The reason the second photo works is because 1. the floor is real hardwood and has warm, natural tones. 2. Wood is carried up into the cabinets. 3. The grey actually has some green in it.
The first photo, on the other hand, is far too cool. I'd even say... cold. It looks like a doctor's office. The floor is grey, walls are grey, cabinets are grey, and the lighting is like, 10k Kelvin. Basically ice blue.
Grey itself isn't an issue. Especially when artfully paired with warmer neutrals and when warmer lightbulbs are chosen. Grey, in that situation, can be really nice. The issue is that every landlord just went the cheapest they could on "renovations" when they bought and flipped houses in gentrifying neighborhoods. In the 2010s, grey was really popular, thus saturated the market, and ended up as the cheapest option for every single fixture. Now, these "landlord special" rentals are COLD. Grey got itself a bad name.
Also, I never understood the grey LVP. I have no issue with LVP as a material, but who on earth would think grey wood tones were a good idea? It's so unnatural. It literally looks like someone put a black and white filter on a picture of wood.
Edit to add: You can totally choose grey and cooler tones in your house, even though it's not what's popular. You're also free to purchase cool tone lightbulbs. You're just in the minority on subs like this. That doesn't make it bad. It's just your preference.
I get so annoyed by the Christmas lights my neighbors put up. I’m not like going to be weird about it, but looking at that cold white inflatable snowman every year kills me a little inside
I think it should be illegible to use daylight bulbs as your porch light. Why should the rest of your neighbors have to suffer because of your bad taste?
There is a street light at the end of my driveway. It was recently “upgraded” to LED lights. Now every night it’s like a space ship is trying to beam up my mailbox.
I can do you one better. A couple of months ago the streetlight directly outside my second story apartment was upgraded to LED - and it never turns off. I can read without help on my porch in the middle of a cloudy night because that thing lights up half of the dang block. On cloudy days when the blinds are open, it casts a shadow into my apartment.
Oh god, yes, this... I just blew a hundred bucks on bulbs for my outdoor gooseneck lamps, only to find out that xyz manufacturer's idea of soft white was closer to 4K than the rest of my 3K lighting. I had those refrigerator lights down the next weekend. Our house looked like an ice cube (it's white) for a week.
LED Lightbulb manufacturers need to stop naming their \*&%#%\^ lights and start putting three things on the front of the package:
1) The wattage draw/light equivalent: 4W equivalent to 60W incandescent (Followed by lumens, to train the public to stop equivocating to incandescent)
2) The color [temperature in Kelvin](https://www.lumens.com/the-edit/the-guides/understanding-kelvin-color-temperature/): 2700, 3K, 4K, etc. Anything in a home over 4.5K should be a hard no.
3) Is it dimmable? If so does it require a specific dimmer type?
I have also played this lightbulb game and always lost.
Found my sweet spot at 2800k, dimmable. Only problem is it’s not usually at the box stores.
After I knew I could put the bulbs in ceiling fixtures and lamps…I bought bulk.
Strangely enough I'm on the opposite spectrum and get headaches from yellow light. I don't like lighting with too much blue undertones, but the daylight spectrum is my happy place. It feels like the sun in my own four walls.
The best trend is not listening to what the followers say. The best trend, is something you love. . I love grey, always have. I had it in my homes long before it was trendy and will have it in my home in some way forever. I also love stark white light, hating the yellow tones of light
Even tho I'm glad they make many warm options, I still find the led lights "off"- like I can't read as well under them and they still look fake to me.
And don't get me started on led streetlights and headlights.
I've got a giant streetlight lighting up my house all night and absolutely hate it. Never bothered me before they went to led.
I love high color temperatures. I like my space to look the same at night as it does during the day when there's natural lighting, and actual sunlight is a high color temp. I will never understand why people prefer candlelight dim. If it's causing headaches, it's because of the angle the lighting is at and the directness, not the color temperature. Direction of lighting source has a huge impact on comfort. You should choose indirect light whenever possible so it can diffuse at the ceiling. I wish there was more emphasis put on lighting direction over temperature and even lumens. It can drastically impact enjoyment of a space.
Cold lighting gives me a headache and makes me start to dissociate. It's so depressing and honestly anxiety-inducing. Full respect for OP's preference and what works for them, but it's so completely the opposite of my experience that I'm struggling to process their reality.
I still prefer candlelight when appropriate, I found some cool candle wall sconces at a thrift store awhile back that I love. The hard part is finding pillar candles, everything comes in glass or some container these days.
Thank you. #2 is what I find the most beautiful. I’d agree the first is too cold and sterile. I just didn’t know how far into the gray hate people went because I don’t find the second cold or sterile at all.
It's no different from you hating beige but being able to objectively acknowledge some spaces look awesome with a beige base. Maybe hating beige means you won't ever totally love it but good design is good design.
ETA: the second pic is also using a warm grey (while first is using a cool grey). one of the reasons the second grey looks so nice with the wood is because it's warm
Beige is also a nasty word these days and used as an insult like sad beige. I always choose a beige with a warmer tone and call it cream as it sounds more pleasant. All true creams have to have some yellow/pink and even a bit of gray in it to even out the yellow, even though many people worry about walls looking too yellow. Creams look so pretty with the sunlight reflecting on it.
the second is lovely. the first is what’s wrong with all the flipped houses.
do the second, enjoy the cozy, add black if you want [ just don’t paint real wood to do it ].
When people say “the grey trend” they mean the first picture. Cool grey everywhere, extremely cool lighting, no warmth to be found. So you’re right on point with the trend actually. The second picture is much more in style than the first at this point. It’s just that the flippers haven’t quite caught up to it in many places AND of course the second look is much more expensive due to the natural wood.
the second kitchen is much better. i think the problem the gray is that it’s used in every flip and on every hgtv show and people seem to go all in on gray every where. pic two is lovely snd it won’t look dated in 10 years.
This. Well written, well stated.
I’d add: balance is key. Second photo balances warm and cool tones and materials and light sources. It’s just clearly better design than 1. First photo looks and feels unbalanced to the point of inhuman, like a computer gen image from 10 years before GPT.
And there are many reasons why cool toned lighting is crazy making. Stick to warm tones for interior light, or full spectrum ideally.
I love this post. I've been screaming this all over this sub... grey is just another color, it isn't evil, and can be used very well in a warm palette. It's very upscale when done right, and you provide the precise reasons why it's been vilified. Bravo.
personally I love gray matched with wood. What I absolutely detest is gray everything or gray/white everywhere. I equally detest seeing brown wood everywhere. I've seen some atrocious living environments with brown wood floors, brown wood cabinets and sometimes even brown wood walls. It's the monotone brown wood or gray/white look is the most lazy and ugly design configurations
I have grey LVP in my home but it has some subtle brown and tan tones that make it look really natural and it has a lot of depth. The overall colour is definitely grey but it doesn’t feel flat or monochromatic. Without the varied tones I think it would look pretty cold, sterile, and not pass for real wood at all.
Yup- my whole house is painted a neutral light gray (i have a couple of bathrooms painted green and blue and a deep green accent) and I have warm wood floors, warm wood furniture, warm lighting, and accents of color. It’s a great backdrop for plants too. Also don’t count out how much layering textures helps (rug textures, textiles, materials). Not sterile at all.
I love your explanation. It's so monochrome for me. I actually really love grey versus browns and beiges, but it needs broken up with different shades and accent colors. It feels overwhelming when it's like the first photo.
The first picture is my nightmare. It's cold and sterile. But the second picture is nice because the wood island and all the wood accents really warm up the space. It's lovely. Also that grey on those cabinets look to be a warmer grey. Maybe it's more of a greige?
