Interior design - grey.....

[sweetheart]

We moved into our new house last year and are finally beginning building work so it's time to start thinking about finishes, flooring decor etc.

Our downstairs is going to be quite open plan. There is a hallway, lounge and then a large room at the back which will incorporate a kitchen / diner / lounge. We are thinking that we would like a matt grey kitchen installed with a black worktop - my issue is flooring, not just in this room but throughout downstairs as I'd like the rooms to flow and create an overall palette for the house.

I'm thinking if we go grey cabinets and dark surface that we're probably going to need to stick with a white / beige / light grey floor. the trouble with this is I'm not sure about that in the hallway and lounge? I tend to gravitate more towards warmer colours and feel much happier in the natural wood type colours but i just don't think that will go with grey cabinets.

I'm worried that we will end up with a monochrome house that feels cold and un-homely.

Can anyone help with ideas?

This dark honey wood looks warm and good with grey
here on pinterest

Blonder wood, darker cabinets look good here

this is really soothing, and the floor is so neutral you could easily warm it up in the rest of the house with bright rugs and throws, paintings or prints on the walls, lamp shades etc.

I just can't reconcile in my mind grey with brown....I wouldn't wear that mix of clothing colours either.

I have been looking at the bleached effect flooring. my lounge is currently a duck egg blue sort of colour which I'd like to keep if possible so also need something that combines well with that.

Has grey not been done to death now? I think if you choose grey it could really date when the work was done.

Most of the places we've looked have said that Grey is still one of the best sellers.

What colour would you go for Fudge?

For a kitchen - I'm not keen on painted tbh so I'd go for white or wood. Would depend on the house and the room though. I generally go with what I like and think will look good rather than what is fashionable.

If you are having a painted kitchen and like the warmth of wood for flooring then maybe have a rethink and choose another colour if you don't think grey goes with that? I suppose it depends how long you think you are going to live in the house. Let's face it, if it's painted it is relatively easy to change the colour.

I really like the grey and choose it because I like it rather than because it's fashionable. I find wood very dated and old fashioned now so wouldn't go for that. It's defiantly a more painted / matt finish we are looking for. i think the hi gloss stuff is a bit past it now (and would be a nightmare to keep clean and finger print free which is the main reason for ruling it out.)

Fair enough - I just thought it might be an idea to rethink the grey if you are worried about the place looking cold. You could go with a lighter worktop and a darker floor. Could that work?

It could work, I have tried to steer clear of a dark floor as they tend to show up the most dirt, dust etc which I can imagine would be a bloody nightmare in a kitchen.

Yeah - both very light and very dark colours are bad for showing dirt. The worst of all ime is black and white chequerboard!

I'm wondering if a polished concrete would work but then again I'm worried it will look stark and cold. I know I could brighten it up with a mahoosive rug......don't think it's going to work through the hallway though......sigh!

I think warm wood tones and grey can look lovely together. See here.

Perhaps a walnut colour on the floor would work well with grey cabinets, and make the room feel a bit warmer.

I am with you that I love grey, whether it is fashionable or not!

I think pale to mid oaks look really good with grey - just had oak floor put in grey hall. Will post a pic if I get time.

Personally I would avoid dark work surfaces as they look a bit old fashioned and absorb a lot of light. I think an oak floor would go well with grey units and a light Quartz or granite work surface.

We have a charcoal kitchen and 'rustic limed wood' flooring from amtico & they compliment each other very well. I was worried about wood effect ie brown & grey but if you choose the right colour it brings out the greyness of some of the grain.

Do not put a white/beige/light grey floor in the kitchen (or anywhere you use for the matter). It is as bad as a dark flooing. I have that and after a sweep and passing the mop after five minutes it looks dirty again. If you want to stick with those colors, I'd suggest white cabinets, back countertop and grey (neither dark nor pale) flooring. For the colors matching the grey, why don't you bring a sample of your grey and contrast it with different floors?

I would also avoid a light floor. We had cream tiles in the kitchen and I absolutely hated them. With a passion. I have vowed never, ever, ever to have a light floor again.

I absolutely agree that in quite a lot of the photographs on Houzz / Pinterest and the like, they look amazing. Living with that 24/7 is a completely different story. Definitely agree that it will look grubby within seconds unless you spend your life cleaning the floor or have a cleaner on standby.

We have a sold wood floor (bamboo), matt white cabinets with very pale grey quartz and very pale grey walls. Obviously I biased but I think it looks lovely!

Thanks all. We are not really keen on the lighter work surfaces to be honest. I had a chat with dh about my concerns and he said he could feel me waivering towards a cream or white cabinet so I think we are going to go and look at the weekend. There is a "stone" colour which I think is a taupe kindof colour - so not grey but not cream which might work well......?

Thanks for the info about white floors - I'll deffo steer clear of them now :-D

If anyone can post pictures of your lovely kitchens I'd be very grateful

Here is mine :
www.houzz.co.uk/projects/787449/open-plan-extension-with-office-corner

Marmite - I don't suppose you'd be willing to share a floor plan of your downstairs (or perhaps have the dimensions to hand). I think this is similar to what we're looking to do.

Hi name changed - here is a pic of our plans. It shows the back of the house only ie. not the sitting room at the front. Our house is a Victorian semi.