The 2023 color trends are a mix of warmth and optimism, making decorating homes more enjoyable. Popular blue colors for 2024 include Benjamin Moore’s Quiet Moments, Sherwin Williams’ Aleutian and Moody Blue, Pantone’s Very Peri, Behr’s Breezeway, and Graham and Brown’s Breathe. Green, grey, and blue are the most popular living room colors for 2024. Search data analysis has found that people are making bolder choices in their living spaces, with more decorators embracing deeper, richer tones such as red-based browns, dark clay reds, earthy oranges, dusky pinks, and terracotta. Color experts predict that people will be more adventurous with their color choices, with bright pinks, playful aquas, and rich browns leading the way.
The top paint and home brands have spoken, with their picks ranging from cool blues and rich greens to dark hues and warm tones. While today’s greens are still relevant, tastes might be tilting towards soothing blues. The top paint and home brands have spoken, with their picks running the gamut from cool blues and rich greens to dark hues and warm tones.
📹 Top Interior Paint Colors for 2024 | How to Pick Paint Colors Like a Designer
Join Ashley as she takes you through the top interior paint colors of 2024 & teaches you how to pick pant colors like a designer!
What is the color of the year for Dulux 2024?
Dulux’s color experts have chosen Sweet Embrace™ as the Colour of the Year for 2024. This gentle, affectionate hue, a soft blossom pink, is a welcoming addition to living and working spaces. It brings a sense of stability, calm, and friendliness, and changes tone with light. Sweet Embrace™ is a subtle and sophisticated stand-alone shade that serves as a foundation for three different palettes, each with a unique personality.
The warm, global, earthy tones in the palettes create a comforting sense of belonging for personal spaces. The colour of the year is a subtle and sophisticated stand-alone option that can be used to create a unique and inviting space.
Are white walls out of style in 2024?
Tiffany, a designer at Revive, confirms that white paint will still be used in homes in 2024. The trend is towards warmer, softer colors, with Greek Villa (SW) being a popular choice for a cozy, welcoming feel. This creamy, soft white color adds brightness and size to any room, even without natural light. White Dove (BM) is a beautiful creamy white that works well in dark rooms or areas with warm elements or wood. Both colors are expected to be popular choices in the coming years.
What colors cancel out grey?
This guide provides a list of 14 best colors to cover gray hair, including white blonde, blonde highlights, champagne blonde, dark-neutral blonde, butterscotch, ash brown, chocolate brown, and soft black. These colors help maintain balance and prevent yellowing. Covering gray hair allows for a graceful transition from gray to the desired color, whether it’s back to natural or something completely different.
With so many hair color options available, it can be difficult to decide where to start. This guide can be a great source of inspiration for those looking to get their hair colored, and visiting a professional hairstylist can also help find the perfect color for their skin tone.
What color is replacing white?
Beige is a classic neutral alternative to stark white, offering a range of possibilities for interior painting. In 2024, there are six top picks for wall colors, including neutrals, bright and bold options, and warm and cool palettes. The key to finding the perfect white paint alternative is to consider your desired interior style. Light, warm shades can brighten up a space, while cool shades provide a tranquil and calming look. Additionally, you need to decide whether you want a modern or traditional space.
Trending shades include blue-greens, taupes, and darker tones, while classic colors like peach, true blue, and mauve are more suitable for traditional spaces. By choosing the right color palette, you can create a unique and modern interior that suits your personal aesthetic.
What color is replacing gray in 2024?
Beige is a popular neutral color that brightens spaces and evokes a sense of calm and timelessness. Its warmer, more organic feel makes it an ideal backdrop for various design elements. Beige can be paired with colorful art, textured furnishings, and natural materials like wood and stone to create layered, interesting spaces. It works well in kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms, providing a neutral yet cosy foundation that can be easily updated with different accents over time. Warm whites, like Alabaster and Simply White, add a touch of cosiness and softness to interiors, making them popular among designers.
What paint colors are going out of style?
In 2024, six paint colors are going out of style: bright and saturated, red, orange, pink, stark white, and most shades of gray. These colors symbolize vitality, youth, and optimism, but are now fading from memory. Instead, muted hues are recommended for 2024. If you prefer bright, saturated colors, consider painting a desk or chair instead. Red, a monochromatic color, has had a moment in recent years, but it’s difficult to balance out.
If you must use red, consider a burgundy accent chair or rug instead. HGTV star and interior designer Shay Holland warns against letting red go out of style, as it’s too bold and difficult to balance out. Instead, consider using muted hues for your space’s design.
Are accent walls out of style in 2024?
Accent walls have gained popularity in 2023, with designers using interesting finishes to add texture and depth to rooms. They have evolved into a permanent feature, becoming a more interesting feature than just bold paint or wallpaper. Interior designers have adapted this controversial look for 2024, focusing on creating a focal point in a space. Tom Rutt, director and founder of TR Studio, believes that accent walls can be more exciting and adaptable to suit all interior design styles. The term “accent wall” can conjure images of bold colors and garish wallpapers, but when used well, they can create a focal point in a space.
What is the most popular color for home decor?
The most prevalent interior paint colors include gray, beige, white, earth tones, and neutrals. It is of the utmost importance to observe samples in both artificial and natural light, both during the day and at night, in order to ensure optimal results.
