The thing that every designer is talking about right now might feel a little underwhelming, although what I like about it, is its complexity. (Geek alert).
The most used word I am hearing all over the trade shows is grey. Warm grey, cold grey, greige and even my clients want grey!
So I put together a little go to grey checklist for you. To be honest, grey is a trend, but it is here to stay for at least a few more years, so if you are thinking of tiling with shades of grey don’t freak out just yet.
- The first thing I would ensure I know when thinking about using grey at home is whether the grey I am using is warm or cold. The colour consultant at the counter of any paint shop should be able to tell you this if you can’t figure it out yourself, don’t feel to afraid to try it!
- Next understand what undertone the grey is. For example. Kelly Hoppen is famous for using taupe. Taupe typically has a purple or cool red undertone. This is technically a neutral although to an untrained eye it will look grey. Your grey will have an red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple undertone. You can always ask someone to help you at a paint counter (so don’t freak out just yet).
- Now consider are you using the grey as a feature, backdrop or a neutral so that some other colour in the room can steal the show? This is important because if it is anything but a neutral, I would always repeat the colour in the room at least twice.
- Test the colour in your own home. Buy a tester pot and paint at least an A4 sized piece of card with your grey. I always paint the wall behind in brilliant bright white to give me a better understanding of the colour. You can always just place your piece of painted card onto a larger sheet of white paper, this means the current wall colour wont reflect onto your paint choice to discolour it. This is important because depending on whether your room faces north, south east or west, the colour of light will be different during the day. You always want to test your colour in the space and in the same plane that it will be used.
- Know your base colour and keep it with you when choosing fabrics and furniture. This will make sure that the room makes sense together at least in terms of colour. You will be surprised how dirty a beige sofa can look with a blue grey wall if you haven’t gotten your colours right.
This should give you the confidence to start using grey in your home, especially if you love the new styles coming out and those gorgeous understated images of calm living rooms and bedrooms. Decorating is more complex than most people think! I wasn’t taught how to decorate in architecture school. I learned from many years of experience and working on hundreds of properties, so don’t feel down if you aren’t a natural at working out your greys just yet. Practice and have fun!
Don’t take your interior so seriously. If you need some help, send me a message or give me a call.
