Colour angst

This week I'm still painting--but with a stain brush outside. I'm trying to select a solid stain colour for the fences in the back deck and yard. As usual it's a stressful decision.  I know that for some people this choice doesn't loom that large. They go for a brown or a grey or a taupe and that's that. But I know that I can't live with a colour that doesn't work. Once I repainted my bedroom three times to get the right tone of grey.

So now my kitchen is littered with paint chips and there are four different cans of sample stain that have been tried on different areas of the fence. I'm looking for something that has the same feeling as weathered wood and trying to determine which tonal direction to take?

The challenge is to find a tone that sets off the plants, goes well with the siding of the house and relates to the deck colour and the bricks. 

I'm think that I've now found a colour that works. It's a brownish-greenish grey called Sparrow. Thanks to the help from the amazing staff at the Benjamin Moore paint store. They really know their stuff. The girl told me to choose a colour a lot darker than I first thought and helped me find the undertones and determine which ones would work.  

Whew! Now we can get on with prepping and painting the fences.