What is the luxury color palette for 2024?
In 2024, brands and designers are embracing bold self-expression and experimentation with traditionally regal hues like “tyrian” purple, bold red, royal blue, and gold. Tyrian purple, associated with royalty since antiquity, was revived by Versace for its Spring/Summer 2023 collection at Milan Fashion Week. The palette is ideal for brands that want their products or services to feel luxurious, coveted, and exclusive, giving customers a glimpse of what it’s like to be royal. The use of punchy violet and deep indigo shades lends a glamorous quality to gothic-style garments.
What is the trend in interior color in 2024?
In 2024, neon colors are gaining popularity in interiors due to their influence from the virtual world. Lavender, pink, yellow, and mint are the most representative colors, bringing energy and life to the home. Purple, particularly lavender and lilac, is strong in 2024, with lighter tones dominating and dark shades offering a luxurious and mysterious touch. These cooler tones are easy to incorporate into the home and pair well with lighter and darker bases.
Metallics, such as chrome, silver, gold, or “metallic”, are also expected to be popular for contrast and flair. They can be shiny or matte and can be found in various forms of details, furniture, and lighting. Adding metallic elements to unexpected places can give homes a sense of luxury, but keep it to details, such as lamps, vase, or candleholders.
What color adds the most value to a home?
Warm neutral hues are becoming increasingly popular among color experts to add value to homes. These hues provide a subtle, calming backdrop and pair well with various design styles, making them the most versatile palette. Ashley McCollum, a marketing manager and color expert for PPG’s Architectural Coatings business in the U. S. and Canada, suggests adding value by increasing the comfort level of your property with timeless warm neutrals. McCollum’s career has been focused on color and visual merchandising for retail environments, and she holds an MBA in Marketing/Management from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
📹 No More Gray Homes! | Gray Is Out -What Color Comes Next?
In this video we are going to talk about why gray is no longer as trendy as it once was, and what color is taking it’s place instead.
It’s 2024 Paint Trends time and this year I’ve got an extra surprise for you! We’ve created coordinating whole home paint palettes for each trend! You can download our 2024 Paint Guide below with all the colors from this year’s article, plus our favorite all time paint colors for your home! Let me know what you think about the 2024 Paint Trends, and if you have a favorite you’re excited to use this year!
Ashley, your articles are always on time for me! I just finished my mood board for my kitchen remodel which will be a slow process since so much work is required. But I’ve been looking for a cabinet color that’s close to the photo I included in my board. Is it railings by f&b? It’s more like cracked pepper cabinets with limitless glidden on the walls. Also, the photos in your articles always make my audibly gasp. That photo at :46 😱
Very enjoyable article. On the Mindful Modern page that you showed, one color is labeled SW Fireweed, but it’s mossy gray looking. Fireweed on the Radiant Reds page is a deep redwood color (not green/gray). If the Mindful Modern Dark and Dashing color has a different name, could you let me know what it is called. It looks almost like BM Pasmina but Pashmina is warmer. I would like to use the color but I suspect it was mislabeled. Much thanks!
Anything but grey…everybody in the world has grey, so I’m happy to see some other colors. I did grey in December ’88 and was beyond sick of it by spring of ’89. We’re all different, and that’s a good thing, but I have my own style and don’t care about trends. I’m a warm color kind of woman. Whatever the color, it will be Sherwin-Williams. I’ve tried more and less expensive but didn’t get the results I did with S-W. Thanks for a lovely article. 😊
Hi Ashley – another amazing article, very helpful and informative and visually gorgeous – I really enjoy your content. Can I ask a question on another topic – and maybe this could be a article topic idea for you too? I don’t think I’ve ever seen another designer do a article on this, especially any recent ones. I have 3 teen daughters, 2 dogs and a cat – and a husband lol. We are going to be needing to buy another couch soon because the ones we purchased for our living room look really worn out already – even though we only bought them only 3 years ago next month. We didn’t purchase a very high end brand – we went with one at rooms to go that was really nice though – but I feel like it should’ve lasted longer than this even with a busy family. 2 of my girls are always on the go and rarely use the couches – Do you have recommendations on how to find a high quality, durable couch, with high quality fabric, strong stuffing that will hold its shape and look for more than 3 years? Do I need to go with something commercial grade? Special fabricS I should be looking for? I’m willing to spend (a bit) more to get something that will be an investment for long term, but I definitely don’t have an unlimited budget. at this point that the couches embarrass me. I keep them vacuumed and have spot treated, but even the pillows look sad and misshapen and don’t stay in place well. I did get the kind of couch that has 3 separate pillows as seats and 3 separate pillows as backs – and 2/2 for the loveseat .
I’m wondering if your welcoming and warmth color palette would be a good choice for anyone who is sometimes depressed occasionally for up to two months (try winter)? The palette overall may be too colorful for me. The palettes are all so wonderful, I’m not sure yet which is my favorite. Missing a green palette as I’m drawn to green and blue. I’ve recently painted using warm neutral colors from Benjamin Moore. Still have my main open living area left to paint.
