I agonized over this colour for ages. Settling on Stormy Sky (which was hilariously misnamed if you ask me). There was just something about that swatch though; I couldn’t bring myself to return it to the shelf – Logically I knew grey cabinets would look bland or melancholy.
Months prior I’d been putting off actually beginning my bathroom renovation for weeks. Typical builder’’ve ever seen. Honey Oak cabinets that look like they came straight from the Flintstone’s family home.
Beige tile as far as the eye can see. That sickly magnolia paint developers love to use because “neutral”, when it really just translates to bland-ass nothing.
Crazy enough, the first thing I knew I needed to tackle was the vanity.
That sucker takes up half a wall. Sets the tone for the rest of the bathroom. etc. Picking out the perfect colour felt like an insurmountable task – and I’m a man who deliberates over lunch menus for at least 20 minutes.
Go too dark and the already small bathroom would feel closed-off. Go too light and it would look cheap or show water spots TOOTH PASTE SMUDGES EVERYWHERE. (Yes. Those exist.) The entire day I spent wandering around B&Q wasn’t actually intended to be a shopping excursion.
More of me taking a relaxing stroll to avoid deciding. Although said swatch of grey kept catching my eye; eventually I shrugged and bought it alongside about 15 others. Leading me to spend the following two weeks staring at paint swatches I had taped to my bathroom wall like some sort of crazy-colour artist.
Grey vanities though are huge rn which also stopped me from immediately pulling the trigger. I hate when my flat starts to look like every other renovation blog/Instagram you’ve come across. That being said… there is a reason they’re so popular.
Grey is neutral enough to pair with literally anything yet also carries some personality. Unlike beige.. which just sort of blandly exists. An embarrassment.
Once I finally made peace with painting my vanity Stormy Sky (thanks mainly to Jamie telling me to f*ck off and stop overthinking) everything else clicked into place. Kind of. Lies.
I almost lost my sh*t trying to pick hardware. I spent literally 1hr aimlessly wandering the cabinet hardware aisle with various pulls held up to my phone’s torch wondering how they would look on non-existent grey doors. Brushed Gold was beautiful but felt too trendy.
What if I got bored of it next year? Chrome was sleek but maybe too sterile for a room where I’Literally getting ready to face another day. Then I spotted these matte black cabinet pull handles with just enough texture to keep them from being boring.
Minimal. Defined. Made the grey look sophisticated rather than trying to out-match everything around it.
Steve – whoever that idiot was working at B&Q – told me matte black and grey went well together because you got contrast without it being overly dramatic. Boy was he right at the time. I think I mainly just needed someone else to validate that my colour scheme wasn’t completely out of touch.
Choosing countertops was basically what ruined me. Knew I wanted Quartz because everyone sings the praises of how low-maintenance it is. Doesn’t need sealing!
Won’t stain if you dump nail polish across it etc. The problem? The bright white Quartz samples I saw clashed badly with my grey cabinet samples.
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And the darker-toned options felt WAY too heavy. Eventually decided on this warm white Quartz with grey veining running through it; mimics real marble without ALL the insane stress of “will this stain forever?” Nobody tells you you’ll change your mind on like seventeen different items once you’ve already ordered them. My original drawer pulls – These sleek-looking geometric marvels – looked incredible online.
Sleek. Modern. Chic.
But when they arrived and I could actually hold them up to my cabinet door.. they felt completely wrong. Way too boxy; seemed more office building than bedroom cabinet you embarrassingly crack open at 6am. Returning them was TORTURE – Included shipping costs + restocking fees + a customer service runaround you’d typically expect from DHS.
But eventually got ones that I’m much happier with later on. Still contemporary. No longer scream “LOOK AT HOW TERRIBLY TRENDY I AM” whenever you open a drawer.
Painting my cabinets grey then gave me a central point to build the rest of my bathroom around. Considering I’ve hated pretty much every decision I’ve made so far. It was a nice break from feeling like I was completely outside of my comfort zone.
Paint colour was made easy because of it. Bright white would give me enough brightness to work with + created a nice blank canvas for the taupe walls behind the shower mirror. Pick laminate flooring that resembled dirty hardwood would add texture & warmth on the ground plus echo back the neutral colours set by my vanity.
What surprised me most was how much Stormy Sky changed throughout the day. In the morning when the sun beams through my window it nearly becomes blue-grey. Cool & refreshing while I try and run away from my sleepiness.
At night once it’s lit by my vanity lights it actually feels warm and welcoming. Wouldn’t have thought a shade of “Dishwater Grey” could be so versatile. If there was one game-changing thing about this whole vanity it was the drawers.
Gone are the days of trying to scoop toothpaste out of a sink’s crevice. OH YEAH – my drawers are DEEP. Deep enough where I can keep all of my hair products in the bottom drawer yet still have PLENTY of room for spare towels.
Can’t stress enough how much I love those soft-close hinges as well. Especially when taking into consideration my eagerness to not wake my neighbours when I crack open a cabinet at 7am. Believe it or not, finding the right mirror was a whole ordeal on its own.
Wanted something fairly basic & rectangular but when I held up samples next to my GREY cabinet… it just didn’t feel right. Too boring? Stumbled across this cute rounded mirror with a thin black frame that echoed my cabinet hardware.
Breaks up all those sharp lines and makes the whole setup feel more considered – like I maybe know what I’m doing. This vanity honestly hasn’t been as difficult to clean as I thought it would be.
Water spots aren’t as visible on the grey finish as I expected them too be.
My HORRIBLE aim when squeezing toothpaste hasn’t stained the cabinet like I thought white would either. Fingerprints are pretty visible on the matte black hardware but wiping it down is a breeze. Ultimately why this grey cabinet works is because it doesn’t try to be the star of the show.
Heavy enough to anchor the whole bathroom yet neutral enough that other aspects of your bathroom can stand out – like the textured shower tiles I eventually worked up the courage to install, or the brass light fixture I took 3 tries to get up, or even my plants sitting atop my sink. It’s basically like having that great pair of jeans in your wardrobe. Matches everything & makes all of your other purchases look smarter than they probably are.
Will I choose grey again? In a heartbeat. Might play around with a deeper tone next time though just to see what happens.
But if my track record is any indication.. I’ll be staring at paint sample after paint sample for another two weeks.