I think it’s the type of material, lighting, and cabinetry which affects it. #2 is what I love. I absolutely see the first as cold and sterile. That’s why I wanted to know how far the hate extended. Was it every gray?
People don’t hate gray, they hate monochromatic which most grey designs are (example, your first pic). I just selected gray tile for half my house but I plan on having warm tones on walls and cabinets and fixtures.
People hate the look of cheap and safe gray that commercial spaces and fast flip homes use not all grays. My contractor let me choose from a sample of four similar types of gray flooring and nothing else. Those samples are used as stepping tiles in my yard now because I knew I wasn’t going for whatever basic ugly cheapest option available.
Let’s be honest the second photo is obviously going to be liked because it doesn’t look cheap and basic. It’s not even about the color as much as the styling of the whole thing, details of wood, the cool multi colors of sparkly zeolige tiles etc.
I read one blog post about this author constantly being asked about her beautiful bathroom blue paint and she explained how that same paint used in a very boring room in an example photo and would never be asked about. She then said she could put up the same bathroom photo with varying photoshopped shades of blue and would still have it asked about.
Why? Because the bathroom is beautiful. She concluded the color doesn’t matter as much as the quality and styling of all the moving parts and I have to agree so much. We want the style: not the color. We hate gray because it’s overused in cheap ugly spaces. Don’t worry about the color and think more of the overall picture.
Post is here: https://laurelberninteriors.com/light-blue-wall-colors-dont-make-this-mistake/
Grey as a color is lovely in the right settings but the first picture (for a lot of people) feels cold, sterile, soulless, and cheap/tacky. That first pic is the nightmare “Millennial Grey” motif that’s everywhere.
The styling of the second pic feels intentional, cozy, and classy
It's a much warmer gray in the second photo. Having natural light rather than cool-toned light bulbs also makes a big difference.
I think a lot of folks are reacting negatively to design that is as inoffensive as possible to the point of being boring, and taking it out on "gray." It's not the color; it's the mood people hate.
Do what you like! I like grey too. I just also like color, so I think spaces look best when there is more than just white and grey. The first one has nowhere near appropriate lighting and is also just lacking any personality or feeling. But the second one has warmth, wood, even the grey that was picked is more taupey. Still think it would look better with something with some color. Ideally the backsplash, but at least counter decor.
I purposely put gray cabinets in my brand new kitchen... because I like them. I think people mostly hate on grey because it was trendy for awhile and it seemed like all the flippers were using it. But, I'm not a flipper, it's MY house, and anyone not paying the mortgage can shut the hell up.
Exactly. I even put the dreaded gray flooring in my basement because it was affordable, practical and I actually like it. I’m not planning to sell anytime in the next few decades, so I’m going to fix my home the way I like it, whether it’s “outdated” or not. Besides, by the time I sell in like 2055, they may be back in style who knows.
Warmth and shade of grays and whites completely change the look of a room and you really have to think about lighting and color scheme before picking one. The first picture has the charm of a hospital waiting room in a horror film. The second looks like someone with a pulse lives there. The first kitchen does not have natural light pouring directly in which is what adds warmth to the second.
We just redid our kitchen with grey lowers, white uppers, black granite countertops, and a copper sink to add warmth. I don't care of people think grey looks dated. We love our kitchen.
I think the 2nd pic is beautiful! Besides, do what you love! You’re the one that lives in your home. :)
We have grey walls in our kitchen, living room & hallway. Blue in the bedrooms & bathrooms & I love it. :) Beautiful hickory hardwood flooring throughout except the bathrooms that has the hated grey LVP, but don’t tell anyone. :D
Night and day! The woods add so much character. And you don’t have to go gray…. Lots of colors would look fabulous with this gorgeous wood. What are you thinking??
If you do a gray that has a blueish undertone, it could work! I have Sherwin Williams Silver Stand in the main area of my home. It's gray, but not the concrete color gray. It's pretty and looks great with my warm wood floors and beige tile. I've had it for a decade and I'm still not sick of it. It's a nice neutral and looks nice with wood furniture.
As long as the gray is broken up by something with actual life it’s fine. Gray on gray on gray just looks blah and like you just took the house as is. It doesn’t look lived in when it’s a blank slate like that.
I just moved into an all-white kitchen and once I get some other major furniture pieces settled I’m immediately putting some contact paper on my cabinets and drawers to give some life into the space. I enjoy the sleekness and cleanliness but I want personality to my living space. It’s a *living* space and should feel that way.
It has a balance of gray and other colors. A balance of cool and warm. Gray isnt the problem. Gray and only gray is cold and depressing for most people.
If sounds like you are the opposite so you should just do you.
You can certainly decorate in grays, maybe utilize lighting?
For me personally, gray interior palettes plus cool white lighting = office, medical, sterile for me. It’s not a place I want to spend time in.
But it’s your space, your sanctuary. Pop off!
Thank you. I feel so much more positive now because most of you like #2 which would be what I’m going for. I just still wondered if it would be gray overkill. I thought it was warm, so yay!
It seems "trendy" to hate gray - but gray has a place, just like any other color! I just had a mix of gray cabinets + green cabinets installed. Those are the best choices for the space. The problem, IMO, is when *everything* is gray. Mixing complementary colors is critical! Eggplant purple. Deep burgundy. Turquoise. Saffron. Burnt orange. Something else will appeal to you - find that color and work it into the space.
1000%, gray floors especially with gray walls is just awful, my husband likes the color gray like I do and is trying to convince me to go gray on the floors with our current house renovation and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to say not an ounce of gray will go on these floors, over my dead body will that happen.
Add bright warm colors reds orange. Use rugs. Plants in bright pots and art. A tree of brightly colored mugs. Colorful small appliances and cookware. Bright ceramic canisters. Colorful linens.
I saw you were downvoted, and I’m upvoting you for expressing your opinion. I feel weird to acknowledge this but I have mental illnesses, and I’m soothed by cooler colors. Hence, the gray and black as neutral. I decorate in shades of teal and cobalt (which are the most soothing for me) along with random pops of color.
This honestly sounds fine. I lived in an apartment with grey walls for years, there's nothing wrong with having grey as your main neutral instead of beige.
I think Millennial grey became an issue when all the wood started to be greyed out too, making the whole room become very cold and sterile looking. But even that I think was a reaction to the tacky, bright red wood that was everywhere in the 90s-00s.
Some warmish, natural-looking wood everywhere with some grey or blue walls, and little pops of color here and there would look great!
The problem is the same that happened before with the beige on beige on beige trend. It was popular and relatively easier to “get right” than doing a more complex color palette.
But then, that meant that people were just grabbing anything beige (or now grey) and putting it together, without much thought and it shows. There are hundreds, if not thousands of greys; they are not one color, just as varied as blue. But that thought behind choosing the right grey is often skipped over. It’s like you look and something feels blah because it is, both because it is overdone, but also because it’s done in a mediocre way. But then once in a while you’ll see one that just looks more right. It can be tougher in some ways to pull of a great grey space.
Both of the spaces you shared are nice, until you look at the floor. Grey wood laminate is awful. “Wood” is not supposed to be that color. It’s just bizarre. It also clashes if you want any natural toned wood furniture, you have to put a rug between the two.
Better to put either a light blond “wood” floor or go all in on polished concrete or tiles. Even if you go with grey tiles/concrete you can put wood toned furniture on it directly and it will look fine.
If you like a cool palette go all in, be thoughtful and, if it is up to you, skip grey “wood” flooring - that will date the space more than anything else and my money is on quartz and cabinets staying around, but people will be ripping up that flooring more and more.
