They say the human eye can distinguish 500 shades of gray. I’ve seen at least 473 of them in the past few days.
Frank and I are picking paint for a much-needed home refresh. And since Frank’s choice is almost always, “Whatever you say, Princess” I have a decision to make. It’s not black and white, of course. It’s gray. The question is, which gray?
Turns out a lot of decision-making in business and in life is mirrored in the pursuit of the perfect paint.
It’s all about your perspective.
Look at things from one angle and they’re absolutely perfect. Change your point of view, and suddenly you have a different opinion.
That gorgeous gray I saw a minute ago just turned the color of the muddy Mississippi River. It’s smart to look at every angle before you reach a decision. And, shining a light on it can change everything.
Context counts.
Same paint, different wall? The appearance changes drastically. Cloudy skies…bright sunshine…a lamp turned on at night? These can’t be the same shade of gray, can they?
The oak woodwork, the turquoise couch, the jewel tones in the Chinese rug…everything around it influences the way we see that gray. Even the shade of white already on the walls affects our perception of the new hue.
Maybe we can’t consider a swath of paint—or anything else—in isolation. But it’s smart to take into account all the other things that influence our impressions.
Research makes a difference.
In my first pass at the paint chips, I picked a couple colors I liked. Ran them by Frank (you know what he said) and declared the choice made. Then, on the advice of people who know way more than I do, I picked up some sample cans, put that gray paint on the walls…and saw purple.
Now, I wear purple. I carry a purple portfolio. For years, I drove a purple car. I like purple. But I don’t want purple all over our house.
What did I learn from the purple paint? Going with my gut works for me often. But sometimes there’s a better way to reach a decision. It involves time and deliberation and, yes, research.
I read up on undertones and finishes and LRVs. (Light Reflectance Value measures the percentage of light a paint color reflects; of course that has an impact on how you “see” the color and how you feel in the room.)
Understanding even a little bit about the impact colors can have set me up for a more productive trip to the paint store.
What’s under the surface?
Those paint chips I was looking at—they were all gray. And, every one of them had an undertone that made its particular gray different from the others. The undertones were blue, red, yellow, even purple or green. A gray with a blue undertone looks nothing like a gray with a yellow undertone.
Of course the idea of an underlying quality or feeling applies to more than color theory. When it comes to conversation, we might notice the sexual undertone of an exchange. Or the racist undertone of a political speech. Direction from the boss could have a threatening undertone. We derive meaning not just from the words but from the tone and the undertone.
Whether it’s a look or a sound, the undertone has an impact. Take the time to go deeper, and you may find that your first interpretation was superficial. Or just plain wrong.
Look beyond the label.
Research led me to three new grays; I brought sample cans home and put them on the walls. Funny what a difference even a semi-informed decision can make. To tell you the truth, I could probably live with any of these colors.
Now that I’ve settled in with them, I’m ditching Abalone. Its red undertone takes it toward taupe. And I’m reluctantly passing on Silver Lining. I love the name—the idea of Silver Lining for our house makes my heart sing. Sadly, it looks blue in the sunlight.
Smack in the middle, with both blue and red undertones and the ideal LRV: Cement Gray. It’ll be perfect, I’m sure, in spite of its less-than-poetic name. And I’m still sorry I can’t go with Silver Lining.
And that makes me ponder how often I’ve bought something because its label attracted me. Or passed up a product that would be perfect, but I didn’t recognize it because it had a lame name. It makes me sound embarrassingly superficial, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Smart marketers know they can get us with the right name.
And when we’re the ones doing the marketing, we’d best take care to choose our words carefully. They can’t judge a book by its cover, but if the cover is all they have to go on, it’ll have an impact. Our job is to make it a positive one.
There you have it. Lessons from the pursuit of the perfect paint. Maybe you’ve had some experience with undertones that took you by surprise. Or you looked past the label and liked what you saw.
Post a comment below to share your story.
Catherine, what an extraordinarily well written post. The perfect photo too.
Thanks, Diana — coming from an actual writer, that’s a huge compliment.
Wonderfully said, Catherine. While I did know more than most about undertones in paint color, you broadened my education considerably , and , taught me that even after 36 in the painting business, there are still interesting things to learn!
