I don't know a thing about that paint color, but it might not look so washed out when you get it up on the walls. Paint chips are deceiving.

I sure have increased the pigment in paint. The trim color on the outside of my house was done that way...but accidentally.
I knew I wanted a ocher-y cream....and picked out a color on the chart and sent DH to the store to get a quart of the color....slapped it on the pillars and part of a window....and it was perfect!
Sent him back for a gallon....and ti was not right..."Wait" he said..."it'll dry out darker"..it didn't!
Finally figured thas tore had made an error and mixed the amount of pigment into a quart that should have been in a gallon....when we added the necessary amount it was perfect.
If you have a good relationship with your paint store, you can have them add pigment at any level you choose...mine will add some....and if It's not right...add more.
Linda C

Adding excessive pigment compromises the ability of paint to bind with the surface it's being painted on. Think of the paint base as the "glue" that hold the pigments to the surface. The pigment itself will not adhere strongly to the surface by itself. It would just rub off. It must be contained in a base.

Bases do have a certain amount of latitude in the amount of pigment they can take, but the lighter colors are already almost all white pigment with very little room for tint. If you try to take a light color and darken it, you can add some pigment, but only some, and it will depend on which brand you're using how much pigment the base will accept.

Choosing a different color mixed in the correct base for that color will give you much greater success in achieving coverage and durability.

You could also get a glaze in the same tone - perhaps just a tad darker, and do a very subtle rag-rub with the glaze over the wall.

The exterior of my house is a double order of SW's baquette.

What constitutes a double order or 200% of colorant is up for grabs. You'd think it'd just be a matter of simple math. Some colors it might be. For some mixer persons behind the counter, again, it might be. Other colors and other mixers, maybe not so much.

Cutting or increasing color formulas is far, far from exact science. Pretty much have to do it and see what you get.

If you get a good mixer person, they might be able to predict what *might* happen by doubling the formula for that color.

See if they'll try it with a quart first and go from there...

I think you would end up with something quite unexpected because some of the tints are much stronger than others; black tends to overpower everything. I think it throws off the proportion somehow that my mind (math challenged) can't grasp, but my suspicion is that even though there's 2x every colorant, it still will not be accurately twice as impactful as @ 1x.
Casey

Well, it looks like this may be an adventure for me. I'll head to the ben moore store this afternoon and talk to my paint guy. The color next up on the paint chip is nice, but I don't know if it's the same only darker, or if the pigment proportions or base change from the color I liked. I'm surprised that increasing the color is not just straight math. That's what I would have expected. Well, wish me luck and I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Worst case scenario, I can always repaint.

I suspected that the color next up on the card was not "it".
If you absolutely cannot find that perfect gray, you can always make your own color and have that color mixed. I do this a lot. Just use artists acrylics, mix up a small batch and paint that sample on a card, or paint stick, at least the size of a postage stamp (make sure there are no streaks).
You'll not only end up with a color you love, but a formula that can be duplicated, if it had to be.
Good Luck!!

It is crazy about the math thing. Lots of factors play in. Like the base - is there any black in the base to start with, or could say it this way 'how white is the base'. Some cans of base paint are more white than others. Pratt & Lambert's base is one of the most "neutral" out of many brands. I suspect that's why Donald Kaufman mixes in Pratt & Lambert.

Someone else already mentioned the colorant. Colorants are not all created equal. Some are stronger than others and/or larger particles and doubling or cutting messes with the balance and ratios of how those colorants mix together and with the base.

The more colorants involved with making the color, the more complex it becomes. Fewer colorants, of course, the easier it is to manipulate ratios.

Sand Hook Gray is a BenM Historical color. The colors on the strips have no relationship other than they are all the 'Historical Collection'. They aren't color families. Even the strips with color that are of the same hue family, you can't count on the 'next one up or down' being lighter or darker.

Adjusting colorant for the required can of base means that literal, even steps are not guaranteed on any color strip. The addition or subtraction of the tiniest bit of colorant can be enough to completely shift one or more characteristic of that color i.e. color temperature -- not just value (lighter or darker).

Pretty much have to take it one color at a time. And all those color programs that claim to make color super simple with flip books, or some kind of number coding, or rearranging strip chips into premade palettes, etc. are just silly.

I'm finding out first-hand exactly what you all are telling me. I was at the paint store twice yesterday. On trip one, my paint guy (Kevin) looked the formula up on the computer to see how much darker he could make it and the computer gave a formula for 75% darker. "Great" I said. So he mixed it, painted a little sample on a piece of paper and compared it to the original and it didn't look much different at all. But his little samples were thick and not dry yet so I took it home to see if it dried darker on the wall. Nope. It was actually grayer, with less of the brown and green undertones that I loved.

So I went back to the paint store and Kevin mixed me a new can, this time omitting the white from the pigments that they squirt in. Came home, tried it, and it's imperceptibly darker. Kevin is willing to keep tinkering (he's pretty great), but I don't think I'm going to.

I loved the original color from the beginning. It was my DH who thought it was too light. After my efforts yesterday, he says he's okay with the lighter color. I think he just doesn't want to turn this into an ordeal. I'm happy, he's happy. It's all good.

So I learned a lesson about trying to go darker -- not as simple as you think it should be. I still don't know why, but now I believe it. Thanks for all of your help.

Please consider the light in your room. If it is bright now, it may not be so during winter months. Do the windows face N, E, S or W? An important consideration. Good luck.

Keep in mind, too, that a color on all 4 walls is different even from the sample you dabbed on the wall. It may actually have that "oomph" you are looking for once you have all your furnishings back.
I also tell my customers to give it a few days and let your eye become adjusted.

So I learned a lesson about trying to go darker -- not as simple as you think it should be. I still don't know why, but now I believe it. Thanks for all of your help.

Glad you made a decision and are moving forward - always feels good to get it done and get going!

It's not always simple at the paint store.

What ends up in the can, what we call custom color, is in essence a conversation. If the conversation between counter staff and customer goes well and both parties are on the same page, then the custom color comes out spot-on.

Math and the color scanners are critical tools but there's nothing like a tinter who knows how to listen and draw out what it is the customer wants the color to be  and in addition to communicating well has the mad skills to take info gleaned from the conversation and spin it into "THE" color.

Props to paint-store-guy Kevin for offering to hang in there and work on a customer color for you.