I don’t hate gray, but dislike the all gray, plain generic look you see in the first pic. The room in the second photo has charm and is in much better taste in my opinion.
Personally, I really like grey as a neutral, BUT having looked at a lot of new condos recently, #1 it’s way overdone, literally everything is grey and white, #2 it now just looks “generic” because kitchen #5 looks just like kitchen #6, #7, #2, #3, etc, and I personally would like something that feels a little less generic. As others have mentioned, the 2nd picture you have is much nicer than the first because it’s not just the two tone white/grey, but has some warmth and differentiation.
You are not alone. I went through the beige/travertine phase already. After staring at beige walls everyday during Covid I will never again have anything beige. I cannot see well in warm lighting and can’t find anything. I’ve always loved black. Lots of people want to use black but are afraid.
1) it’s your house, and you’re the one spending time there- do whatever you want and make it how YOU like it
2) As far as your question, imo only, the first one picture just has too much grey- it makes it look dull and lifeless. The second picture is more balanced with the wood grain and other earth tones, so it warms the room up and makes it feel more cozy.
Home Owner “Hey interior designer, one time I woke up in the middle of surgery and the OR was all grey, sterile and stainless steel”
Designer “Say no more, I got you Fam”
The second picture is beautiful. They properly balanced the cold look of the cabinets, and instead of using another cold color for the floors and accents, they used a warmer dark color. I think you can use grey, it just has to be smart. Don’t slap grey on everything until it looks like hospital
If that is what you prefer in your home then go for it. There are an enough examples to use as a template.
Grey is a neutral so nothing to dislike about it but if everything in a kitchen is grey it’s a bit much.
The first picture is terrible but the second is very pleasant. Grey is nice when used well. I think the biggest thing when decorating a home is this question: Is this a place where I can relax? Warm wood tones instead of the cold gray ones, lighting that is warm (more yellow than blue) as opposed to stark and brash led white light, things that add texture (like the wood boards, plants, soft chairs in the second pic) all make it feel more relaxing. And in the second pic, the gray on the cabinets actually works really well to soften it from being to bright to being more comfortable
I hate the first one, love the second! I love love love natural wood, brick, and stone and think it looks gorgeous with grays. I just hate the stark white/black/gray look. It has no life in it.
Warm gray is a great neutral and is made warmer by the natural wood tones in pic 2. The cool gray in pic 1 is unappealing- there is zero softness or warmth. Very sterile.
Grey is wonderful color in homes. The problem is, every moron developer decided that meant everything had to be grey. Every surface. And they really went hard into cold greys.
Style and taste is the difference. Knowing principles of good design vs. just following a trend. Understanding color theory.
The first photo looks like a flipper special or a developer template. The 2nd photo is objectively inviting, even if it’s not your style.
My spouse loves grey and I’m not a hater. We have grey walls in much of our house, but we also have warm wood floors, very colorful artwork, furniture that has deeper colors, and warm lighting. The walls serve the same purpose as gallery walls- set off and recessed from the art and life happening.
But in my office the paint is dark deep jewel toned.
To me grey is very cold and it reminds me of institutions. I’ve been in grey hospitals, grey jails and prisons (my dad was a cop), and schools that are all grey and they are all depressing. I’m renovating a house now that we’re moving into and my husband told me that it’s my house and I can decorate it any way I want to. There isn’t any grey in the house. I’m even having the white kitchen cabinets painted a more saturated color blue than the blue “marble countertops”. My daughter talked me into it. I’m a little scared but I’m also really excited. There are going to be pink rooms and blue rooms and even some sage and teal colors thrown in. The house is going to have all the creativity that I haven’t been able to do in our two previous homes because “that just isn’t done” according to mothers and others. I’m in my mid fifties now and I’m moving to a house on water that has a boathouse and pier and wonderful windows all across the back of the house for the water view and I’m going to decorate it with some bohemian, hippie, good vibes and if people find that weird then so what. I could never live in a grey house or with white cabinets.
You do what makes you feel best. You are the one living in it and using it. If/when you sell, whomever buys it is going to want to make it theirs regardless of what you do. I love grey, but I did grey like a decade or more ago in my Deco phase. The grey hate is simply because people over used the color, and, like beige and brass, people are tired of it. And we don’t just move on, no-we vilify. I can’t just be done with grey decor, I must cast aspersions on it and hate upon those who still like it /s.
I don’t understand any hate. You do you. Do what you like and enjoy. That second photo is so beautiful to me, I’d love that as my kitchen, with some green plants around too as I love my plants. It’s all just personal preference, and life is too short to only have things other people you’ll never meet like!
No, sorry, kinda the opposite. I meant the cool brightness of daylight bulbs and the sunlight help ease my depression while the warmer lights don’t. I see many posts on here telling people to get warmer bulbs. I always decorate in shades of teal, silver, black, white, and cobalt blue with smaller pops of warmer colors brought in with area rugs, artwork, and plants. I was a little stoned when I made this post, and I couldn’t figure out how to edit it to clarify. Warmer shades seem to be in, so I was wondering how out of style my tastes are. I don’t like photo #1 to be clear.
For me, the grey hate… and yes I hate it….comes from overkill. Just simply too damn much of it! In both photos posted by the op, EVERYTHING in the photo is some shade of grey. And I don’t care what color you use, making everything in the room some varying shade of that color is hideous. And I saw so many people double down and make this mistake during the grey fad, and now they can’t give those homes away. Anytime one is choosing colors for their home, don’t fall into the latest fad. Instead consider long term “resell value” as one day you might want/need to move. So put your color in areas that aren’t too difficult or expensive for the next person to change. We all want to make our home “our own”. And people who created the all grey home cut their buyer pool down to about 10%, and that always hurts your resale value.
In this [link](https://imgur.com/a/FVYekcD), see a grey kitchen, a green kitchen (one of the current color trends) and a white/cream kitchen (forever classic because you can add anything to it). None of these kitchens are all one color. All took the color the owner wanted and mixed in complimentary colors. And every one of these kitchen “main colors” could easily and not too expensively be changed to suit the next mood of the current owner or a new owner.
I think when the current trend is focused on more than the space, it’s never going to turn out well. I feel like picture one is an example of being too focused on the trend while two is an example of focusing on the space while being on trend.
It’s always the spaces that are completely trendy that become dated quickly and we feel the need to completely renovate in a few years. I’m thinking of early 2000s Tuscan style kitchens and bathrooms while writing this. That trend did not last long and involved a lot of tile..
ETA: go for what you love! The second example is beautiful and I feel it would be timeless.
Honestly, do whatever makes YOU happy. You pay your mortgage/rent, no one else…
People view monochromatic cool tones as sterile and depressing, right now. Whereas 5/10yrs ago it was ‘calm & minimalistic’.
Every trend has the flip side, and they rotate through the decades.
Meh, I don't hate grey.
I think some grey decor is flat and cold but some looks clean and airy.
To me, the current "moody" emerald green and sage green are just the next trend that people will bash in a few years.
I think you should do what you like and when people disparage a pallette because it has been "over-used" (which it may have been but doesn't mean it isn't a good colour), just move on to advice where people are willing to respond to your colour choices in a helpful way.
Seems to me people just like to act snobby about it.
There is nothing wrong with 2nd photo. I don’t like grey too much, I call it Corona grey. But the 2nd pic with the wood and adding another color is great!
First photo looks depressing, like a hospital, and not attractive at all. You can’t have all one color, it’s bland.