I am not as familiar with the brands you shared but they are lovely. I use Farrow & Ball paints. Currently painting Inchyra Blue (I have a mad fondness for this colour since painting it on my dining room wall in 2019- but since moved and in process of re-do in my current home) and the palette of blues to follow (Our library will be Oval Room blue- my daughter’s bedroom DeNimes). I favour also the greens which I am also incorporating (my son’s room in Card Room Green with some Studio Green elelments).
Ahead of the times, as usual. In 2022, I was onto Cracked Pepper and Pearl Noir. In fact, I wanted to do the exterior in Pearl Noir. But the landlord said it was too purple! 😂 We went with Downing Slate with Bolero doors. Cracked Pepper is still in the can. I’m waiting for the weather to warm up enough for painting. I’m still looking for a good spot for it.
I like the Welcoming Warmth and Blue Hues the best and plan to incorporate Stardew (study and master with picture-frame molding) and Cafe Mocha (guest) and Felted Wool (powder room lower board and batten with sage and blue gray floral wall paper above it) in a Modern Cottage vibe in our new build we will be designing soon. I have to decide whether to just have the builder do that no-cost flat white paint and then have painters come in before we more in or pick a level 2 or 3 color whole house color that might be O.K. with some of those paint colors for accent rooms such as the study, powder room and guest room that we could do later. Any thoughts as to a whole-house color for Modern Cottage design?
Sad to see such dark hues trending. The rooms showed just look so dark and depressing. They definitely do not promote health and well being. With anxiety, depression, and so many other mental health problems n todays world it seems like designers would be focusing on uplifting trends which promote positive energy and happiness instead.
I love all the colors in your presentation. We are in the middle of re-doing our whole living room. We are making an accent wall with vertical shiplap. We would like to make it dark blue using Sherwyn Williams “Salty Dog”. I’ve been using their website for the colors that should be used with it for the rest of the room. I’m a little anxious because we’re using colors darker than we ever used before. It’s exciting too. I hope it turns out the way we want. My experience seems to be once the paint goes up “is that what I wanted?” 🫣. Fingers crossed. 🤞🏻
I think once upon a time we all forgot that grey is supposed to recede into the background, not be the star of the whole show. I was a victim of the grey trend too but now I’m doing mixed neutrals with greens, terracottas, etc. It’s still soothing but a little more interesting and curated. I don’t like the pendulum swinging all the way over to all beige either bc that will look equally dated in 10 years.
Grey was so popular because that’s what was pushed in the industry. I think decorating should be an expression of yourself not what the industry wants us to buy. Take a chance, thrift shop for old PCs or update what you already you have with a coat of paint. Make it your own. Use colors that make YOU happy.
I’m about to paint all the walls in my house grey 🙈 BUT I’ve chosen a very soft, light, neutral grey, and it’s purely there as a background for the color and texture I’m planning for the spaces. Plus beautiful warm, cypress pine flooring throughout. I’m not ready to go back to beige walls yet! Thanks for the tips!
I love colour! I have surrounded myself with soft blue -green, apricot, green, earthy red, and violet. The colours aren’t super-saturated, but provide a wide range of moods and atmosphere. I roll my eyes when I see white walls, or grey walls. It looks like primer waiting for a layer of colour to go on top. In future, I may consider burnt orange as a feature colour. Even acid green has its place.
Beige, especially the browner yellowish versions, always reminds me of the standard colour of rental units in Toronto in the 60s and 70s. The colour was used to camaflauge the nicotine stains as we were all at that time still smoking like chimneys. Also reminds me of the smell of those nicotine covered walls. Beige is not likely to be my colour.
Interesting. My sister, who runs a design studio & is an architect ( validation plug, yes) gave me advice when I bought my first house. She said, “you can be happy with your space in 2 main ways: either match your house, meaning if you have a red brick 50’s bungalow, lean traditional & warm colors with that era influence, (60’s needs that pop of color, 70’s 80’s etc.) ; or go for a color scheme and style that is so perfectly matched to you and your personal style, that it feels seamless with you & your lifestyle. Other attempts at catalog photo spaces or show room transplants – will either conflict with your house dramatically (not in a good way) or they will be at odds with you & it won’t last.” I think she’s right. Match you or match the house (even if it’s not totally your style) & things will mesh. If you are beige or gray, run with it. If you’re not, no amount of gray scaling will seem to tip the scales. As you say- trends are just that. We can find bits and pieces along the way to incorporate, but hopefully, the blue gray home immersions have taught us a lesson (very few people are blue gray 😉).
I just did a massive remodel in part of my house (3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and laundry room) and leading up to that, I had been so in love with everything gray. But thankfully (possibly thanks to Nick’s articles) I toned it down a little bit and kept myself from doing gray flooring/tile. The only fixed item I did that is gray, are the two bathroom vanities. I still love them, but i think if I had done gray paint, tile or lvp, it would have definitely been too much. I’m excited about the idea of bringing in some natural woods and baskets to the bathrooms to balance the gray vanities a bit. The wall color I chose is a very beautiful neutral that can lean gray or brown depending on the type of light you use. This was such a fun and educational article!
Raised my kids in a neutral colored home. Everything was black white or gray. They all moved out and we added red accents to one room and fell in love. When we moved to a different home we went crazy and painted our bedroom five different shades of blue, one guest room bright pink, another guest room yellow and our tv/dining room three walls in dark gray and one in red. When we redo the rest of the house we will have a white bathroom with orange accents and a green library. My grown kids hate it. I told them we plan on dying here so when they sell the house it will be their problem whether to repaint or not but for now their dad and I are having fun!
