It's been awhile since I have done a Color Spotlight and today I wanted to highlight and feature a fairly new color that I have been recommending to my clients lately that I think you guys will loves and it's Benjamin Moore Collingwood.
Benjamin Moore Collingwood is balanced light to mid-toned greige with a transitional mix of warm and cool undertones tones (more warm than cool). Collingwood is also one of Benjamin Moore's bestselling paint colors. Collingwood leans a tad warmer than the popular Sherwin Williams Repose Gray, which is the number one color that I recommend to my clients.
I saw Collingwood last year for the first time while touring homes during the SLC Parade of Homes, where it was used as a whole home color in a beautiful modern French country home built by Elevation Homes.
I instantly fell in love with the versatility of Collingwood as I walked around this home and saw how it looked slightly different (but stunning) in each room of the home. This is exactly what I look for when I look for the perfect whole home color for my clients. I always try to encourage people to use one fantastic color like Collingwood throughout their home because you will get variations of the color in the different rooms because each room will have different lighting.
For example… Here's Collingwood in the main living room of this home:
This room did not have a lot of natural light but Collingwood appears light warm gray without any strange undertones jumping out. You can get a better feel for this color by looking where the wall color meets the crown molding at the ceiling.
In the bedroom, the builder created a gorgeous trellis pattern on the wall (it looks like wallpaper but it's not) and Collingwood was carried through into the space as the main wall color. You'll notice the color appears just a tad cooler in this space and because there is an abundance of natural light.
Even though Collingwood appears a tad cooler in this space, the color is still beautiful and dependable without any strange hues jumping out.
Here's a closer look at Collingwood to give you a better feel for the color.
Again, as I show you this color throughout this home notice how this color changes room to room. Some people think if you use one color throughout a home, you won't get contrast or differences. The rooms do look different room-to-room because of the changes in lighting.
In the master bathroom, Collingwood was also used and again, notice how different the color looks from the bedroom and living room.
Collingwood is also beautiful in this completely different bathroom lighting, which this space was south facing and getting an abundance of sun at the time I took the picture.
What really got my attention with this color is just how beautiful Collingwood was as I walked into the hallways of this home. One of the things I consider when I'm looking for whole home wall colors is what will the color do in hallways that trend to be darker with a little to no natural light and only artificial light.
Collingwood for sure gets an A+ when it comes to hallways!
Even in the hallway, Collingwood is again dependable without any strange hues jumping out! It's a perfect light warm gray in this mixed light hallway.
The other spot that I look to observe a color is a closet. This is how I can tell how a color will look at night with only artificial lighting. Collingwood looks nice in the closet with the worst lighting possible. Again, no crazy hues jumping out. The color is just a little darker but still balanced and not too cool and not too warm.
Even in the basement of this home, which had the smallest amount of natural light, Collingwood is amazing!
Let me also point out that just because one main color is used throughout a home, it doesn't mean that you couldn't use pops of other complimentary colors strategically in small powder rooms, accent walls and cabinetry. In fact, this is one of my favorite benefits of using one color throughout because I think it's more dramatic in this case when other contrasting colors are used.
The builder of this home did just that and contrasted strategically in key spots. In the small powder room, the builder went for drama and contrasted with Sherwin Williams Peppercorn! This color choice and mix is exactly the best way to contrast!
Below you can see how beautiful the contrast is with BM Collingwood and SW Peppercorn.
In the kitchen, the builder opted to use Benjamin Moore Decorator's White and contrasted with a darker gray contrasting gray that I was not able to get the name. It's very close to Sherwin Williams Dovetail.
As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of carrying through one color in a home. I hope I have showed you that it's not boring at all and you still get contrast and variation within each room and lighting.
If you're looking for a dependable whole home color, for sure put Benjamin Moore Collingwood on your list. Other light warm grays to consider are Sherwin Williams Repose Gray and Benjamin Moore Gray Owl.
On a side note, if you haven't had the chance to see my 2019 Paint Color Forecast Recap, you should for sure check that out to see where the paint manufacturers think we are heading in color for 2019.
Thanks for stopping by today friends!
Cheers!
Cyndy