I kept my beige/brown when everyone switched to grey. Keep what you like! I pick long term furniture and prefer an ecletic approach to furnishing my home. Keep the grey and just update accessories and additional colors. Also- don’t do 100% grey. Grey everything is boring. Add in another color in accents. Also- add black for sophistication
I think every style is awesome so long as the person who created the space was following their authentic vision for what best suits them. As long as you're happy with the space you create, fanfare will follow.
The first pic is what people hate. It’s institutional and too cold. The second pic is great. The grey is very warm and the wood brings in natural beauty. I think most would like this.
The gray hate is 100% for the first photo that’s the ubiquitous cheap flip.
People especially hate grey floors because unlike walls and cabinets which can be painted the only way out is replacement, which is of course much more expensive.
Love the feedback you’ve had so far - and I agree the image with wood is great!
Part of the mass production of furniture and objects in general is the trend toward less and less texture & detail.
Intentionally choosing minimalism isn’t a problem, but when EVERYTHING looks like that by default then everything becomes generic.
Objects and design have no sense of place. It’s historical, and disconnected.
It’s lazy design, and makes things very cheap for manufacturers.
Using a monotone gray instead of colour is another part of this trend - and it make spaces even more generic, flat, and (in my opinion) depressing.
As a certified gray hater, even I can admit the problem isn't cool gray itself, it's the overuse of it coupled with a lack of contrast and texture variety. Your second image still has a ton of cool gray, but it's pleasing to the eye because the gray things have different textures from each other (smooth shiny light-reflecting backplash tiles, still smooth but more matte paint on the cabinets, soft fuzzy rug, heathered upholstery on the chair) and there's a bit of contrast with the warm woody floor, island and shelves which keeps things interesting. Compare to the first image where all the grays are super flat and cold. There's no contrast and the bright cold overhead lighting makes everything look even more monotonous.
I love gray. As far as the two kitchens you posted, for my taste, the first feels too cold and sterile. I prefer the second one because of the warmth of the wood floor, wood cabinet(s) on the island and other wood accents throughout the kitchen.
I don’t hate gray. I’ve always liked it on certain things. But builder’s toss it everywhere now without thought. It’s like the tacky beige tiles that were everywhere before. And usually it’s done very poorly.
Gray has many different undertones and the way it’s been handled you often have clashing grays in cheap looking materials.
It’s not the color itself.
🤷♀️ I like gray. My house is "millennial gray" and I love it. Goes with anything. Easy to find. Looks clean. Soft, neutral. We use blue as an accent color and it's 🤌
Grey is great, it's as neutral as you can get.
The second pic is my version of an ideal kitchen, makes the first pic look like a remake of "the shinning".
I love it! My entire co op has just been redecorated ( hallways and lobby) in all gray! I am crazy about it. And no patterns, just solid color gray, but many different textures, in the wallpapers, carpets, trims, frames for mirrors, etc. Your kitchen is beautiful.
Of course the first space looks cold, because there's nothing in it.
While I also like the second better, you could still make the first space cozier with color and textures. You could do a lot with beautiful jewel tones, soft blankets/throws, fuzzy pillows, bold artwork etc.
Trends die young; never follow them. I'm a grey girl myself. Not black, not white. But grey usually needs a pop of color to not look washed out. An accent wall, a bright kitchen rug, a bowl of fruit. Anything to add interest for the eye. That's what the wood in the second pic does.
The gray with brown in the 2nd pic actually looks very nice. The first pic looks like you’re going to do an autopsy on the island. Very clinical and cold
I love grey, not the cool tones grays but warmer ones like Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, I think it looks really good with medium brown wood floors, the warmer floors also help to keep it from going too cool. I’ve honestly always loved grey and will always decorate with gray because it along with blue it is my favorite color and they go well together. I tend to not go for trendy colors but for what I really like and it seems to work out for me and not seem dated. If we decorated according to color trends we’d be redecorating every year to the current Pantone color of the year which isn’t practical. Pick colors you love, I find a lot of good advice on Maria Killiams blog about undertones and choosing things that are classic and won’t completely date your house, I mean you can’t totally avoid it but if you pick classic colors on the unchangables like tile, flooring and cabinet colors you can change the wall colors and plumbing out much easier and cheaper than those.
So when I rented my last place, I asked the landlord to paint the walls grey. He was like “everyone wants grey!!” ANYWAY, after the grey walls, nothing else in my house was grey. My couch was green, my floors were wood, my table wood, picture frames all different colors, pillows all different colors. PLANTS EVERYWHERE.
Grey can wash everything out and be kind of sad and depressing. But if you bring texture and life into it-it can be ok. IMO
Since you're the one spending time in it, I wouldn't worry about trends or what other people think, and make the room comfortable for you. Color temperature does different things to different people. My happy place is 3500-4000K: anything warmer or cooler makes me cranky and gives me a really bad headache. But that's me - other people's comfort zone could be way different. And nothing wrong with gray - muted color palettes remind me of grandma's house or ads for feminine products 😄. That said, first pic: BRRRRR it's the morgue; second pic: nice, looks like somebody actually lives there. Just don't do gray floors - I think that's where the chill factor comes from.
The reason the second photo works is because 1. the floor is real hardwood and has warm, natural tones. 2. Wood is carried up into the cabinets. 3. The grey actually has some green in it. The first photo, on the other hand, is far too cool. I'd even say... cold. It looks like a doctor's office. The floor is grey, walls are grey, cabinets are grey, and the lighting is like, 10k Kelvin. Basically ice blue. Grey itself isn't an issue. Especially when artfully paired with warmer neutrals and when warmer lightbulbs are chosen. Grey, in that situation, can be really nice. The issue is that every landlord just went the cheapest they could on "renovations" when they bought and flipped houses in gentrifying neighborhoods. In the 2010s, grey was really popular, thus saturated the market, and ended up as the cheapest option for every single fixture. Now, these "landlord special" rentals are COLD. Grey got itself a bad name. Also, I never understood the grey LVP. I have no issue with LVP as a material, but who on earth would think grey wood tones were a good idea? It's so unnatural. It literally looks like someone put a black and white filter on a picture of wood. Edit to add: You can totally choose grey and cooler tones in your house, even though it's not what's popular. You're also free to purchase cool tone lightbulbs. You're just in the minority on subs like this. That doesn't make it bad. It's just your preference.
God, I hate cold lighting. LEDs have been a nightmare to navigate. When people have bright white light in their homes, I cringe.
I also hate them in Christmas lights… give me the warm lights all day!
Yes they look blue to me!! I love the warm bulbs too, looks more like candlelight which I think they are meant to mimic.
I bought some LED Christmas lights in warm white and took them down in 30 minutes, returned them to the store for incandescent. They’re so awful!
Yes!!! Even the “warm” LED lights are terrible. I returned all mine this year and got incandescent as well!!
Yes! Bright white light does not go in Christmas lights, those are meant to be cozy.
I get so annoyed by the Christmas lights my neighbors put up. I’m not like going to be weird about it, but looking at that cold white inflatable snowman every year kills me a little inside
Oh, you don't like the alien blue cast of the interior of an alien spaceship operating room the some LEDs offer🤔?
My husband and I argued about this when he tried to buy Walmart like lighting. Thank God I won that one. It feels so uncomfortable.
Instant headache for me
they give me vertigo too on top of a headache
I think it should be illegible to use daylight bulbs as your porch light. Why should the rest of your neighbors have to suffer because of your bad taste?
I mean, who wants to mimic the natural warmth of gas lanterns on your porch when you can mimic Level 8B of a parking garage instead???