There are some grays that are more warmed up ” putty” grays too. Not all are cold looking. In my Kitchen I have Sherwin Williams Soft Sage walls with Sherwin Williams Canyon Echo upper cabinets & Roma Haze bottom cabinets and everyone has said they love that. I’m my living room, I have ” Crushed Ice” which is a very faint light Gray. You really should do a article of Interior designers vs Realtors advise. Because realtors will tell you to do at least some of the rooms in a neutral color. Because if you should have to sell, you want your home to be marketable. ❤
Having lived to my 60’s I’ve seen all the trends, and chasing and falling utterly in love with every trend that happened. Now happily I can look and appreciate new trends without having any compunction at all to emulate. I’ve found my own style, which just means taking elements I like and I’m able to simply relax in my home rather than constantly thinking about design.
I’m glad you brought out the colour wheel again. It’s easy to forget that colour names are very general and subjective. What I picture when you say grey may be very different than what you’re thinking of. Sometimes you don’t need to abandon a palette, just freshen it a little and that’s a great place to start.
I love every single house I see, old and new, from trailer parks to mansions, where the exteriors are painted gray (especially dark gray!) with bright, stark white trim! The houses like that always stand out with an elegance that all other colors just can’t achieve. A gray bedroom with just the right ambient lighting is very rich looking and restful, anywhere else though,gray just looks very gloomy!
I stopped doing grey when I realized it wasn’t helping my depression, rather it made it worse. I definitely fell for the grey aesthetic when it was trendy 5 years ago and got the furniture and bedding to match. My grandmother is an artist and explained that I shouldn’t have done that as color greatly effects one’s mood. She was right. I started adding color back into my home and my life is happier 🎉
So glad I never gave into the gray trend. I have always been happiest with warm colors. My husband wanted to paint our family room gray and I could never agree to that as the entire first floor is painted with warm colors. We painted it cream instead (probably only neutral room in my house). I have been so over the gray rage for years.
Great article. Having repainted our entire house walls light gray a few years ago, we’re sticking with it. All the crown/baseboard molding and doors are a light beige, so nice contrast as you said. Most of our furnishings and all floors are warm wood, with many paintings and photographs, so ultimately the intent was to take the focus away from the cooler walls and draw the eyes onto other warmer things. Gray walls are working well for us, right now anyways.
Hmm, we just started updating our home from beige, tans & browns to grays about 4 years ago. And were obit about 2/3 of the way done. Since we lived in the baige era for decades, I’m sticking with grays. But we do have pops of color with the decor. Lvg rm is gray, beige, dark woods. One bedroom is gray & white, another is gray, white & navy…etc.
Trends (the gray one especially) tend to overlook two key elements in a home. One, the climate and light quality of that climate; and two, the elements outside the home which will affect the colour of anything in the home. In my overcast and often rainy climate I am not going to court depression by painting the interior of my home full on gray however much I might lust after sleek magazine photos. I might love a certain colour, but the surrounding evergreens which often look almost black might wash it out. It’s so important to take those elements into consideration and choose those which enhance rather than diminish a space.
I think there were 2 issues with grey. 1 as others have said it was literally everywhere. When I was house hunting two years ago the amount of flip houses I saw that were literally all the same color grey on walls, floors, cabinets etc…. Was alarming. The second issue I think is evident in the first set of photos where you are discussing “sophisticated design”. Greys work BEAUTIFULLY in more high end, sophisticated homes with a modern flare to them. Something you would see in Dwell Magazine for instance. When you are trying to translate that into a cookie cutter home where the furniture is from the local big box store and the decor is from At home? Definitely doesn’t work as well.
I’m so ready for gray to be done. I was looking on a real estate site and saw this one house that was completely redone…in gray. It’s so gray the photos look like black and white movie stills. I’m not exaggerating. I think they painted the interior walls the same gray as the exterior…all the walls. Maybe they got a great deal on that paint color?
I agree that gray wasn’t the problem by itself. It became a problem when every surface was gray all the sudden. To the point that even the exterior bricks were being painted gray! I think its still a great option for many spaces that need a defined color that blends with a-joining spaces but is still neutral. A lighter gray does an amazing job of providing ambient color to the space more than many lighter colors . Just don’t paint every surface gray haha, and you will be fine.
Had our bathroom redone a couple of years ago and went completely against the grey trend as we hate it. Went instead for nice warm, sandy colours and have had no end of compliments as it’s so different (for the moment) and at least it makes the bathroom feel warm in usually cold grey northern Scotland.
Fashion and design will always be changing. Old styles circle back around quicker then you realize. Gray and beige are not the problem, following “trendy” styles is because it quickly becomes boring when everyone is doing the same. Choosing what you love will never go out of style. Although I do incorporate trendy touches because it maybe what I like and what is available, I prefer not to invest and focus on trendy style. A bonus is that I often receive compliments on my fashion and interior design. 😁
My partner is insisting on grey, but he does agree that he wants a darker and warmer grey (somewhere between gunmetal and pewter with a brown-ish undertone). He wants a moody, lush space with jewel tones, warm & dark woods, and antique brass. So there’s still plenty of color and warmth, the darker grey kind of just works as a backdrop for the colors of the furniture, accents, etc to do the talking. 😊
I don’t have a grey house and I don’t want a beige one, but I watch everything Nick puts out for one reason only – Nick himself. I like to smile, and Nick has the most delightfully infectious personality – what I like to call catty without the scratching. I also like learning what is going on in North American interior design, because as sure as eggs is eggs, it will hit Australia six months later 🙂 I really love this website.
