Fifty Shades of Grey & Black

Yes, I finally succumbed to curiosity and read Fifty Shades of Grey this past weekend... but of course that is not what this post is really about...

We have taken the plunge and decided to paint the exteriors of the windows black.

Via Houzz

I never would have guessed there were so many shades of black. It is almost as difficult to pick out the perfect black as it is to pick out the perfect white! We think we have finally settled on General Paint's Black Bear but still need to actually test it on the house.

We are still undecided on the colour of the french doors. Dave would like for them to stay white but I am partial to painting them black as well. Not only will they match the windows but the black will help hide the dog paw prints that eternally cover the bottom half of the doors.

White?

Black?

Or maybe we should compromise and go grey? Although I would probably still lean towards a darker charcoal grey. (I apologize for the cheesy Paint renderings... I was feeling to lazy to fight with Photoshop and couldn't even locate the original copy of this photo...)

Grey?

We will eventually be adding a Juliette balcony railing on the second floor which will also be black or oil rubbed bronze.

Via Westline Distributors

Would the black on black be too much and the balcony railing just get lost? Does the balcony rail help the white option look more balanced? Is the grey option more balanced or just too much for one wall?

Black?

White?

Grey?

Too many possibilities... and don't even get me started on how many shades of grey there are too choose from... definitely more than fifty.

What would be your vote?

Amy