Greys are Gone…

It’s no secret that here at Blue Caiman, we love colour. Love, love, LOVE it. Colour can say, and do, so much. Crucially though, good interior design should always be about what YOU, the client, loves – and that’s why we get to know you and your space inside out and back to front and discover what will work for you.

There has, however, been a marked shift away from the grey-on-grey trend and sterile whites. Don’t even get us started on characterless creams and neutrals… The so-called house doctor has a lot to answer for.

Don’t be a Dedicated Follower of Fashion

The problem with grey isn’t the colour itself. Nope. More that it was such a trend that it’s been done to death. This illustrates perfectly the problem with blindly following fashion – certainly in anything less transient than clothes or handbags. Maybe the odd cushion, if you must. With anything, overuse leads to boredom and eyerolling at the ubiquity of it – think of television’s darlings, when they’re shoe-horned into every single starring role or presenter’s chair. It all gets a bit same old, same old and seen it, done it, wrote the book… Sometimes a trend becomes a bandwagon and everyone jumps on board. Once that trend begins to become a bit last season, it dates dreadfully. Not convinced? Just ask your Granny about avocado bathroom suites and woodchip wallpaper…

As a colour though, grey IS incredibly versatile, no argument there. Soft dove greys are calming and comforting; the palest greys warmer than clinical whites and adding depth to monochrome; stormy greys perfect for adding dramatic accents. Grey goes with anything – in a natural scheme it just works, quietly. Greys provide a truly adaptable backdrop for big, bold brights. They don’t vie for attention with fabulous, luxe finishes. Grey is practical and practical does NOT have to mean boring.

Grey: Passé – or Here to Stay?

So is grey is the new beige? Or – worse – the new magnolia? Is bland a worse judgment than dated? If you’ve already decorated every square centimetre of your home in fifty shades of grey, maybe it’s too late. But, think for a minute. Maybe make a distinction between grey as a – God forbid – trend, or, in fact, grey as an enduring classic. Classic home décor elements have true longevity and as seasons come and go, fashions and fads change while classics retain relativity and integrity.

A classic is ever relevant in décor, like white or a good cream. Not magnolia though. Never, ever magnolia…

Needs Modernisation?

But which is it? Will anthracite window frames, pewter bathroom walls, charcoal chairs or silvery bedroom accents automatically consign a house to the ‘needs modernisation’ bracket? Is grey really gone?

It all depends on how you’ve used it. If you’ve used the house glossies as inspo, and carefully picked pieces you actually like or ideally LOVE, furnishings that worked in your space and colours to suit your room’s purpose then we don’t have a problem. It’s when you’ve bought every single thing from the interior design book. For future reference – DON’T!

If you’re not sure how best to sort your space or are scared of making a furnishing fashion faux-pas, let’s talk.