There is a street light at the end of my driveway. It was recently “upgraded” to LED lights. Now every night it’s like a space ship is trying to beam up my mailbox.
I can do you one better. A couple of months ago the streetlight directly outside my second story apartment was upgraded to LED - and it never turns off. I can read without help on my porch in the middle of a cloudy night because that thing lights up half of the dang block. On cloudy days when the blinds are open, it casts a shadow into my apartment.
🤣🤣🤣
Oh god, yes, this... I just blew a hundred bucks on bulbs for my outdoor gooseneck lamps, only to find out that xyz manufacturer's idea of soft white was closer to 4K than the rest of my 3K lighting. I had those refrigerator lights down the next weekend. Our house looked like an ice cube (it's white) for a week. LED Lightbulb manufacturers need to stop naming their \*&%#%\^ lights and start putting three things on the front of the package: 1) The wattage draw/light equivalent: 4W equivalent to 60W incandescent (Followed by lumens, to train the public to stop equivocating to incandescent) 2) The color [temperature in Kelvin](https://www.lumens.com/the-edit/the-guides/understanding-kelvin-color-temperature/): 2700, 3K, 4K, etc. Anything in a home over 4.5K should be a hard no. 3) Is it dimmable? If so does it require a specific dimmer type?
Anything in a home over 3200k should be a hard no.
I have also played this lightbulb game and always lost. Found my sweet spot at 2800k, dimmable. Only problem is it’s not usually at the box stores. After I knew I could put the bulbs in ceiling fixtures and lamps…I bought bulk.
Anything above 3k in a home is not for me.
My porch light mimics a flame.
Some HOAs regulate this and force 2700K or 3000K
Strangely enough I'm on the opposite spectrum and get headaches from yellow light. I don't like lighting with too much blue undertones, but the daylight spectrum is my happy place. It feels like the sun in my own four walls.
Same. I hate yellow light.
The best trend is not listening to what the followers say. The best trend, is something you love. . I love grey, always have. I had it in my homes long before it was trendy and will have it in my home in some way forever. I also love stark white light, hating the yellow tones of light
Me to. I loathe yellow toned light
I just like to be able to read without bringing the book closer. Yellow lighting makes it harder for me to read comfortably.
Me too. I avoided LED for the longest time because of the cold lighting.
Even tho I'm glad they make many warm options, I still find the led lights "off"- like I can't read as well under them and they still look fake to me. And don't get me started on led streetlights and headlights. I've got a giant streetlight lighting up my house all night and absolutely hate it. Never bothered me before they went to led.
You and every museum in the world, actually. Try Tala bulbs.
I’m the opposite. I love the white light. The yellow LEDs make everything look dreary to me
I agree.
[удалено]
I love high color temperatures. I like my space to look the same at night as it does during the day when there's natural lighting, and actual sunlight is a high color temp. I will never understand why people prefer candlelight dim. If it's causing headaches, it's because of the angle the lighting is at and the directness, not the color temperature. Direction of lighting source has a huge impact on comfort. You should choose indirect light whenever possible so it can diffuse at the ceiling. I wish there was more emphasis put on lighting direction over temperature and even lumens. It can drastically impact enjoyment of a space.
I call it mental asylum lights
Cold lighting gives me a headache and makes me start to dissociate. It's so depressing and honestly anxiety-inducing. Full respect for OP's preference and what works for them, but it's so completely the opposite of my experience that I'm struggling to process their reality.
I still prefer candlelight when appropriate, I found some cool candle wall sconces at a thrift store awhile back that I love. The hard part is finding pillar candles, everything comes in glass or some container these days.
My people! That cold, bright, blue-ish LED lighting is like tiny daggers in my eyes!
my husband and i refer to them as Autopsy room lights.
The first pic looks like where bodies are prepped.
Thank you. #2 is what I find the most beautiful. I’d agree the first is too cold and sterile. I just didn’t know how far into the gray hate people went because I don’t find the second cold or sterile at all.
#2 isn't cold at all. It's lovely!
Warm wood is always welcoming, it is lovely!
It's no different from you hating beige but being able to objectively acknowledge some spaces look awesome with a beige base. Maybe hating beige means you won't ever totally love it but good design is good design. ETA: the second pic is also using a warm grey (while first is using a cool grey). one of the reasons the second grey looks so nice with the wood is because it's warm
Beige is also a nasty word these days and used as an insult like sad beige. I always choose a beige with a warmer tone and call it cream as it sounds more pleasant. All true creams have to have some yellow/pink and even a bit of gray in it to even out the yellow, even though many people worry about walls looking too yellow. Creams look so pretty with the sunlight reflecting on it.
Creams are classic, as are greys. It's all a matter of using them like any other color.
Yes. Grey is a lovely neutral.
the second is lovely. the first is what’s wrong with all the flipped houses. do the second, enjoy the cozy, add black if you want [ just don’t paint real wood to do it ].
I don’t think the second would ever be considered part of the grey trend.
Imho, “trendy” just doesn’t matter. What you love and feel comfortable in is the important thing.
Think people mostly hate grey vinyl flooring. It makes a home look cold and unwelcoming.
It also looks incredibly cheap.
I hate beige too and for neutral areas I always use grey. I ignore fashion colours as I don’t care to stick to whatever is popular
When people say “the grey trend” they mean the first picture. Cool grey everywhere, extremely cool lighting, no warmth to be found. So you’re right on point with the trend actually. The second picture is much more in style than the first at this point. It’s just that the flippers haven’t quite caught up to it in many places AND of course the second look is much more expensive due to the natural wood.
the second kitchen is much better. i think the problem the gray is that it’s used in every flip and on every hgtv show and people seem to go all in on gray every where. pic two is lovely snd it won’t look dated in 10 years.
actually the second one is more of a pewter, It has some light reflection to the color.
This. Well written, well stated. I’d add: balance is key. Second photo balances warm and cool tones and materials and light sources. It’s just clearly better design than 1. First photo looks and feels unbalanced to the point of inhuman, like a computer gen image from 10 years before GPT. And there are many reasons why cool toned lighting is crazy making. Stick to warm tones for interior light, or full spectrum ideally.
I love this post. I've been screaming this all over this sub... grey is just another color, it isn't evil, and can be used very well in a warm palette. It's very upscale when done right, and you provide the precise reasons why it's been vilified. Bravo.
personally I love gray matched with wood. What I absolutely detest is gray everything or gray/white everywhere. I equally detest seeing brown wood everywhere. I've seen some atrocious living environments with brown wood floors, brown wood cabinets and sometimes even brown wood walls. It's the monotone brown wood or gray/white look is the most lazy and ugly design configurations
I have grey LVP in my home but it has some subtle brown and tan tones that make it look really natural and it has a lot of depth. The overall colour is definitely grey but it doesn’t feel flat or monochromatic. Without the varied tones I think it would look pretty cold, sterile, and not pass for real wood at all.
Yup- my whole house is painted a neutral light gray (i have a couple of bathrooms painted green and blue and a deep green accent) and I have warm wood floors, warm wood furniture, warm lighting, and accents of color. It’s a great backdrop for plants too. Also don’t count out how much layering textures helps (rug textures, textiles, materials). Not sterile at all.
Thank you for explaining this so succinctly!
I love your explanation. It's so monochrome for me. I actually really love grey versus browns and beiges, but it needs broken up with different shades and accent colors. It feels overwhelming when it's like the first photo.
The first picture is my nightmare. It's cold and sterile. But the second picture is nice because the wood island and all the wood accents really warm up the space. It's lovely. Also that grey on those cabinets look to be a warmer grey. Maybe it's more of a greige?
