What is it with Grey?

[Carryingon]

I saw a house today which had been modernised but it was so monochrome. Flat grey kitchen, grey carpets, black doors and woodwork, very dark grey radiators. And it was all brand new so I couldn’t justify changing it. Someone will love it but sadly not me.

The absolutely great thing about the internet is the ability to check out that some of the best hotels use interior designers for every room and they are not all grey or indeed boring! Just look at the Kit Kemp portfolio here and in New York. It is a case of knowing where to look. It’s very difficult to copy and that’s why grey with sparkles is popular. It’s easy to copy. Style which is eclectic isn’t easy to replicate.

The houses of interior designers are on their web sites. They can easily be accessed. I think the rich can buy style even if they don’t have it within themselves. Others with little to spend can also have style.

I don’t entirely agree grey is “Classic”. It’s one of a number of colours that have been popular over time. Go back into any era and people though their decoration was “classic” but we would probably disagree with that now.

It really pays to buy a few magazines and look at trends and interior designers. House and Garden publishes a bible of them. Some of the houses and ideas are very expensive but there are wonderful ideas to steal. Not a Mrs Hinch in sight!

Some of the conversation about class/snobbery on here reminds me very much of my dear grandmother.
When we painted our house she was astounded that we weren’t papering it, as she associated bare walls (without wallpaper) with council houses.
Explains some of the older generation’s attachment to their beloved wallpapers, which now gets stripped off by developers and painted a shade of grey...

@Seeingadistance

The thing that gets me about the Mrs Hinch type of home is that there’s no depth or history or sentiment to it.

In my home I have pieces of furniture, art, random objects etc which I have gathered up, been given, or inherited over the years. Eg, in my bedroom I have a wooden chest of drawers which was in my childhood bedroom and in my living room, flowers in a jug which a friend gave me about 30 years ago.

And before anyone says that not everyone is in the position of inheriting anything - in my kitchen I have a small plastic tray which my granny had on her dressing table and which I now use for keeping pens and odds and ends.

Mrs Hinch and her followers adopt a “job lot” to decorating their homes, which is fine in hotels and pubs where designers are aiming for a particular look. But those are commercial premises. Ironically, their manufactured interiors usually show more personality and character than Mrs H’s.

I just think it’s a bit sad really. There’s no story to any of their interiors, other than a shopping trip.

This. As you have, my house is decorated around the furniture and nick nacks I have gathered over the years.

@funksoulmother

Some of the conversation about class/snobbery on here reminds me very much of my dear grandmother. When we painted our house she was astounded that we weren’t papering it, as she associated bare walls (without wallpaper) with council houses. Explains some of the older generation’s attachment to their beloved wallpapers, which now gets stripped off by developers and painted a shade of grey...

I’ve never heard that, but wallpaper is very fashionable currently , even mrs hinch has it. Most real influencers and home designers will have beautiful wall paper somewhere in their homes.

@cunningplan101

Oh so much grey ...

www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/the-southend/

(and then that one pale pink chair)

They even managed to curate an all-greige collection of books!

I think the house is beautiful, it looks relaxing. It actually reminds me of Babington house.

It depresses me.

We've had a grey sofa since forever (25 years) at the time nobody else had grey

Well food job we don't all like the same things or life would be even more dull than it already is.

Good not food

@Bluntness100

Wallpaper is always in/out of fashion - not disputing that at all. There are probably people out there tearing down their Laura Ashley hydrangeas to put up Sanderson clouds next to their panelled wall because they saw it on social media. Probably painted green smoke with a millennial pink cushion throw in...
There are also many that do not care for influencers and fashion, and instead are confident and comfortable developing their own style.

Also, true designers and influencers are quite different.
The influencers are often peddling products and trends on behalf of brands that they are paid to/gifted/affiliates.
Often influencers with similar styles are pushing similar products from the same brands (ie those with affiliate programs).
I have seen designers do this too and suppose if they have the content and the followers, it makes sense to monetize with little work.
Many influencers are not unique or truly setting trends.

