AIBU to think grey decor is so dull?

[NachoNachoMan]

Looking at houses for sale. Not to move, just to have a nosy. There is so much grey! Is it just me or is it a bit boring and samey?

For example... I found this, and whilst it's a lovely house, the decor is so... grey and boring!

www.fineandcountry.com/uk/property-for-sale/richmond/kt8-9bs/1728661

It's like the photos have been taken with a b&w filter on!

There's so many of my friends who have painted a room / rooms / the whole house grey... but I love a bit of colour! Fine to want something neutral, but I think beige/creams are much nicer & warmer.

YABU = grey is great & less is more
YANBU = grey is dull, gimme some colour!

@CyberNan

are you having a laugh...? that house is stunning.

I think its more unreasonable that you have a "nosy" at other peoples homes when you don't have a serious intent.

get a life and stop snooping into other peoples living rooms.

Don't be silly. There are swathes of websites and magazines dedicated to "snooping" into people's home decor choices.

Yep I agree. Grey, white, mirrored furniture and crushed velvet 🤢 makes every room look like a mortuary, it is the palette of the unimaginative and people who have sex ponds in the garden.

We live in a modern (but not new build) house which I found really hard to decorate when we moved in. Anything a bit rustic or vintagey looks wrong and pretentious, but anything too modern made it look naff and chavvy.

But surely grey used as a background is just that, a background colour?

We've painted a few of our rooms grey but it serves as a warm backdrop to gorgeous furnishings, awesome art work and a few cool decorations (not tat though 😁). If I do say so myself it looks great - homely and stylish. Plus we did it years ago before it was quite as fashionable.

Quite different from say, an avacado bath suite as by nature the colour takes over the room.

The alternative is a cer-azy pop of bright colour on your walls which whilst different, limits what else you can do with the room and any "statement " colours will date far quicker.

Of course, each to their own and all. Which I get defeats the object of an AIBU thread

@Nikori

I've been watching Selling Sunset and none of the houses on it have grey. I wonder if it is more a British thing.

I love this program. LOVE it. Proper house porn!

YABU that house is actually quite beautiful. It is subtle and modest considering...

Grey has come over from France I think. It can look lovely if subtle as a neutral base.

I like the muted F&B palette and have a few rooms in one of their soft greys, but other stuff like wood or books, colours mix it up. But I find that house particularly leaden and heavy and the decor could be so much better.

Selling Sunset is brilliant, houses are incredible.

They stage their houses. Interestingly my parents in Australia had someone do it so it’s travelled over there.

It can look lovely if subtle as a neutral base.

Yes but it isnt just used as a base these days, everything is grey - the walls, the furniture, everything. Maybe with a splash of white.

Especially in the UK where the weather is so dull, it makes everything look cold and bleak.

There's a house near me that has recently been fully refurbished, it's in a great area and well priced but has been up for sale for 2 years now. EVERYTHING is grey, the walls, the floors, the light fittings, the kitchen, the bathroom, the front door, the windows, the bi folds. It does feel like you're seeing everything in black and white and I wonder if this is a reason for it not selling?

For me, pictures 1 & 2 are grey being done 'well'.

Picture 3 is awful.

Sorry it came out back to front! 1 is awful.

2 and 3 are grey being done well.

This is my Mum's new kitchen (she's always loved grey, it's her favourite colour).
She's added some colourful tiles to create a pop of colour. I wouldn't have chosen them handles, but she's happy with them.

It looks a lot better in person!

But grey is on its way out anyway. Forest green, slate blue, dark red, terracotta and dusky pinks and earthy tones are what’s on trend now. I’m eyeing up F&B Refectory Red for my hall, which is currently pale grey (painted about 6 years ago but very battered due to a leak from the flat upstairs so needs repainted anyway).

I've noticed the grey-hate on MN. I think this is quite interesting, imo it was a trend from several years ago, the streamlined, minimalist look.
A trend that imo was doomed in the uk.

From what I know about British decor, this is not mainstream taste. Generally you seem to love (bright) colours in every room, feature walls, very decorated/colourfull wallpapers and colourfull furniture/curtains. From what I can gather you prefer the cosy cottage style, so again greys and minimalism wouldn't be to your taste.

I'm foreign, in my country most people have white walls, just white walls. Brits living here are fed up of white walls .

We love the white for reflecting light and making rooms seem bigger, yet our houses are generally a lot bigger than yours and with bigger windows, so it's taste and tradition and again I think grey was doomed from the beginning. But so interesting how different we all are.

Jesus this is like what, the third thread this week
moaning about people having grey interiors. And predictably people then comment to demonstrate how different they are, as they only decorating using primary colours and tribal prints.

Who cares really? If you like grey, and monochrome then perfect, if you don’t, also perfect.

I hate creams and whites, my mums house was always done in magnolia and cream, you didn’t dare touch the walls for fear of marking the paint. I have just done my living and dining room in grey, it has a blue undertone and I love it. I have mixed it with silver and bright yellow cushions for a pop of colour.

Life is too bloody short for magnolia or cream.

I have linen white walls and grey carpet in my lounge and bedroom but coloured curtains, cushions and duvet set. It means I can change the coLour scheme easily.

One thing I hate is feature walls with horrible flowery wallpaper.

Jesus this is like what, the third thread this week
moaning about people having grey interiors. And predictably people then comment to demonstrate how different they are, as they only decorating using primary colours and tribal prints

Amen to that! All those who bemoan grey enthusiasts for being dull and unimaginative are actually all themselves conforming to another style, no matter how different and imaginative and daring they perceive themselves to be. I consider them to be of the “I’m mad, me” variety of those who ache to be different and cool.

I don’t get the strength of emotion Behind it, the amount of hate and venom people spit about other folks interior decor on all these threads.

For me, it’s meh not to my taste but each to their own, but on mumsnet there seems to be a large amount of people spewing bile about how some folks choose to decorate their own homes. It’s very odd.

I consider them to be of the “I’m mad, me” variety of those who ache to be different and cool.

Oh yikes. I'd forgotten all about that. The creator of Colin Hunt knew what he was about when he made that parody!

In my defence, I come and go on mumsnet so I've never knowingly seen an thread about grey paint (although it doesn't surprise me!)

Also, I think it is possible to paint grey without it looking monochrome. Even if you don't have big splashes of colour, but a maybe some nice wooden furniture and house plants to break it up.

I know we all having differing opinions, and it's good that we all like different things and colours, and we're able to have a society where we can talk and debate and listen to others. Life would be so dull like those dull grey walls otherwise!

@MarshaBradyo

Selling Sunset is brilliant, houses are incredible.

They stage their houses. Interestingly my parents in Australia had someone do it so it’s travelled over there.

Right!?

I don't love Amanza, but her staging is absolutely stunning. The people selling this house should hire her. Laughing at the karate-chop cushions. They really bothered me too.

@CyberNan

are you having a laugh...? that house is stunning.

I think its more unreasonable that you have a "nosy" at other peoples homes when you don't have a serious intent.

get a life and stop snooping into other peoples living rooms.

@CyberNan

LOL

In my defence, I come and go on mumsnet so I've never knowingly seen an thread about grey paint (although it doesn't surprise me!)
Really. These type of threads are just another excuse to show up those trashy working class people or the Nouveau riche to voice how common they are.

You don't like grey, lots of people do, that's life! Why feel the need to start a thread about how other people decorate their house? I don't get that
Ps my name has nothing to do with the colour grey!