My sister has a small 1000 sq ft home that had white walls. Everyone told her to re-paint in neutral colors to bring warmth and make it look bigger. She did the opposite. She painted the living/dining area a deep wine color, the kitchen an orange, and the halls, bedrooms, and bathroom a light green. It is amazing how well and cozy it turned out.
That demonstation of all the different types of grey at the beginning is why i still love it. You can find a grey to go with any color you want. The browns and tans that are becoming popular just remind me of a dingy 70s basement that still smells like cigarettes. The pictures of the monotone “chic” tan spaces look like the “navajo white” that my house was painted when I bought it. Looks like someone smoked in it for 30 years when its brand new paint. Grey forever!
I mean truly who really decides what color your living room should be your spaces in your home you set your own Trend you don’t follow Trends you do what pleases you my living room has been gray for about 3 years and I absolutely love it I’m not a trend follower I love it because it’s very versatile you able to change it up with accent pieces curtains area rugs Arrangements with an array of colors so I’m actually never bored with it
Ooooh Nooo! Were building a new house & Ive just chosen a liquorice facade brick & charcoal colorbond roof! I did go with the slightly grey white Front door & garage door. I have ALWAYS loved charcoal grey, black & white! All my clothes are in mostly these shades with only accents of sky blue & occasionally, silver! I love colour dont get me wrong, especially orange & green. My most neutral favourite colour is Taup which i will use as an accent colour possibly? I will use it in textured pieces. 🤭🖤
I appreciate your opinions. After living in a sand-colors home for years, I painted my walls canary yellow, added apple-red curtains and red rugs I painted Jackson Pollock. My accent wall has a museum quality Rothko red-yellow-cerulean blue. Wow. I am sooo glad. It is a happy and yet sophisticated room. I urge everyone to have fun. We have such a short life.
Hi from France! I’m a literature teacher and PhD student and I love perusal your articles! I recently moved in my first not-a-student-anymore-apartment. I love this place: it’s well connected to Paris, it has a wonderful ceiling height, big windows opening on a terrace facing a beautiful forest, but… it was built in 2016 and the floor is entirely grey !! whether it’s wood or tiles, it is ALL GREY with white walls! I painted a few walls, but I’m from a Mediterranean family (Côte d’Azur, Italy), and it still feels a bit too cold for me. So it was a pleasure to hear your advice ! 🙂
I grew up in an area that was overcast & gloomy 10 months out of the year. I had enough depressing grey in the skies, thankyouverymuch. At the same time, I am overwhelmed by strong colors & patterns & visual clutter. So it’s all about the creams, light beiges, pale peaches, medium to light woods/rattan/wicker, ceramics & glass, and soft fabrics. Light & warm & gentle.
14:06 We renovated a 1845 Southern Federal style house. The house had been tastefully renovated 20 years before in a sophisticated slightly glam style. The walls were all a light medium gray, white trim, oak floors, flagstone floors, real pine panelling in the kitchen. Of course WE had to change the paint, now I think we should have just restored that gray paint from 1959. It could have been refreshing against the heat of south Georgia.
Gray is the only color that is NOT ALLOWED in my home, not even in small doses (well, I guess I don’t do yellow and purple, either). People think black is the color of death, NO, it’s gray! 😆It’s the color of mental institutions or nuclear-winter hellscapes in disturbing movies, ugh, how I hate gray! Have I made myself clear?? 😂
I’m a late bloomer in everything lol. I was late to get on the gray train and now that I’ve finally converted, I’m being told that it’s over. This is the one thing I hate about design and technology, it’s constantly changing because the people in the industry have to keep finding ways to entice people to buy new things. Great, i get it. However, I will say, gray has to be warmed up. I use it as the base in my color schemes and build around it. For iunstance, I have gray curtains in all of my rooms to create flow and cohesion. However, I use other warmer colors to warm up the boring gray. I tried an all gray bedroom with different tones but I grew bored with it fast. I added a muted orangy rust color with a little mustard to warm it up. I don’t see me ever adopting the beige color because I’ve always hatred, hated, hated beige. Did I mention I HATE BEIGE. so, you all in the design world can have your boring beige, I’ll stick with gray as my neutral of choice. However, I agree, all gray everything is tired, depressing, and over.I love gray as a base/neutral color but you have to add warmer colors to warm
I really like the fact that you alert us to trend and change, yet also remind us that we’re all free to do our own thing in our homes. You offer suggestions and strategies that are real world, and truthful reminders about the practicality of full-on “trending chasing.” Noticed that your living room view contained both greys as well as wood furniture….a perfect example of compromise. You’re pretty awesome. 🎉
Gray is an excellent in small amounts to give the eye a place to rest. And, is a great way highlight other colors. Warm greys are perfect partner for the “new” beige. I really like very saturated jewel tones for accessories, art, and fabrics. A warm tone or shade of grat works great for me. Plus, I use natural finish wood furniture to help warm the gray.