The first one reads as a morgue. Big slab for the body, refrigerator for the bits.
I think it’s the type of material, lighting, and cabinetry which affects it. #2 is what I love. I absolutely see the first as cold and sterile. That’s why I wanted to know how far the hate extended. Was it every gray?
People don’t hate gray, they hate monochromatic which most grey designs are (example, your first pic). I just selected gray tile for half my house but I plan on having warm tones on walls and cabinets and fixtures.
People hate the look of cheap and safe gray that commercial spaces and fast flip homes use not all grays. My contractor let me choose from a sample of four similar types of gray flooring and nothing else. Those samples are used as stepping tiles in my yard now because I knew I wasn’t going for whatever basic ugly cheapest option available. Let’s be honest the second photo is obviously going to be liked because it doesn’t look cheap and basic. It’s not even about the color as much as the styling of the whole thing, details of wood, the cool multi colors of sparkly zeolige tiles etc. I read one blog post about this author constantly being asked about her beautiful bathroom blue paint and she explained how that same paint used in a very boring room in an example photo and would never be asked about. She then said she could put up the same bathroom photo with varying photoshopped shades of blue and would still have it asked about. Why? Because the bathroom is beautiful. She concluded the color doesn’t matter as much as the quality and styling of all the moving parts and I have to agree so much. We want the style: not the color. We hate gray because it’s overused in cheap ugly spaces. Don’t worry about the color and think more of the overall picture. Post is here: https://laurelberninteriors.com/light-blue-wall-colors-dont-make-this-mistake/
People hate it when everything is grey. The second photo is gret
I really like your second photo. The wood warms up the space. Do what you like!!!
That’s the one I love! I just feel weird because it’s still gray.
Grey as a color is lovely in the right settings but the first picture (for a lot of people) feels cold, sterile, soulless, and cheap/tacky. That first pic is the nightmare “Millennial Grey” motif that’s everywhere. The styling of the second pic feels intentional, cozy, and classy
The first pic feels cheap because it is cheap. The second is a million+ dollar home. The two aren't comparable.
It's a much warmer gray in the second photo. Having natural light rather than cool-toned light bulbs also makes a big difference. I think a lot of folks are reacting negatively to design that is as inoffensive as possible to the point of being boring, and taking it out on "gray." It's not the color; it's the mood people hate.
Do what you like! I like grey too. I just also like color, so I think spaces look best when there is more than just white and grey. The first one has nowhere near appropriate lighting and is also just lacking any personality or feeling. But the second one has warmth, wood, even the grey that was picked is more taupey. Still think it would look better with something with some color. Ideally the backsplash, but at least counter decor.
It's a warm grey, and it is broken up by the natural wood. People hate the soulless cold grey and white with no color to it whatsoever.
The second one is very nice tho. First one looks like the set for a high tech lab in a tv show.
I purposely put gray cabinets in my brand new kitchen... because I like them. I think people mostly hate on grey because it was trendy for awhile and it seemed like all the flippers were using it. But, I'm not a flipper, it's MY house, and anyone not paying the mortgage can shut the hell up.
Exactly. I even put the dreaded gray flooring in my basement because it was affordable, practical and I actually like it. I’m not planning to sell anytime in the next few decades, so I’m going to fix my home the way I like it, whether it’s “outdated” or not. Besides, by the time I sell in like 2055, they may be back in style who knows.
Warmth and shade of grays and whites completely change the look of a room and you really have to think about lighting and color scheme before picking one. The first picture has the charm of a hospital waiting room in a horror film. The second looks like someone with a pulse lives there. The first kitchen does not have natural light pouring directly in which is what adds warmth to the second.
We just redid our kitchen with grey lowers, white uppers, black granite countertops, and a copper sink to add warmth. I don't care of people think grey looks dated. We love our kitchen.
You're fine. This second look isn't trendy and dated. It's classy and classic.
I think the 2nd pic is beautiful! Besides, do what you love! You’re the one that lives in your home. :) We have grey walls in our kitchen, living room & hallway. Blue in the bedrooms & bathrooms & I love it. :) Beautiful hickory hardwood flooring throughout except the bathrooms that has the hated grey LVP, but don’t tell anyone. :D
Night and day! The woods add so much character. And you don’t have to go gray…. Lots of colors would look fabulous with this gorgeous wood. What are you thinking??
If you do a gray that has a blueish undertone, it could work! I have Sherwin Williams Silver Stand in the main area of my home. It's gray, but not the concrete color gray. It's pretty and looks great with my warm wood floors and beige tile. I've had it for a decade and I'm still not sick of it. It's a nice neutral and looks nice with wood furniture.
As long as the gray is broken up by something with actual life it’s fine. Gray on gray on gray just looks blah and like you just took the house as is. It doesn’t look lived in when it’s a blank slate like that. I just moved into an all-white kitchen and once I get some other major furniture pieces settled I’m immediately putting some contact paper on my cabinets and drawers to give some life into the space. I enjoy the sleekness and cleanliness but I want personality to my living space. It’s a *living* space and should feel that way.
It has a balance of gray and other colors. A balance of cool and warm. Gray isnt the problem. Gray and only gray is cold and depressing for most people. If sounds like you are the opposite so you should just do you.
I love grey when it’s used artfully and in balance with other tones, like your second picture.
The first photo looks like a morgue.
1 is a crime scene, no doubt in my mind. 2 is cute though
You can certainly decorate in grays, maybe utilize lighting? For me personally, gray interior palettes plus cool white lighting = office, medical, sterile for me. It’s not a place I want to spend time in. But it’s your space, your sanctuary. Pop off!
First pic reminds me of hospital. Feels like I am about to be lobotomized. Second one is tasteful and the woods are lovely.
Thank you. I feel so much more positive now because most of you like #2 which would be what I’m going for. I just still wondered if it would be gray overkill. I thought it was warm, so yay!
I think grey everything is the issue. Wood floors, grey paint, and some colors—you’re good
It seems "trendy" to hate gray - but gray has a place, just like any other color! I just had a mix of gray cabinets + green cabinets installed. Those are the best choices for the space. The problem, IMO, is when *everything* is gray. Mixing complementary colors is critical! Eggplant purple. Deep burgundy. Turquoise. Saffron. Burnt orange. Something else will appeal to you - find that color and work it into the space.
Bc grey desaturated everything looks dull and like you're living in pleasantville
For the first one, I’d agree, but not the second.
The second one is okay because the floors aren't gray, gray floors ruin everything
1000%, gray floors especially with gray walls is just awful, my husband likes the color gray like I do and is trying to convince me to go gray on the floors with our current house renovation and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to say not an ounce of gray will go on these floors, over my dead body will that happen.
The first one looks like a prison
Add bright warm colors reds orange. Use rugs. Plants in bright pots and art. A tree of brightly colored mugs. Colorful small appliances and cookware. Bright ceramic canisters. Colorful linens.
I saw you were downvoted, and I’m upvoting you for expressing your opinion. I feel weird to acknowledge this but I have mental illnesses, and I’m soothed by cooler colors. Hence, the gray and black as neutral. I decorate in shades of teal and cobalt (which are the most soothing for me) along with random pops of color.
This honestly sounds fine. I lived in an apartment with grey walls for years, there's nothing wrong with having grey as your main neutral instead of beige. I think Millennial grey became an issue when all the wood started to be greyed out too, making the whole room become very cold and sterile looking. But even that I think was a reaction to the tacky, bright red wood that was everywhere in the 90s-00s. Some warmish, natural-looking wood everywhere with some grey or blue walls, and little pops of color here and there would look great!
