When, oh when, will sensible men and women stand up and take a stance against the scourge of today’s society –
That dreadful, dull, boring color grey?!
Grey-painted walls became a thing in the 2010s. In a sense, it may have seemed refreshing after many years of the antique white and yellow-based paints (“magnolia” is a common catchword for that) that were everywhere for so many years (and if we count backwards, even magnolia was a relief after the 1980s explosion of mauve and green everywhere, or worse, baby blue with geese).
In some commercial buildings, such as a jail or dental office, and a very small percentage of ultra-modern and chic urban apartments or condominiums, grey walls can and do look appropriate. Maybe greys can look good when put together by a talented interior decorator working on a very high budget, but when regular folks try it without those tools at their disposal, it just falls flat.
The greywashing went many steps too far.
Plasticky wood-grain-design grey flooring became popular. Sofas and other furniture went grey, or perhaps black to shake things up, or white to get covered in stains quickly. Throw pillows and curtains are grey.
How can anyone sit in an all-grey room and feel anything but brought down, burdened, discouraged?
Why has vibrant, cheerful color been avoided? Outdated? Vilified?
The greying-over of home décor has brought about a boring conformity and uniformity. All living rooms and kitchens are looking alike. Where is originality? Where is the home that reflects the tastes and the dreams of the families that live there?
The overuse of grey seems to be a copycat reaction to the way house flippers have taken over TV shows and real estate markets. TV shows show speculators redoing entire houses, removing all past character and making them stark and bland. People try that at home.
It doesn’t look good on TV or at home.
Yes, the more austere plain looks are a bit of relief after the past decades’ oversaturation of chintzy prints, abstract colorful splash design and geese or teddy bears with bows around their necks.
Yet haven’t we had enough time to recuperate from the craziness of teal and mauve, and geese and teddy bears? Many years ago, grey went from being a welcome relief of calm to being dull, drab and depressing, yet it’s still sticking around (let us not forget, accompanied by those silly signs with words on them, all over the place. Live, laugh, love!).
However, there are signs here and there that grey has reached its end. Creamy whites are coming back in style. Sage green in some areas is considered the new neutral, and emerald green is making a comeback. The bold red dining room is being seen again here and there.
Just imagine the homes of today’s generation of kids who grew up in a grey house. Like we rebelled against the 1970s or 1980s or 1990s style of our parents (many of us with that dreadful dull grey), today’s kids will rebel in their interior design choices against grey, and will bring on color and fun.
This boring grey gives so much to rebel against that in another couple of decades, the rooms inside a house will just look like a circus.
