Perhaps a design seed will help you go in the right direction. It's easy to see gray with black and white, but it looks wonderful with browns too. Perhaps adding another color like a deep eggplant, a pale lavender or a spring green or even turquoise, aqua or teal will help you see the two colors together as background for another accent color you'd like to showcase. There are infinite color directions you can go in. Here are just a few ideas.

{{!gwi}}

Thanks Annie! I do love that teal/turquoise....but not eggplant/mauve/reddish orange. Those photos do help me visualize it better, although maybe I am still hoping for more color overall? My dishes for the last ten years have been Pfaltzgraff Pistoulet.. I think there are like 19 total colors in the dishes!
Thanks for the help!

I would go with a warm gray like sw Mindful Gray. I also like accessible Beige by SW.

I have attached a pic of accessible gray.

Nosoccermom-the second set of photos you posted has more punch than the first set
Aktillary-thanks for the suggestions-I pulled out my SW deck-midful gray is too light for my tastes, I would be at least 2 shades darker---like dovetail.

If I do gray walls, brown sofa/loveseat, can I do a variety of teals/aquas, or do I need to stick with basically one or the other? Are there a few accent colors I can pull together to go with this scheme to add more interest? Can I add a rustic bronzed type yellow? Or does it needs to be sunshine yellow? (I'm not a fan of bright yellow/orange/etc...

Fabric inspirations may help too...

You can use shades of your accent color. I have very light gray walls with a darker gray couch. My accents are varying shades of turquoise, with some of them leaning more slightly green or blue than others. Unless you really study the room, you won't notice subtle variations. Just make sure you recognize the difference between teal, turquoise and aqua.
I think a bronzy color would look great with it. I have a wicker and wood chair along with a side table and basket that are a lighter gold-y wood. I think they look great and warm up the space.

There are so many grays that you probably need to pick up sample cards and bring them home and under different lighting pick 2-3 that you like and then get some jars or pots of those colors and paint them on the wall.

Gray can have green, blue, pink and brown undertones. I would definitely get samples and hold them beside the stone and the sofa cushion and work with samples that will bridge the two.

You might want to stick your head in her house.

http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2013/11/how-to-choose-the-perfect-gray-paint.html

This post was edited by patricia43 on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 17:36

I can see several of the pictures I posted first with different shades of turquoise, e.g. the one from Atlanta Homes and Painted Hive.

Annie-Yes, maybe I need to head into the fabric store...given that I plan to make my own curtains (if I find time after DIYing everything else!)...maybe I will happen upon the perfect curtain fabric to tie everything together. I don't think it would even Have to have the grey in it.
Sundance-Thanks, unfortunately I've been picking up turquoise things, while this dressed I found is more aqua-maybe I can refinish it---just after I paint all 1600 sq feet, lay some tile, make some curtains, move furniture, surprise my kids with the house they don't know about and get them off to school Aug 14th! Lol...just a bit overwhelmed! I had the room all firgured out ..then DH wanted carpet, grey walls, and an ugly recliner, and a bean bag....

Patricia-I usually do the sample thing. Unfortunately, the ceilings were just primed today, flooring is currently plywood, and there is NO furniture in the house! I'm trying to bridge a gap between sanity and the edge of the cliff! Guess I just need to shop for more color cards. :)

Nosoccermom-i need to get ahold of some of the bean bag chairs in the firstphoto that is showing up on your recent post...before my husband picks up a neon plasticky one at Wally World! What is it about the photos that still seem so monotone? I know there are colors in them...I think it is maybe just the minimal amount of things with colors...maybe I go overboard?

Annie, what is the source of the striped fabric in your 17:05 post, please? Google image search turned up nothing.

PPG has a ton of nice grays! Knights Armour is pretty dark, but lovely, and Dover Gray was a contender for my great room for a bit. I ultimately had to go much lighter and warmer (Moth Gray, which looks gray or taupe-ish depending on the light and angle). But I spent weeks looking at PPG and SW grays, many lovely shades to pick from! Wish I could zap all my samples to you, I have about eleventy billion chips and 4 gray samples!

Scroll down to picture #7. I think I have found a cousin to your fireplace.
http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/painting-tips/

This post was edited by patricia43 on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 23:35

bbstx, all the fabrics I posted were from calico corners. Not that I'm such a fan of them or their fabrics or especially their prices, but I find their website easy to search and the pics easy to post.

I think the reason why that picture looks so monotone is because all the colors of the art, pillows, bean bags, walls, curtains, floor are at the same level of saturation. Except for the plant and the sofa, they blend into each other.
Imagine some green pillows, and it would look already better

Thanks, Annie. I agree with you on all 3 points.

Williamsem-we already redid the roof....I got dover grey and knights armour for the trim-i may mix them for the perfect trim. I think Knights Armour could be luscious in a master bedroom.
Nosoccermom-Im glad there is an explanation for it. While the photos look nice, they are missing some life. I think you are right on the saturation. I tens to do a lot of accessories, so doubt that will be a problem!

All I did was make the three pillows brighter. Now imagine different art work.

Nosoccermom-thanks!

Okay, I found this rug with greys, brownish, turquoise, rust, and limish green...give me your thoughts! (Colors are probably brighter as my phone flashed!)

Thank you all for your wonderful grey resources. I just tried to paint my bathroom EK Berry Red. Wish somebody told me I needed primer! Once I got the gray primer on, I decided I liked it better than red for the bathroom. I'm now trying to choose a shade of gray. I'm loving PPG Dover Gray, as well as it's lighter cousin Flagstone. I've also ordered samples from Barbara Jacobs for some of her full-spectrum grays. Since I had last seen her page, she's added eight new colors to her collection. The one that looks really promising is called timeless gray. Full spectrum gray seems kind of like an oxymoron doesn't it? I'll let you know how they look when I get them!