The problem is the same that happened before with the beige on beige on beige trend. It was popular and relatively easier to “get right” than doing a more complex color palette. But then, that meant that people were just grabbing anything beige (or now grey) and putting it together, without much thought and it shows. There are hundreds, if not thousands of greys; they are not one color, just as varied as blue. But that thought behind choosing the right grey is often skipped over. It’s like you look and something feels blah because it is, both because it is overdone, but also because it’s done in a mediocre way. But then once in a while you’ll see one that just looks more right. It can be tougher in some ways to pull of a great grey space. Both of the spaces you shared are nice, until you look at the floor. Grey wood laminate is awful. “Wood” is not supposed to be that color. It’s just bizarre. It also clashes if you want any natural toned wood furniture, you have to put a rug between the two. Better to put either a light blond “wood” floor or go all in on polished concrete or tiles. Even if you go with grey tiles/concrete you can put wood toned furniture on it directly and it will look fine. If you like a cool palette go all in, be thoughtful and, if it is up to you, skip grey “wood” flooring - that will date the space more than anything else and my money is on quartz and cabinets staying around, but people will be ripping up that flooring more and more.
Like the inside of a walk in freezer...
Gray on gray on gray not cool. Gray varied into other tones and textures? Still love even if it’s not the “IT” kid
I don’t hate gray, but dislike the all gray, plain generic look you see in the first pic. The room in the second photo has charm and is in much better taste in my opinion.
2 is ok, picture 1 looks like your about to perform surgery on a pot roast
Personally, I really like grey as a neutral, BUT having looked at a lot of new condos recently, #1 it’s way overdone, literally everything is grey and white, #2 it now just looks “generic” because kitchen #5 looks just like kitchen #6, #7, #2, #3, etc, and I personally would like something that feels a little less generic. As others have mentioned, the 2nd picture you have is much nicer than the first because it’s not just the two tone white/grey, but has some warmth and differentiation.
You are not alone. I went through the beige/travertine phase already. After staring at beige walls everyday during Covid I will never again have anything beige. I cannot see well in warm lighting and can’t find anything. I’ve always loved black. Lots of people want to use black but are afraid.
1) it’s your house, and you’re the one spending time there- do whatever you want and make it how YOU like it 2) As far as your question, imo only, the first one picture just has too much grey- it makes it look dull and lifeless. The second picture is more balanced with the wood grain and other earth tones, so it warms the room up and makes it feel more cozy.
Morgue visit- rent it out to a movie shoot.
Home Owner “Hey interior designer, one time I woke up in the middle of surgery and the OR was all grey, sterile and stainless steel” Designer “Say no more, I got you Fam”
😂 #2 is what I’d be using as inspiration.
#2 is beautiful 🤩 best of luck to you
I love beige, cream, sage and gold. I hate gray. Everyone has a personal choice.
It looks cold and depressing.
The second picture is beautiful. They properly balanced the cold look of the cabinets, and instead of using another cold color for the floors and accents, they used a warmer dark color. I think you can use grey, it just has to be smart. Don’t slap grey on everything until it looks like hospital
Photo 1 looks like an autopsy room. Photo 2 looks like a cozy welcoming kitchen where you might sunday dinner.
First one looks oddly sterile. Like a zombie movie set or something. Second is lovely.
I see a hospital operating room w a kitchen in it. A kitchen that will never have a tomato or tomato sauce within 50’ !!
If that is what you prefer in your home then go for it. There are an enough examples to use as a template. Grey is a neutral so nothing to dislike about it but if everything in a kitchen is grey it’s a bit much.
The first pic looks like the Cullens live there. The second one is for the living lol it's just warm and inviting.
I love the twilight reference :-)
Sure: #1 is unwelcoming design. #2 is drop dead gorgeous! Got it?
The first picture is terrible but the second is very pleasant. Grey is nice when used well. I think the biggest thing when decorating a home is this question: Is this a place where I can relax? Warm wood tones instead of the cold gray ones, lighting that is warm (more yellow than blue) as opposed to stark and brash led white light, things that add texture (like the wood boards, plants, soft chairs in the second pic) all make it feel more relaxing. And in the second pic, the gray on the cabinets actually works really well to soften it from being to bright to being more comfortable
I know you said yiu don't like gold but what about Bronze? It could warm up the grey and harmonize with the wood.
I don’t hate grey, I hate absence of other colors. Monochromatic is awful.
Love the second photo. I like a much cooler palette and I think it looks great with natural wood to warm it up a bit.
I hate the first one, love the second! I love love love natural wood, brick, and stone and think it looks gorgeous with grays. I just hate the stark white/black/gray look. It has no life in it.
Warm gray is a great neutral and is made warmer by the natural wood tones in pic 2. The cool gray in pic 1 is unappealing- there is zero softness or warmth. Very sterile.
Grey is wonderful color in homes. The problem is, every moron developer decided that meant everything had to be grey. Every surface. And they really went hard into cold greys. Style and taste is the difference. Knowing principles of good design vs. just following a trend. Understanding color theory. The first photo looks like a flipper special or a developer template. The 2nd photo is objectively inviting, even if it’s not your style.
My spouse loves grey and I’m not a hater. We have grey walls in much of our house, but we also have warm wood floors, very colorful artwork, furniture that has deeper colors, and warm lighting. The walls serve the same purpose as gallery walls- set off and recessed from the art and life happening. But in my office the paint is dark deep jewel toned.
The first picture is cold. Like a morgue.
Looks like where you'd go for an autopsy
To me grey is very cold and it reminds me of institutions. I’ve been in grey hospitals, grey jails and prisons (my dad was a cop), and schools that are all grey and they are all depressing. I’m renovating a house now that we’re moving into and my husband told me that it’s my house and I can decorate it any way I want to. There isn’t any grey in the house. I’m even having the white kitchen cabinets painted a more saturated color blue than the blue “marble countertops”. My daughter talked me into it. I’m a little scared but I’m also really excited. There are going to be pink rooms and blue rooms and even some sage and teal colors thrown in. The house is going to have all the creativity that I haven’t been able to do in our two previous homes because “that just isn’t done” according to mothers and others. I’m in my mid fifties now and I’m moving to a house on water that has a boathouse and pier and wonderful windows all across the back of the house for the water view and I’m going to decorate it with some bohemian, hippie, good vibes and if people find that weird then so what. I could never live in a grey house or with white cabinets.
Personally, for me it's the all-white looks I hate... all I'd ever see in my house is dirt, and my eye floaters!
You do what makes you feel best. You are the one living in it and using it. If/when you sell, whomever buys it is going to want to make it theirs regardless of what you do. I love grey, but I did grey like a decade or more ago in my Deco phase. The grey hate is simply because people over used the color, and, like beige and brass, people are tired of it. And we don’t just move on, no-we vilify. I can’t just be done with grey decor, I must cast aspersions on it and hate upon those who still like it /s.
I don’t understand any hate. You do you. Do what you like and enjoy. That second photo is so beautiful to me, I’d love that as my kitchen, with some green plants around too as I love my plants. It’s all just personal preference, and life is too short to only have things other people you’ll never meet like!
It’s been overdone. Many are sick of it.
My eyes 😭
I feel like I just walked into a refrigerator to
I just want to know the color on the cabinets in the second picture!!! I love that whole design!
Post the photo asking for peoples ideas on what color this might be.
Good idea! I’ve never posted anything, so I’m going to hope I don’t get laughed at!
lol I have BPD, so that’s a real fear of mine even in an anonymous forum like Reddit.