Thank you! I’ve been so shocked that humans would choose a color that actually symbolizes depression, bad weather and prison walls! Talk about not being aware! It did almost seem like a Communist plot to depress the masses! Also, while we’re complaining, please do a show on what I’ve dubbed ‘Canadian Corporate.’ It’s wealthy Canadian homes decorated entirely in shades of white, gray etc and entirely devoid of color, passion, individual taste or anything remotely Feminine. Cold and more like a board room than a home. Phew! That felt good. Meanwhile, please embrace luscious color! 🎨
I painted Revere Pewter BM walls and. Simply White BM cabinets- trim – doors ceiling and love it. 4 years later still loving it . I would paint the exact same thing again in a different home . Just Don’t try to color match either one,it absolutely does not look the same . Just test the colors you love for a week in different lighting ( used poster board ). But always remember the finish you use flat / satin etc. makes a difference in the color . I did eggshell in the bathrooms /Laundry room for easy cleaning A few bedrooms and bath are painted in blue tones. Love it all O ……….. I did so some shiplap, still loving that also . I really like so many colors so choosing was tuff for me, but I do have favorites in certain colors that I have been for a very long time . Grays were fine for me . Just not everything .
You can combine grey to every colour. I love having big furniture in light grey or white and add pillows, curtains,… in shades of a distinct colour. You don’t have to throw out big furniture when you want a different theme. I had a blue phase, now I have accessories in green. A white/grey interior is like a blank canvas.
I’ve been doing taupe for around 6 years in 3 separate homes. The same taupe in all of them. I love it because it is light and it can read as grey or beige depending on the decor in the space. I tend to do a lot of natural woods and have light browns and greys in my home and it’s blended seamlessly with everything. I think that’s such a safe neutral to go with.
I agree! Bye bye to a colour that shouldn’t have been the main one. Especially in locations that have a lot of grey rainy days, like where I live. I could never understand why you would want your house to be as dull as it is outside. To be fair, I have seen some professionally designed homes that are grey but because of textures, the richness of grey colours combined with another colour, the furniture and decor brought the home to another level, even with rainy days.
My house was built in 2021, the era of gray. But, that was not why I went with it. I chose it primarily bc I love it. I went with “modernist gray”, combined with dark oak brown railings|black spindles. My cabinets and dinning sets are grayish dark brown and furniture are beige/orange with a tint of grey. It is gorgeous! You just have to know how to combine the colors. My friends say it is very inviting and calming.
When we bought our first home almost 5 years ago, the living room & hallway were almost a Cameo Beige color. We chose Sherwin Williams Cracked Ice, which is a very pale gray color for these areas. Why? Because realtors tell you to always have some neutral colors in the house to make it sellable just in case you want to sell.
I love the ivory/cream/beige & wood tones because they can lead so subtly into blush tones and look lovely with gold. One gets warmth, color, friendliness and depending on how far one leans into the white/ivory/cream aspects there is an airy openness. Masses of lovely flowers in these paler tones are wonderful in these environments. I enjoy some grey, but it does need warmth or it’s so easy to feel like you are living in a hangar.
I’d like to steal that phrase, “90s PTSD”! I think the 90s may have permanently ruined beige walls/carpets for me. I like your advice on making existing grey work in your home, though. I painted my bedroom blue-gray a few years ago but I stuck to warm woods and added pops of bright, warm red in the decor, which I think is a fun contrast! I just can’t stomach a return to beige in my own home, not yet.
I’m looking at houses out-of-state online for an upcoming move. So much gray! I can’t stand it. Most of the places look very nice, they’re clean, there’s nothing really wrong with them, but it’s so cold and sterile to me, especially when the whole first floor is gray. I know paint is an easy thing, but I certainly don’t want to have to repaint most of the house.
People picking the color of depression because it was trendy & expecting to like it later on 😮 i think you can get away with most normal, non “trendy” colors as long as you have beautiful trim. Many things date the exterior of a home (does anyone know why there are those black eagles on peoples houses- like a 70s/80s thing? Or that scalloped trim on screen doors?)That kind of stuff dates your home more than choosing a traditional color like yellow. I’ve not been on team gray from the beginning. It makes us feel blah inside.
Thank you! Thank you! because you gave excellent tips on how to fix the greys areas ……I have Italian Grey ceramics floors which I wont change of course based on the NEW trend, so your tips are quite helpful to me! I am playing a lot with white sofas tone and lots of baskets creamiers shades all around.
We have pale gray walls with white trim throughout our new house. We’ve chosen to view it as a neutral color and have decorated in blue and yellow with touches of green. I hated the monochromatic look, but the right tone is just a classy backdrop for all your creativity! Thanks for another great article!
Grey is a gloomy, cold color, I’m so happy to see it go. It’s definitely the worst color to see in a dentist or doctors office too. Maybe, that’s why everyone’s been so tired and depressed since these colors became popular. The glam look too with all the mirrors was no different either. Nature has more colors so bring those warm,vibrant, cozy colors back.
