey - the perfect paint color since your hubs obviously was very mindful when he helped choose it! What would we do without second opinions? Kelly
#2 was my fave too. Can't wait to see it! :)
i too love the #2 gray...and the name is perfect. gray is my new fav color too. my mudroom is gray, just painted last summer and i love it. perhaps my love of anything galvanized has something to do with my affection for gray?! (how many more times can i use the word gray?) i had to laugh at the convo between you and your husband. he SO understands you! smart man. will be back to see the finished pantry...btw i just picked up two butler pantry windows for free off of craigslist. not sure what i'll do with them yet...but they are huge (40 x 54) and so cool.
I am actually hysterical with laughter, I have tears streaming down my cheeks and my cat is worried about my breathing. OMG this is just too funny, hahahaha. You what my DH says if I dare ask that question? "Dearest, may I please remind you that I live in 12 colour universe and cannot see the differences you claim to exist. YOU pick and I will like it, or, um, may not even notice." Then a hug and a shrug and walks away. Next he'll feign colour blindness!
My hubby is actually color blind (only certain shades of brown & green mess him up). He doesn't really have an opinion on color and that's fine with me. I didn't realize the problems in communication with a color blind spouse until (for whatever reason) a discussion about a coat I had years before came up. He mentioned the brown coat I had and we wernt round and round trying to figure out what coat that was (because coats are important in the South, you know). --Oh, you know, the one with the hood.-- No, the only one I had was green. --Green?! Your coat was green?
Your husband has GREAT taste! I love grey, too, and would paint every room in my house a different shade of grey. But I probably won't. At least, not this month.
Send him on over... I'll organize some classes for him to teach about Husbands having opinions...
Too funny! Ah, men... Great choice, I know it will look lovely!!
Your husband is a very smart man. Not only did he choose THE perfect grey, he also knows not to mess with his wifes redecorating desires...smart man indeed.
hahaha I do this to my husband all the time, acting like he helped and shunning his response when he doesn't give the one I want him to :) He doesn't care/can't tell the difference between colors/would be okay with me painting the walls any color at all as long as he could still buy a big screen tv to complement those walls. I like your "mutual" decision! :)
That was my pick too! Yay! It's going to look great. I'm a big fan of grey too.
I love "his" choice! "He" definitely has a great eye for color!!!
Love that his last response was number 2 ... :) Though it's the one that caught my eye first.
Hi, KariAnne, I got such a kick out of this post! Thanks for the giggle this morning! I'm in the mood to paint and I don't have the time right now! It's driving me nuts!!!
LOL! Number 2 was clearly the right choice. Sharon @ mrs. hines class
You are cracking me up!!! Sounds like a conversation at my house! We have a lot of that going on here with the kitchen reno! Gotta love a man with good taste! ;-) Hope you have a fabulous weekend! xo-Lisa
Ha! Very similar conversations happen in my house on a daily basis. Thanks for the giggle!
So your going with number 2 as in a grey number 2 not a brown number 2.....................lol........sorry Now grey that should really brighten up the room well better then brown number 2 would......................sorry again what is with me and brown number 2..... Hope your weekend is going great and show us what it looks like once you have repainted if you think we will be able to tell the difference because you know some of us a bit thick and grey looks like grey no matter which shade of grey it is..........................lol
Can't wait to see the outcome of your painting. Love the priceof all that Lavender and the bags.
My knees are knockin' in anticipation! xo Becca
My hubby puts pickin paint up there with his other "favorite" thing to do with me bra shop! dee dee
#2 was my choice ~ smart man! :-) xo Pat
lol! You are always such a hoot, Karianne! Whenever I visit here, I leave with a giggle in my heart and a smile on my face. :) I must say you ARE daring to even considering asking the hubster for his opinion....although I know you probably did it just to make him feel like he was helping. lol! LOVE the color chose, though. I've seen Mindful Gray out here in blogland quite a bit. It's THE perfect gray! xoxo laurie
Well, even though your hubby picked every option, at least he played the game with you - and eventually picked the right grey :-) My hubby would just look at the samples and say "they're grey, whatever"! My pick is #2 too :-) FYI, I'm totally on the same painting quest as you - I'm sure I'm already more than halfway there ;-)
Can your husband and Andy pretty please have a little "sit-down," where Andy learns what I really want him to do when I ask for his opinion? (That is: shudder with fear, and try to guess what I want him to say. Not ACTUALLY give me his opinion.)
You are so funny! I love your gray.
Funny post and oh so true how we go about asking our hubbies their opinion!
Ha, Ha, Ha, how sweet of you to allow your husband to be a part of the decision making process! LOL
Karianne, Funny you asked you husband.I don't bother.If I did my decorating ideas would never get done LOL. Lucky you on finding that lavender! (((((Hugs)))))) Anne
I wanted him to want 2 too! This post was so cute! I want to see how the pantry turned out now. Liz
I love the Mindful Gray AND the response. Made me feel right at home. I got a similar response today when I asked about which shade of blue would look nice on the canvas pillow fronts that I was painting. Your husband must be related to mine....twins, perhaps? Separated at birth, but born several years apart to different mothers, perhaps? As for the Lavender...SCORE!!! I'm guessing that you didn't ask your hubby what he thought that you should use it for. Although, on second thought, it might be fun to see what he says. That's a whole other post in itself. Have a great rest of your evening. I'm imagining that you won't see this for a bit because you're painting. Back to sewing for me! xo, Kimberly
Looking forward to the reveal. I have been painting cabinets all weekend and they are gray, too. Wow, what a steal on that lavender!
Wow girlie!!! You have rockin' yard sales in your area!!! And I love SW Mindful Gray too! Your husband is a color mastermind!!! ;) Your post is too funny - made me laugh - Thanks for that! :) Heather
You are just like me. I have to repaint rooms, then start all over again as soon as they are done. Mindful Grey is the most beautiful color in the grey palette because guess what? That is the exact same color I have in my bedroom. And trust me, I sweated over it, my husband was relieved when I finally settled. I LOVE the color on the walls. It will be gorgeous in your butler's pantry.
I like the second one and last one. Oh and I've been known to paint time after time again so I feel ya : )