Home Tour: A Sherwin Williams Anew Gray Interior Helps Create A Classic, Enduring Style

Have you been dying to find an interior styling that marries both the Farmhouse and Elegance?

It’s rare, isn’t it?

That’s why you should always come back to Rooms Solutions…

We’re on a constant trawl of the web to find the very best homes, created by people like you.

We particularly love the stone work, gorgeous flooring and the very high ceilings and the use of Sherwin Williams paint color Anew Gray.

Each one of these brings its own challenges and that’s why Q&As like this are so valuable, we all have the opportunity to learn from experienced and talented home owners.

Today, we’re talking to Sandra who runs the Instagram account: @tuxedofarmhouse

The Anew Gray color scheme, where did you first come up with the idea?

I have always been drawn to more neutral colors and knew I wanted a tone on tone palette for depth.

It’s very classic feeling, will not date quickly and it’s easy for me to add color when I want it seasonally.

The neutral palette also enhances the elegant feel I wanted to achieve.

Because I wanted depth and warmth, I chose a warm taupey gray (Sherwin Williams, Anew Gray) for walls and a warm white (Sherwin Williams Alabaster) for everything that is white (millwork, ceilings, cabinets).

I varied light and dark within these tones for selections, furniture and decor. I didn’t want a true gray nor a true taupe so this greige color worked great in our home!

I tried a lot of samples to find colors that didn’t have strong undertones.

The paint colors were the first things I chose and everything else was built off of that.

Honestly, it is the most beautiful color.

I’m not a fan of “gold” for accents, so I also wanted a color that worked well with silver and dark tones for my metals.

The dark wood flooring throughout your home is very striking, did you source it?

Our home is custom designed and built so everything was sourced by us personally or through our builder’s vendors.

We did both and I loved that our builder was fine with that.

We worked with our builder’s vendor to choose wood floors. It took many samples to finalize our choice!

Our floors have the characteristics of a vintage, repurposed floor.

They are character grade #2 white oak, rift and quarter sawn, lightly wire brushed and stained Jacobean and Coffee with a Bona Matte finish.

There is no shine with this finish, which I love.

It shows nothing!

Because we wanted wide plank and live in Minnesota, we incorporated a pillow bevel to prevent cupping from extreme temperature changes.

All of these features—the grade, added character and the finish make these the most durable floors!

It’s my favorite feature in our home.

How do you decorate a room with high ceilings?

The primary tip I would give is that you need to go taller with decor on the walls.

So, taller prints, mirrors, etc.

Or I use sets of prints so that I have two or three vertically rather than one. I also start a bit higher when placing.

My typical placement on standard height ceilings is approximately 56-60”
from floor to midpoint.

For our ceilings, I added 5-8 inches to that to bring it up a bit.

If I am wanting a console table or chest against a wall, I try to find a bit taller one.

The beauty of tall ceilings is that larger plants or tall topiaries look great sitting atop a table or chest.

And I love the tall doors!

If our home was all walls, the 10 foot ceilings might be a bit much; but we have lots of floor to ceiling windows and wainscotting or shiplap that break up the wall areas.

Which home decorating stores are you guaranteed to buy something if you start browsing?

Well this is a fun question! Most definately any antique or vintage store—I seem to always find something.

I love mixing vintage pieces with new.

If you ever come to Buffalo, Minnesota, you must come on a weekend when our vintage occasional shops are open (monthly).

There are always so many fun treasures in our quaint community on the lake.

It’s unusal for me to walk out of Home Goods, Target or Pottery Barn without something.

What advice do you have for those who are still searching for their own style?

Buy home magazines, search on Pinterest, go to parade or tour of homes and pay attention to what speaks to you.

Note it, by taking a photo, pinning to boards or keep magazine clippings. I have kept files of things I love, for each room, since I was in my 20s.

My tastes have changed several times as I have matured.

But, by doing this, when you are ready to build or buy, you will know what you love and your style will emerge.

Also, don’t be afraid to mix styles.

I call my style Elegant Farmhouse, but I have touches of rustic, elegance, vintage, french, modern, traditional, even bohemian.

This is what makes my home warm and cozy and makes the style mine and makes the home ours.

I didn’t want a home that looked like everyone elses.

When filling your house, purchase only things you absolutely love or you will tire of it quickly.

I often walk by items, or come back in a week, to see if I still love it before purchasing.

Yes, you may miss out on something but if you are questioning it, you probably shouldn’t purchase it at that time.

It took me two years to fill my home with furniture and decor pieces I love. And I’m continually working on it— swapping out things, finding new things, selling things that no longer tug at my heart.

There is no right or wrong style. It’s really whatever makes you happy in your home.

You want your home to be your soft place to fall when life and the world gets tough.

So put things in it that make you smile and bring you joy.

Your home should say “Welcome, I’ve been waiting for you” when you walk in.

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Rooms Solutions want to say a huge thank you to Sandra for chatting to us, what wonderfully in-depth answers.

They’re going to help a lot of people.

If you would like to see more of Sanda’s gorgeous home, you can find it at her Instagram account: @tuxedofarmhouse