I know people who have all-gray and black and white homes. It is not just boring to me, it is kind of “lifeless” looking. I’m glad trends are headed out of that. I’m so happy Nick said to just have what you want, and explained that it is trends that influence what the stores have. Sophisticated and chic are NOT words I would use to describe a decorating goal. Maybe for an office or business, but not my home. I’m 72 and I like “cozy”. I don’t like too much clutter as in knick knacks, etc, but not stoic and empty either. Balance. Of course balance is in the eye of the beholder. This was very interesting. Thank you Nick!
I’m one of those folks who still loves those cool grays everywhere. Maybe I’m not tired of them because I was late to the show? I dunno, but those rooms you showed, I was like 😍😍😍. I don’t understand everyone’s obsession with warm toned everything–lights, furniture, floors, etc. It feels claustrophobic and almost . . . I dunno . . . dirty(?) to me.
Using Accessible Beige to color the accent tiles in my bathroom, which are too orangey. Turns out this ‘beige’ is actually a grey, which explains why it goes so well with the greyish big tiles. Tried this out already with other colors till I found the right one and turns out acrylic paint can be removed with nail polish remover. Cheaper than replacing the tiles. Still no clue what to repaint the white yellowing walls. Maybe White Dove. Cabinets are stained wood.
i’d love to see more detail on how to mix the grey and warm tones. i am currently rennovating my room to be more warm tone but I am storing a lot of my grey items (cat furniture, Le Creuset pans, blankets, pillows, etc) and I would love to know how I can reintroduce those items as I get a bigger place with more rooms to spread those colors out. I know for blankets I could easily get rid of them/sell them but I really struggle with the pet furniture as a lot of of it either only comes in that one color or the cats love it so I cant get rid of it or the beige version of it was just really ugly. I’d love some help with this. Japandi actually is my favorite design style so I love that you mentioned they do mix these colors together but I struggle with seeing how to do it myself.
I love the de-saturated colors, so some form of blue-grey, green-grey, lavender-grey is likely to always be found somewhere in my house – and very likely on some walls. I think grey suffered the same fate as 90’s beige – people took it to the extreme and created these oppressive monotone spaces out of it. ANY color can be ‘killed’ that way, imo.
My entryway, hallway and kitchen are all painted light gray that has a purple undertone. They also have the same dark anthracite tile floor so they really feel like a connected space. The furniture is black white and wood. I wanted the first impression when you enter our apartment to be clean, cool and calm. The space is designed to be not in your face because ounce you enter the living room it is full of vibrant color and natural light and the contrast of coming form a neutral gray entryway just makes it pop even more. So yeah, I like gray, but used in the right way
I love grey, it’s my neutral of choice, but I don’t love the way it was used in those trends. I am not really and overly warm person so when I am looking for a neutral to pair with my love of mauve and dark blue-greens, I reach for grey and cream. I also lean towards more neutral wood tones and stains.
I love grey, nothing looks better than a mixture of grey, bright white and black in my opinion but that’s just my taste and noone will change my mind, I’ve got a lot of grey in my house and I’ve had several people who visited me ask me to design their home for them despite the fact that I’m not actually an interior designer
Happy Days are Here Again! While I never caved into the gray/grey trend, it did make finding decor items more challenging. Trying to buy a warm palette area rug was VERY challenging, for years. Virtually every rug had some grey in it. Finally last year, I found a grey free rug. A few months ago I was even able to find a sophisticated red area rug. A few more final projects on my fireplace room, and the red rug will finally get unfurled. Your articles have inspired me to be bolder in design. Thank you, Nick!
Nick, im surprised you didnt mention Greige! I’ve used it as the neutral adjunct to the coral tint on my LR walls. I love color, but there can be too much, so i chose greige for the nooks in the LR, and also for the wall with 4 white doors, that is visible from the LR. SO, now it’s a solid color wall of a warm neutral. We’ve been very comfortable with it for 5 yrs and it’s home!
Nick: “Hey folks! Let’s look at this fantastic color wheel filled with exciting colors!” Also Nick: “Ignore the exciting fantastic colors on this color wheel and just replace all of your grey with beige.” We need color, pattern, layers, and depth! Replacing a grey and white room with a beige and cream room is just two sides of the same boring coin.
The ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s, all had basically off-white or beige walls in every new house or apartment (and believe me, I moved a LOT in those decades). I got heartily sick of white and beige. So glad to have had grey for over a decade now, and I’m not eager to go back to that. Will be sticking with slightly warm grey tones, they go with everything and are appropriate in every room of the house.
It’s interesting – the apartment my family lived in when I was born was very much grey floor, white walls, black painted wood. And I tend to gravitate towards that because it feels like home (we lived there until I was 12). When I started buying my own furniture I tended towards grey as well! A cream neutral just seemed too much to keep clean and black isn’t what I gravitate towards. So now I have a grey dining room set, a grey sofa and other grey items. I still really like them and am happy that I can style them in a plethora of different ways
When I lived with a person in the mid-‘80s who had a monotone voice (but his dry humor & quirkiness could be a hoot) and he was a bit of a depressive, he wanted to paint our bungalow’s living room & dining room grey (rooms separated by that era’s arched walls). I already felt a dark heaviness from him, thought grey would just feel like living in a depressing dungeon, NOT at all the intended classy or sheik. We compromised & went with blue walls & darker molding, all with a grey undertone. It definitely had more ‘lift’ (re: mood) than it being all grey. I think in such cases one has to consider who is living in that space. If you’re a depressive type, surely a more uplifting color is necessary, even if subtle, no matter what the current trends are.
