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How to Choose the Perfect Gray Paint Color for Your Home

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How We Chose the Perfect Gray Paint: Testing Benjamin Moore Collingwood, Grey Owl, and Moonshine

Picking a paint color usually feels straightforward, but narrowing down a single gray for multiple main living areas made me unusually indecisive. We wanted one color to run through the future dining room, main hallway, and living room for continuity, and for once I found myself second-guessing every swatch. My partner Sherry kept pushing for action—“let’s just pick one and do it!”—so we decided to take a practical route: buy a few paint testers and try them on the walls before committing to a full gallon.

Part of my hesitation comes from a childhood paint mistake: I once chose a dark, cold gray for my middle school bedroom because I liked the name—something like Cannonball or Cannon Smoke—only to realize later it felt too prison-like. A bright red Looney Tunes rug and Tasmanian Devil throw pillows helped, but that was not a solution I wanted to repeat in our living spaces.

Our Test Candidates

We narrowed the field to three Benjamin Moore grays, each mixed into Olympic Premium No-VOC sampler cans from Lowe’s (each sampler is about $2.50). From left to right in our photos they are: Collingwood, Grey Owl, and Moonshine. Sherry, who usually trusts her instincts, guessed her favorite right away—if you need a hint, it rhymes with “spoon mine.”

testing three Benjamin Moore gray paint options mixed in Olympic paint test cans - Collingswood Grey Owl and Moonshine

How We Tested: Placement and Technique

We painted one coat of each tester on the wall with a brush, keeping the edges feathered so the test squares wouldn’t create raised patches when we roll over them later. We avoided painter’s tape because perfectly edged squares can sometimes remain visible after covering, so feathering gave us a truer sense of how the paint would look when applied normally.

We applied the three colors in the future dining room in the same left-to-right order (Collingwood on top, Grey Owl in the middle, Moonshine on the bottom) so we could compare them directly. Then, to see how light changes perception, we added larger swatches in the family room—one set near the TV and another set beside the big window that receives different daylight.

test areas of three Benjamin Moore gray paint colors applies to an area of white wall

picking the perfect gray paint color by painting three test swatches onto the wall, Collingswood Grey Owl and Moonshine

three Benjamin Moore gray paint options painted as test squares on a white wall with wood trim

Seeing the Colors in Different Light

One of the biggest benefits of using tester pots is watching how a color reads in different light. A swatch under bright daylight can look very different from the same swatch under warm artificial light at night. We photographed and checked the swatches during the day and again at night to get a complete picture of how each gray would behave in our home.

testing gray paint swatch colors on the wall during nighttime light

three Benjmain Moore gray paint color swatches on a white wall at night time in artificial light

testing paint colors on a wall during night time when artificial light is used instead of natural light

Which Gray Won and Why

After living with the swatches for a few days, Sherry’s pick—Moonshine—clearly emerged as our favorite. Collingwood felt warmer and more tan, reminding us of a Sand White we’d once used; it’s a lovely tone but not gray enough for the direction we want. Grey Owl read a touch green-blue in our light and risked looking like a muddier blue-gray rather than a neutral gray, which didn’t fit our plan.

Moonshine reads as the straightest, most neutral gray of the three. It has a subtle, silvery quality that keeps it from feeling flat, and it’s dark enough to make white moldings stand out without overpowering bolder curtains, artwork, or accessories. For those reasons it fit our goals: a cohesive, modern gray that will anchor the living room, dining room, and connecting hallway.

Practical Tips if You’re Testing Paint Colors

  • Buy small sampler pots so you can paint meaningful swatches and view them from across the room.
  • Paint in the same order and placement across rooms to make direct comparisons easier.
  • Feather the edges instead of taping them perfectly to avoid visible squares after you repaint the wall.
  • Check your samples at different times of day under natural and artificial light before deciding.

We’ve already started painting the larger rooms, but with a baby and ongoing blog duties, it may take us a few days to finish. We’ll share full-room photos when the job is complete.

Have you used tester pots to pick a paint color? Did they confirm your initial gut feeling or steer you in a new direction? Our test squares stayed up for nearly a week—enough time to see the colors in varied light—but every project is different depending on how decisive you feel.