Why has Britain become obsessed with depressing grey houses?

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Why do people actually choose to make their entire house grey? You see these houses on Rightmove they it genuinely look like doctors surgeries.

People will call it 'classy' but where's the personality? Colourful walls, weird wallpaper, bold choices? Why are people decorating their homes for imaginary buyers on Rightmove instead of themselves?

Genuine question: do people actually love grey or are we all just terrified of having a personality?

I do have to admit that on some of them both give me eye twitch. I loath pebbledash as well as grey render.
I do like colourful render!

I follow this account. Such beautiful houses destroyed 😢.

I don't understand why people obsess over other people's choices. Why does it matter if everyone else likes a grey house?

I've decorated various houses since the 1980s and believe me I've followed trends with colours, textures, dado rails 😳, etc. Give me white, magnolia and yes, grey, any day over all that.

The outside of a house affects everyone in the neighbourhood.

You leave my dado out of this.

Came here to mention this account too. It’s a buffet of bad taste. Lovely houses and gardens full of character “renovated” into wannabe dentist surgeries with no greenery anywhere to be seen. It’s so sad.

There's a local builder "property developer" who buys up probate houses near me and does them up in this style. He says it's "ultra contemporary". We live in a little hamlet that has houses from 1800 to pre-war bungalows, and he's picking off the bungalows one by one, extending them and turning them into these eyesores. One a bit further up went from a two-bed bungalow to a 6 bed house!

Our little singletrack has gone from a hedgerow-lined quiet lane to one half-filled with ripped up gardens, imprinted concrete, black double glazing, box hedging, etc - it's really changed the character of a road which has been there since the 1700s.

Grey is def on the way out, bright contrasting colours are popular, recently ive seen a few pink homes with green doors. My dh says it looks hideous😂 but its better than drab grey. I love the colours, although im more of a pastel person. Each to their own.

Sacrilege.

recently ive seen a few pink homes with green doors.

🤮

But neutrals are calming.
And less clutter means less dusting.

Now?
this was the trend 10-15 years ago surely? Grey has been out for 5 years at least.
millennial green, and neutrals have been the trend for a while, with dark bold colours coming up slightly more recently, so I’d guess you’re just looking at houses that haven’t been decorated in at least 5 years.

Everyone is so scared of colour these days. Even Nurseries and day care centres have banned colour. I went to collect my Niece's baby from Nursery with her one day, i have never been in such a depressing baby room in my life. Every single item of furniture was light beige, the walls were beige, the blinds were beige the carpet was a dark beige. Not a single picture on the wall. Nothing to make the place look homely or stimulate a baby. It was like being inside a pastry shell.

Fine if you like grey.

I think what I find depressing is when homes all look the same. Have confidence to decorate in a style that you love, if you can.

When I see neutral homes, I tend to assume they are rented and that the occupants haven’t got permission to put their own stamp on it.

I follow that account too. Some of them should be arrested. Some literally could make you weep.

I think it was something started by Mrs Hinch ? I don't think anyone's obsessed with it now, they just probably don't want to spend out redecorating before they put their house on the market.

Ahhh the white render and black windows. It kills me when they do this over lovely brickwork!

I decorated my last house in reds and yellows. My current house is painted white everywhere apart from crazy wallpaper in the kitchen. Reason is that it's a 200yr old cottage with low ceilings and I've 'decorated' with artwork instead.

Well everything used to be magnolia and that wasn't much better. Before that many variations - peach and mint, burgundy and gold.....and then beige. I hate beige.

I love grey I find it cool and calming.

Grey isn't depressing. It's personal choice and a lot of people still like the colour.

I agree. They're ugly af. I thought the grey trend had died a death some 2-3 years ago, but yeah, some houses you see for sale are still grey grey grey. Horrible. And sometimes you can't even change it easily as it's the flooring, the kitchen units, the doors, the tiling etc. F.U.G.L.Y!

I'm guessing it is to match their depressing grey car.

I’m not keen on grey but I do like neutral. Stone, chalk, white…

easy to change it up with furnishings, or repaint if you do fancy a colour change.

i bought this house just prior to the grey trend, and honestly souse hunting- one more “feature” wall. I think every house had the same wallpaper from b&Q- one stripy wall in a bedroom, brown and turquoise in the living room, red poppies in the kitchen…

wallpaper is a nightmare to change if you hate it was well.

We're looking forward to decorating our house next year, at the moment all our efforts are going on structural things like windows and floors.

When we do our front room, we're using the vicarage from The Vicar Of Dibley as our inspiration. Lots of warm colours, reds, browns, soft lighting etc. It will be totally against what's in Vogue right now but we really don't care. Contemporary interior design isn't to our liking.

I've already picked the shade of green I'm painting the exterior walls.

Funny enough weve been looking for a new car and most brands they are your only options.really annoying, we want a bright colour.