"I think it looks a little dull." Oh DO you, DH?? Do you REALLY! ffs

[SagaNorensLeatherTrousers]

Goddamnit.

So, DH and I have just bought a fixer-upper mid-terrace that needs a lot of TLC.

Since Day 1, DH has said he's stepping back when it comes to decorating. Ha bloody ha! They always say that, don't they?

So I have put a lot, and I mean A LOT of thought into colour schemes. Something warm, inviting, will not box in our tiny lounge, incorporates his style, my style, furniture we can't yet afford to replace, the dark wooden floors I really, really want (and persuaded him to save up for instead of the 1970's cheapo carpet he had in mind ), etc. etc.

I've spent hours on Pinterest, Houzz, and home decor blogs trying to get inspiration and insight into what we could paint our walls to turn it into the living room from which dreams are made.

I finally narrowed it down to some lovely, wispy grey Dulux colours and picked up the strips today to excitedly show DH.

His verdict? Dull.

Dull. Dull. Dull.

So, 'What did you have in mind, then?' I ask through gritted teeth. He doesn't "really know."

I explain going bold will shrink the room. Going neutral (beige, cream, taupe) is not us.

He agrees.

I show him Pinterest boards with my inspiration rooms pinned on. Bold pops of colour, floor pillows, walls with grey that look lush and fill me with glee.

Oh Christ I can't even be bothered to finish this rant. Basically he's back-peddled but the word DULL is ringing in my ears.

Back to the drawing board. Has anyone looked at grey paints lately and seen something with a blueish hue to it? I'm thinking if I can find a jazzed up grey it might conjure up a little enthusiasm on DH's behalf.

I've got "Sidewalk" from crown, it works well and looks great with bright accessories. Originally had Farrow and Ball and it was so depressing. F@B works in large airy spaces though which my place is not.

I've got "Sidewalk" from crown, it works well and looks great with bright accessories. Originally had Farrow and Ball and it was so depressing. F@B works in large airy spaces though which my place is not.

Yes grey is becoming the new magnolia ! IMVHO of course.

We looked at loads of houses that were grey, it is everywhere. I do like it though. However in my house I have gone down the off white route as it isn't warm enough for our rooms.

As for OP's DH........typical!

In huge high ceilinged room with lots of windows and light it looks great if you dress the room to suit but otherwise car park and a bit cheapy looking now. It has suffered from over use and being used even in the wrong room just because it's fashionable.

Thanks for everyone's POV. Showed DH Cloudburst and he really liked it. I really don't like any other neutral colour except for grey, even if it's being overdone now.

Fwiw I can be a little late to the party when it comes to trends, but grey really excites me. I'm trying to come up with something that works with both our tastes. I can be a bit traditional and DH prefers "student house/pub" with mismatched furniture, 70's throwbacks, and posters of his favourite music artists.

I think I can make grey look crisp and grown-up but it lends me the ability to throw some retro in there in the way of chevron stripes and framed art we both like.

Grey is dull though.

I would go with your original plan. My DH will have an opinion if asked but he doesn't actually care or indeed ever notice how our house is decorated. I think the person who cares the most (and it sounds like that's you) should get to decide - particularly if you have done all the legwork.

Dulux's Egyptian Cotton is a grey tinged neutral - looks fab with dark wood. Get the One coat paint - it really does save you time and its not more expensive than using double the amount of normal emulsion paint.

Yes it is and I think you need the space and dimensions to go with the dullness! If you feel the need to jazz it up with colour then it loses its look ime. There is an old thread on here somewhere 2008 where someone called my living room dull as it was grey .It is a developers colour atm they throw up some grey and add a striped carpet and hope for £

Here are a few of my inspiration photos I have pinned...

noddy can you give me some ideas if not grey? What would you be going for?

We have a grey and beige sitting room! Oh yes.... we love dull To be fair the biggest wall has some seriously undull v funky wallpaper and the other walls are silver rather than grey (no, honest!!) as are the curtains, and bugger all else in the room matches our colour scheme but it's still beige and grey. Love it!

But..... it has to be said that grey looks dull when presented on a card or in a tin. And the fact that you have worn out your little grey (ha!) cells working out what to do isn't going to mean much to anyone else. My H never expresses an opinion on any colours I choose - he just nods and smiles and put the bloody stuff on the walls.

I am going to paint (by proxy of course) our bedroom blue and grey. And I don;t give a stuff if it's dull.

Thanks, ormirian, great post. I'm seriously having a wibble over whether I have any taste at all now, ha!

I need to just remember what I love for my home and where I can envision my family chilling out. DH can go in the garage, ha!

And actually, he really liked Cloudburst. I don't know if my reaction yesterday spurred him on to act a bit more enthusiastic or what, but he seemed a lot more interested this morning!

I used a colour called "summer snow" in my entire open plan living room on first floor of our house in Norway. Despite lots of big windows, it looked quite dark. It was supposed to be a very pale white with a blue hint, it turned out grey. And dull.

Grey is very dull; both intrinsically and by virtue of the fact that everyone and his dog is painting their house grey.

That said, I would never let DH influence my paint colour choice.

Op - the first pic looks very similar to EC. Here is a pic of how it looks in a room:

www.pinterest.com/pin/494199759081864372/

MissScatterbrain I LOVE that! Thank you! EC is definitely in the running now!

I would go with what you have planned. You put a lot of thought into it and he wasn't interested in getting involved when you were putting the legwork in. In the pictures you posted, I like all of the rooms except the one with the dark grey wall. I'm sure when your dh sees your bold pops of colour he will see it's not dull.

I spent many hours of extensive research and many £s on testers to conclude that F & B Blackened was the colour for our bedroom. Painted it on. It looked shit. Corporate grey. John Majors suit. Painted over it again with Dulux snowfall, much warmer looker, and I'm happier. DH less so - still too dark for him. He loves a nice pristine white wall but with 3 small DC I've been desperately trying to avoid that.

Then tried Snowfall downstairs but it looked shit there. More extensive research and many more testers led me to believe F & B Skimmed Stone was the answer. Painted it on top. Still wrong.

Then it dawned on me that any shade of grey was going to be wrong in that room and we have ended up with Dulux White Cotton. A nice warm white. Looks lovely. Everyone is happy. And the children all wear special indoor gloves

Those who say grey is dull, can you please give me alternative suggestions? The room is a 4m x 4m box, one big bay window, dark wooden floors (eventually), and I don't want beige/cream/taupe.

And I have to keep my brown sofa. For now.

White green yellow pink orange blue.

Grey is fashionable just now but people had rooms to decorate before that!

Quint Gauze Mid eh?? I didn't think Little Greene was in the running as I've never heard of it and the "find a stockist" bit isn't working. But my lord their colours are gorgeous! I wish I could find out if anyone near me sells it (I'm in the SW).

I wonder if people are mistaking "dull" for "popular"? I don't see grey colour schemes as "dull" in the sense of lacking interest or excitement but I do think its "popular" in the sense of being regarded favourably by the masses. Nowt wrong with being popular! There are so many different shades to pick and each looks different depending on your room size and light its not going to look identical to everyone else's place.

On the topic of which shade - Id also like to recommend Gauze (Ive used combination of gauze and gauze mid in my hallway) - lovely bluish hue. Ive also used Calluna from F&B - more of a lilac tinge depending on the light and time of day - but lovely and warm in my north facing room which surprised me. Skylight by F&B is also lovely - more of a blue than a grey though.