Anyway, my point was in reference to the OP post regarding modernised properties, where someone age 80+ probably had the same wallpaper hung for many many years (anaglypta, woodchip, fleur de lis pattern styles etc) and a developer steps picks up a 10L tub of wickes grey paint to modernise for sale.

Saying that, I wouldn’t be surprised if anaglypta makes a comeback next...

The point about the British being obsessed with class is one I agree with in the context of home decoration.
If you're moving around rented and/or crowded accommodation your whole life, you won't have an attic full of mid-century furniture to hand onto your grandkids when you die!
Literally not one piece of furniture left my grandparent's house when they died. It was all fit to dump after decades of hard use and was never good quality to start with.

The grey thing has had its moment but to me the worst fashion in recent years is tiles throughout the ground floor, particularly in beige, white or grey. It was like everyone discovered underfloor heating and went mad all at once! They're not that inviting of an evening, but each to their own.

Again you are highlighting the same issue. Over use of something that’s good in some measure, but not everywhere. Obviously tiles work very well in highly trafficked areas. So kitchen, hall, cloakroom, laundry room etc. Even casual dining if near open doors to the garden.

However everywhere feels too much and it’s slavish devotion to a trend without any interior design. Some people are just not good at it!

Oh totally agree with you @PresentingPercy. I love a tile in its place as much as the next person.

I know a woman who opened a page of the Next Home directory and followed it to the latter (almost). She had the money and help, she liked what she saw and didn't care about creating her own vibe. She was done.

Saying that, I wouldn’t be surprised if anaglypta makes a comeback next...

We had anaglypta in our last house, probably put in when the house was first built. It was gorgeous, we painted it matt white, it looked like an old fashioned wedding cake decorated with royal icing. Anaglypta has a long history and definitely deserves to be revived. I'm hoping (proper) linoleum makes a comeback as well, it's longer lasting and much better for the environment than vinyl.

I like grey, it's a lovey neutral, and I hate magnolia, beigey colours that seem to be the alternative. Grey or white 100% for me. However I do also love bright colours, so even tho we generally have grey walls, and grey kitchen cupboards, the house is super bright thanks to all the accessories with have around, now a fan of the totally grey look at all.

Love anaglytpa wallpaper. Might look it up for our hall.

We have original Lincrusta - similar to anaglypta, in our hallway under the dado rail - painted in F&B Purbeck Stone! The top half is painted in Ammonite. Looks lovely 😊

I have seen wallpaper with texture and it can look great. Almost like tiles.

Marmoleum is the new Lino.

Embossed wallpaper is just really dated for me, it reminds me of my granny’s house. 🤷‍♀️

Anaglypta and Lincrusta were widely used in Edwardian houses, they look beautiful with those lovely Minton tile floors from the same era. One of my friends has an Edwardian terrace and had the sense to leave both alone. Her hall is gorgeous.

Yes but granny wasn’t necessarily wrong! Everything can be updated and given new life. It’s just imagination that’s needed.

I agree totally with the comment that influencers are not professional interior designers.

Sadly they were ubiquitous in what the sixties and seventies and used everywhere, so now make most homes look heavily dated. I think it’s odds on any anaglypta wallpaper in a Edwardian terrace was added in the sixties or seventies, the Milton tiles likely original though,

@Bluntness100

Sadly they were ubiquitous in what the sixties and seventies and used everywhere, so now make most homes look heavily dated. I think it’s odds on any anaglypta wallpaper in a Edwardian terrace was added in the sixties or seventies, the Milton tiles likely original though,

Nope, sorry Bluntness. Original feature. It’s linen backed.

We've got anaglypta in two of our downstairs rooms. We're ripping it out ASAP. It's probably been there since the 70s and has had several coats of paint daubed on top of it. It can look lovely. In our house, it looks appalling.

Painted anaglypta reminds me of pub decor