When I was younger I love the beige, chocolate and natural wood tones. After purchasing our first home we transition into the gray tones and we love it. I have an important rule when picking out paint color. No matter what the color is it has to look good against your skin tone. I think this has helped the greys I choose for my home to hold up well over time and I still get compliments on my home even now.
Love my Dorian Gray (SW paint color) walls! BUT! I have added color in the form of drapes/linens, tabletops, rugs, etc. Overall, my house has blues and greens throughout (for a lovely flow, the gray is just there to be the canvas. My powder room however is going Navy, and my kids rooms are definitely not just gray lol.
Never went with the grey trend. But it is not grey itself, it’s the cold colors. Just can’t use them. I love warmth and warm colors and even if I try to incorporate cold colors in the end it turns out warm 😅. We just repainted our house exterior in warm tones (we went for a look that suits the house itself, the surrounding and we both like) and it looks amazing. Still a family member asked how come it is not grey, every house is grey now 😂? Well, this is the new trend we said 😅 (although that is not the reason we used these colors) and obviously we were right 😊.
I have grey luxe vinyl, ivory/cream tan-ish walls, my island/counters are granite w/ brown & ivory, light brown colors😔 i can’t stand it🥵 I can’t change the floors or counters so I plan to paint every wall white, keeping the white molding maybe an accent wall w/diff color or neutral textured wallpaper. Does this sound like a good idea? I have no clue but something has to change
I can remember when it first got popular. I personally never liked it as decor and I do like the color grey. Im also getting tired of the navy blue/green/mint green cabinets or accent walls. Im starting to just love simple wooden cabinets and white walls. I guess the warm look that you’re talking about and I had no idea that Im being drawn to what’s trending. Lol.
It doesn’t matter what the color is, if it’s overdone, it will become a turnoff very quickly. Of course people need to get away from the all-gray-all-the-time decor, so if you’re re-doing your home try to work with a three-color palette and even add a few accents with other colors to keep it interesting.
Oh Nick I absolutely love white black and gray and almost my whole house has these colors while adding plants. I have wanted gray floors for a decade and couldn’t afford them then last year I finally got them through most of my home and want to finish the rooms we haven’t done yet so this makes me sad . I absolutely despise AND HATE Brown, beige, tan and cream. My kitchen has cream cabinets with a beigey tan back splash with the same color floor and granite counter tops with brown tan and black and I have brown/bronze lighting fixtures and I hate it all and dream of the day I have bright white cabinets with white counter tops with thin gray veins throughout and matching gray floors as the rest of my house. Why does grey have to be out 😢😢😢
Hi Nick, I always love perusal you every Saturday morning and take some, leave some of your design suggestions and coverage. I’m a permanently gray person. Late 80’s I painted my home white with cool gray woodwork. Mid-90’s we built a home and I chose gray carpet, white and gray counters, and gray linoleum. I redid the finished basement in 2011 with warm grays and then upgraded the first floor in 2017 to higher quality gray surfaces but added warmer hardwood. I just bought a different house this spring and I’m repainting everything to be a warm gray/cool greige. At 68, I have embraced the fact that I’m just a permanently gray person.
I’ve learned that when painting warm colors on walls, the season you do it matters. My walls change colors through the seasons. They become much cooler in winter and warmer in summer. So IMHO it’s best to paint warm colors in the summer so you don’t over do it. If you do it in the winter you may be surprised and unhappy with how things look in the summer.
Love your articles, Nick! I’m a true believer in decorating with what you love, no matter what the trends are. I love color so my walls are yellow and I have brights all around me – red, turquoise, light greens, orange. It’s bright and makes me happy. Your website is wonderful for those who haven’t completely settled on their design style yet, or those of us who are set in our ways but always looking for fresh ideas for a little tweak!😁
I’m glad that I moved into my home before the great grey-ing of interior design. Every wall in the house was white (I think it was just primer to cover up what they had). So I decided I wanted color on my walls after too many years living in apartments. So my kitchen is a soft butter yellow, my dining room is a dark blue purple on top, cream below the chair rail, and my living room a sage green. The colors don’t clash too much, not even the yellow next to the purple – I think it’s because the yellow is so light that it almost reads neutral. I don’t plan on changing any time soon.
I have very pale gray walls in my apartment (I didn’t chose the color). However, gray is one of my favorite colors of all time, so I use it in my some of the accent pieces. I love the look and did not chose gray because it was “in”, so I’m keeping it. But if you chose gray, because it was trendy, think about changing it to something different (if you are tired of it). I also have the colors that Nick talked about in my home. My style is very eclectic, wabi sabi and biophilic.
When I think of gray, I think of Restoration Hardware. I always used to joke with a friend that I felt so depressed after walking in that store but I wanted to end it all. I still hate the cold concept. It seems to be that blue gray that you started with in your color explanation. By the way, that was really easy to understand. Cheers!
I’m so glad I saw this article! I was actually trying to figure out what color gray would go with all the woodwork in our home. We love the wood but just want to brighten up the room and make it seem less dated….but now I think we could just go with an updated beige or cream and freshen it up! Great because I was having trouble finding a greige that I thought would work!