Monday, April 2, 2012

Deciding between Sherwin Williams Rainwashed and Sea Salt

I have narrowed the field down to 2 colors: Sherwin Williams Rainwashed and Sea Salt. Here are some pictures of the colors in different rooms (with widely different results based on lighting).

First up is Rainwashed. You must go visit Helen at A Brit of Happiness  and see the before and after of her family room, as pictured in the two pictures below. Beautiful work!



The next picture is from an amazing house called Blue River Cottage featured at Home Stories A to Z

Looking at these two homes with beautiful, light blue Rainwashed rooms, I would definitely pick this color for my living room. BUT....after I looked at these rooms below painted with the exact same color, a big red flag went up. Remember how Palladian Blue looks in my room?  I started to think that maybe Rainwashed would also look bright seafoam green in there too! Look at the different looks of Rainwashed below and compare them to the two pictures above. Incredible difference! The top pics look so pale and calming and read light blue aqua. The pics below look brighter and greener. I like them, I just don't think Rainwashed is neutral enough for my room.



My Home Ideas
So my next choice was Sea Salt. At first, I thought this would just be too gray in my room. However, I plan to balance it by painting the stairway and upper level (which is really part of the living room) in a much bolder teal. I like how Sea Salt  works as a neutral and looks good against many colors. When turquoise accesories are put next to a Sea Salt wall, the beatiful blue/green comes out to play.
Anything Pretty

Unskinny Boppy


Southern Hospitality

Apartment Therapy

So there you have it. I am on my way to the Sherwin Williams store to buy a quart of Sea Salt. I will be back soon to let you all know how it looks. Wish me luck!

27 comments:

  1. LOVE these photos! Very inspiring. Your blog is so awesome, I'm really glad I found it! I'm a new follower :)
    If you have the time, I'd love for you to check out my blog and follow!
    http://covergirlandconverse.blogspot.com
    Taylor

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  2. I am voting for rain washed! I love that soft blue!

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  3. Oh, me to Tiffany! Trouble is the sea salt looks too gray and the rainwashed looks too seafoam! Sooo I just need to choose one and go with it.

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  4. Hey Syndi! Have you made a choice yet? I would through Restoration Hardware Silver Sage into the list of contenders. It's a beautiful grey/green/blue color that I've used in my kitchen / living areas. :) http://unskinnyboppy.blogspot.com/2011/07/from-yellow-to-blue-kitchen.html

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  5. Hi Beth, I tried RH Silver Sage after I loved it in your house...but it looked just plain light gray in mine! Since then I have tried BM Palladian Blue, Ocean Air, Gossamer blue. I love how your office/sunporch looks in SW Sea Salt. That's the next one I'm trying. I will just keep trying until I get it right! LOL

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  6. I used rainwashed in a bedroom. I love it but I definitely, personally, wouldn't find it neutral enough for a family room. I used other ones, darker and lighter, on the same card and I'd say they are all some form of blue, green, blue/green, turquoise.

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  7. Thanks for commenting Nancy. I am leaning toward Sea Salt. The rainwashed can look really aqua is some lights.

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    1. I'm so glad you said rainwashed looks aqua because that is exactly what I'm looking for!!! Got a sample of it today and it is drying as I type this!! I hope it looks enough aqua for me??

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  8. i struggle with finding the perfect blue that won't clash with all of our turquoise accents. so your post was very helpful! new follower!!

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    1. Glad you found it useful. I love turquoise too. I agree its hard to chose a blue that looks good with it. SW Sea Salt is pale and has enough gray to be neutral. Turquoise accents looks great against it!

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  9. Ha ha, we went back and forth endlessly between Sea Salt and Rainwashed! We chose Rainwashed, but it was super bright the first few days. I'm not sure if it was my eyes or the paint fully setting, but it greyed out after about a week.

    I just wrote about our quest for the right color on my blog! http://bonnieprojects.blogspot.com/2012/08/choosing-paint-colors.html

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  10. Rainwashed was too bright in my room, so we are going with Sea Salt because it provides a more neutral background. I am heading over to your blog to check it out!

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  11. You guys should try SW, Comfort Gray, it's on the same card as sea salt, but it's one shade darker. I think sea salt is too light, rainwashed too bright, comfort gray is perfect!

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  12. I finally put up before-and-afters of our Rainwashed choice. It's funny, but all men think it's green and all women think it's blue. Regardless, we're liking it! I think Seasalt would have looked green in the living room.

    I also used Rainwashed in our half bath, and it's much brighter in there, maybe since walls are all you see? Because the lighting is better? IDK.

    http://bonnieprojects.blogspot.com/2012/12/living-room-update-paint.html

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    1. Thanks for commenting, Bonnie. I just looked at your pictures. The Rainwashed looks so pretty!

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  13. Hi All! I fell in love with these two colors but the guy who is going to paint my house gets a great deal with Dunns Edwards... do you guys know of any comparable colors with dunns Edwards that are matches to rainwashed and sea salt?

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  14. my entire loft is done in rainwashed. i love it. it seems to have a green undertone, with gray and i hardly see any blue. i cannot describe it; i just know i love it.

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    1. I'm hoping the rainwashed looks enough aqua?? Doesn't sound like it to you?

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  15. In my room sea salt looks blue, not even a hint of green. I am so disappointed. I love this color in all the photographs. I thought it would be perfect. Oh well, chameleon it is. The room is facing north. Maybe that is why it looks blue.

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  16. I painted my east facing bedroom rainwashed. In the morning sun it is a beautiful seafoam. In the afternoon it's a bit more gray. On a rainy day it's a bit more blue. I'm happy whenever I'm in the room.

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  17. I did sea salt in my kitchen was going for the green. I was sad to see it pulled out so much blue. I have been trying so many samples and nothing compares.

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  18. I did sea salt in my kitchen was going for the green. I was sad to see it pulled out so much blue. I have been trying so many samples and nothing compares.

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  19. I did Sea Salt in the kitchen of a "flip" house we're remodeling, thinking it would be predominantly gray, with a touch of green. Well, it's beautiful...but far more green than I was anticipating. Like, seafoam green with just a touch of gray. I think it's one of those colors that varies so much from room to room depending on lighting. So definitely get a sample if you're going for gray, green or blue in particular, because it's never certain which one will be dominant on the wall.

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  20. I really am confused. I had decided on Sea Salt because I thought it had more of a green undertone. But it seems from what I am hearing that it is more blue. I really do not want the blue undertone. My room does not have a lot of light. The little light I have is from the east. Please help!!! I cannot afford to paint twice

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    1. I have used it in 2 houses. In one, it looked green. No blue at all. I now have it in my bathroom and it looks blue/gray. It all depends on the lighting. Get a sample, paint it on a big piece of cardboard, move it all around your room at different times of day, in different light. Its the only way to tell how it will look.

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  21. Any chance you have a picture? Trying to decide between these two colours and my bedroom is also east facing.

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