So glad you liked it, Mike. It takes some nerve to send an article about paint to a professional painter, doesn’t it? There’s always something to learn, no matter what business we’re in. Because very few things are black and white.
Your newsletter is always brilliant! But this was my favorite one so far!
The silver lining is that you’ve extricated yourself from titles and labels! Now, we’ll be on TARGET to go shopping together!
And I throughly enjoyed the metaphor for being aware of meaning (in conversation or presentations) under the obvious.
Great post!
Thanks, Karen — I’m so glad you dug it. I’m still not excited about the sound of Cement Gray vs Silver Lining, but the look of it is definitely right…because the undertones make so much difference. That does mean I’ve loosened up on labels, but maybe not quite enough to hit the BULLSEYE.
Two very good points here, You made me really think on the shades and tones. The tones in peoples voices can make an experience brighter or diluted. I hope you elaborate on the 2nd, that labels and the impact they have good or bad.
I too get caught up in a label struggle (as I am sure anyone else in the automotive world knows) a certain parts manufacture went to a new name that is not only disliked by most, but they passed out tape measures, flash lights and other swag, that no one wants, big oops.
Interesting story about the name change, Jacques. You know who uses labels to great effect? Politicians. People who desperately need reduced rates for health care ought to support the Affordable Care Act, but they’re hopping mad about “Obamacare.” And think about the impact of “Crooked Hillary,” “Lyin’ Ted,” and “Crazy Bernie.” You could even have a presidential nickname of your own, thanks to the folks at The Daily Show. http://tdstrumpnicknamer.com/
Catherine what a great article! It really hit the points of perspective, opinion and yes marketing. It crosses so many genres in decision making. The paint issue was interesting to hear what extreme’s you went to to make that decision. I was sitting here rolling my eyes thinking “oh for Cripes sake pick one of 3” And then I kept reading and slowly I began to see what it was to take the time, sit back and visit it again and keep digging. I made myself able to live with my decisions over the years. It made my world comfortable. Which led me to a “gray” area of how I chose to live. So thank you for your knowledge and ability to share it. I have to tell you though I did buy at the checkout the snicker’s bar that was titled Princess. Chuckled that day as I enjoyed it and reminded of it here.
Glad you enjoyed the piece, Amy. I can so relate to your eye-rolling reaction. I’m usually a go-with-my-gut kind of woman; I make pretty quick decisions. But as I learned from the too-purple paint, those quick decisions aren’t always the best decisions.
And thanks for the tip. I’m going to keep an eye out for the Princess Snickers bar.
Loved the article Catherine. As a marketer, I see the value of looking for the undertones of what I put out there…a very good lesson. As an interior designer and artist, I love the 2019 Ben Moore color of the year, “Metropolitan.” It’s a lovely medium grey, by the way.
Thanks, Nancy! Yes, I learned that undertones are key–and easy to miss. Metropolitan is lovely. My Cement Gray has a slightly higher Light Reflectance Value and warmer undertones. It was, I finally figured out, that warmth that I was looking for. For a fairly subtle color, Cement Gray warmed up our space quite a bit. And boy, did I learn a lot going through this process.
Great enjoyable article, Princess! It sounded like a newfangled Goldilocks’ story. I was led here from your post about the neutral house. And it seems even the color you chose cannot decide if it is gray or grey. As an old art major, I’m surprised there aren’t more than 500 distinguishable shades. Now, in the same way that so many have changed the retail name of Target with a hard G and T to the French sounding Tarjay. I think you should reconsider the cement truck-like sounding word to something more like C-mnt. Emphasize and draw out the soft C or turn it into an S and quickly say the ment so you sort of lose the vowel and it nearly sounds like mint. New spelling = Seamint. Everyone will think it’s some new exotic edible seaweed that can only be found at Whole Foods. All I want to know is if it’s the one on the left side of your picture.
I believe it is the one on the left, Debbie. I like your c-mnt notion. Sounds SO much better than cement, although when I first said it out loud, it made me think of the Beverly Hillbillies and their see-ment pond. 🙂