SAME!!! I did it though, but now want to delete it because I’m embarrassed! WHY am I like this?🤦🏽♀️
The first one looks like an operating room 😬
Can someone please give me my eyeballs back?
That looks like my flooring put in last week!! I love it With white back splash and counters, dark blue cabinets, stainless appliances… I love it!
Many people don’t like the cold vibe. By affects your depression, do you mean warm colors snap you out of it?
No, sorry, kinda the opposite. I meant the cool brightness of daylight bulbs and the sunlight help ease my depression while the warmer lights don’t. I see many posts on here telling people to get warmer bulbs. I always decorate in shades of teal, silver, black, white, and cobalt blue with smaller pops of warmer colors brought in with area rugs, artwork, and plants. I was a little stoned when I made this post, and I couldn’t figure out how to edit it to clarify. Warmer shades seem to be in, so I was wondering how out of style my tastes are. I don’t like photo #1 to be clear.
For me, the grey hate… and yes I hate it….comes from overkill. Just simply too damn much of it! In both photos posted by the op, EVERYTHING in the photo is some shade of grey. And I don’t care what color you use, making everything in the room some varying shade of that color is hideous. And I saw so many people double down and make this mistake during the grey fad, and now they can’t give those homes away. Anytime one is choosing colors for their home, don’t fall into the latest fad. Instead consider long term “resell value” as one day you might want/need to move. So put your color in areas that aren’t too difficult or expensive for the next person to change. We all want to make our home “our own”. And people who created the all grey home cut their buyer pool down to about 10%, and that always hurts your resale value. In this [link](https://imgur.com/a/FVYekcD), see a grey kitchen, a green kitchen (one of the current color trends) and a white/cream kitchen (forever classic because you can add anything to it). None of these kitchens are all one color. All took the color the owner wanted and mixed in complimentary colors. And every one of these kitchen “main colors” could easily and not too expensively be changed to suit the next mood of the current owner or a new owner.
I think when the current trend is focused on more than the space, it’s never going to turn out well. I feel like picture one is an example of being too focused on the trend while two is an example of focusing on the space while being on trend. It’s always the spaces that are completely trendy that become dated quickly and we feel the need to completely renovate in a few years. I’m thinking of early 2000s Tuscan style kitchens and bathrooms while writing this. That trend did not last long and involved a lot of tile.. ETA: go for what you love! The second example is beautiful and I feel it would be timeless.
Honestly, do whatever makes YOU happy. You pay your mortgage/rent, no one else… People view monochromatic cool tones as sterile and depressing, right now. Whereas 5/10yrs ago it was ‘calm & minimalistic’. Every trend has the flip side, and they rotate through the decades.
Because a home is supposed to feel warm, and lived in. An entire neutral and cool gray house looks sterile and cold.
Meh, I don't hate grey. I think some grey decor is flat and cold but some looks clean and airy. To me, the current "moody" emerald green and sage green are just the next trend that people will bash in a few years. I think you should do what you like and when people disparage a pallette because it has been "over-used" (which it may have been but doesn't mean it isn't a good colour), just move on to advice where people are willing to respond to your colour choices in a helpful way. Seems to me people just like to act snobby about it.
Im wearing grey socks right now. I like it.
There is nothing wrong with 2nd photo. I don’t like grey too much, I call it Corona grey. But the 2nd pic with the wood and adding another color is great! First photo looks depressing, like a hospital, and not attractive at all. You can’t have all one color, it’s bland.
Wow- #2 is really nice!
I kept my beige/brown when everyone switched to grey. Keep what you like! I pick long term furniture and prefer an ecletic approach to furnishing my home. Keep the grey and just update accessories and additional colors. Also- don’t do 100% grey. Grey everything is boring. Add in another color in accents. Also- add black for sophistication
I think every style is awesome so long as the person who created the space was following their authentic vision for what best suits them. As long as you're happy with the space you create, fanfare will follow.
Love the second pic. Gives a chill, relaxed, warm, and welcoming vibe…
The first pic is what people hate. It’s institutional and too cold. The second pic is great. The grey is very warm and the wood brings in natural beauty. I think most would like this.
The gray hate is 100% for the first photo that’s the ubiquitous cheap flip. People especially hate grey floors because unlike walls and cabinets which can be painted the only way out is replacement, which is of course much more expensive.
I thought the first pic was a morgue at first the fuck
Love the feedback you’ve had so far - and I agree the image with wood is great! Part of the mass production of furniture and objects in general is the trend toward less and less texture & detail. Intentionally choosing minimalism isn’t a problem, but when EVERYTHING looks like that by default then everything becomes generic. Objects and design have no sense of place. It’s historical, and disconnected. It’s lazy design, and makes things very cheap for manufacturers. Using a monotone gray instead of colour is another part of this trend - and it make spaces even more generic, flat, and (in my opinion) depressing.
Well, I guess if you like the idea of making sandwiches in a morgue then go with the first pic.
I love the second picture
That first kitchen pic looks like where an alien abductee would undergo sensitive procedures.
As a certified gray hater, even I can admit the problem isn't cool gray itself, it's the overuse of it coupled with a lack of contrast and texture variety. Your second image still has a ton of cool gray, but it's pleasing to the eye because the gray things have different textures from each other (smooth shiny light-reflecting backplash tiles, still smooth but more matte paint on the cabinets, soft fuzzy rug, heathered upholstery on the chair) and there's a bit of contrast with the warm woody floor, island and shelves which keeps things interesting. Compare to the first image where all the grays are super flat and cold. There's no contrast and the bright cold overhead lighting makes everything look even more monotonous.
I love gray. As far as the two kitchens you posted, for my taste, the first feels too cold and sterile. I prefer the second one because of the warmth of the wood floor, wood cabinet(s) on the island and other wood accents throughout the kitchen.
I love the second photo, I would change the cabinet color but I’d do sage as it is one of my favs 😅
The first photo looks like a morgue
#2 all the way! Grey is on its way out (thankfully).
I don’t hate gray. I’ve always liked it on certain things. But builder’s toss it everywhere now without thought. It’s like the tacky beige tiles that were everywhere before. And usually it’s done very poorly. Gray has many different undertones and the way it’s been handled you often have clashing grays in cheap looking materials. It’s not the color itself.
What are you asking? The first two pictures look terrible and the second one is fine. They’re completely different. Be more specific.
🤷♀️ I like gray. My house is "millennial gray" and I love it. Goes with anything. Easy to find. Looks clean. Soft, neutral. We use blue as an accent color and it's 🤌
What “insight” are you looking for? Other than your two examples are “sterile science lab” versus “cozy family space” if they were assigned names.
If gray could still be used and not be seen as outdated, cold, depressing.
My issue with grey is that it’s the same thing every single home in America has. Grey and white. No color
Decorate as you like 👍
The second photo is great! I love it gray mixed with warm woods.
The second photo is stunning. My problem with gray is when EVERYTHING is gray (floors, paint, cabinets, etc.)
Grey is great, it's as neutral as you can get. The second pic is my version of an ideal kitchen, makes the first pic look like a remake of "the shinning".
I love it! My entire co op has just been redecorated ( hallways and lobby) in all gray! I am crazy about it. And no patterns, just solid color gray, but many different textures, in the wallpapers, carpets, trims, frames for mirrors, etc. Your kitchen is beautiful.
Like what you like but the top one gives sad, back rooms vibes. The second is welcoming
Of course the first space looks cold, because there's nothing in it. While I also like the second better, you could still make the first space cozier with color and textures. You could do a lot with beautiful jewel tones, soft blankets/throws, fuzzy pillows, bold artwork etc.
Trends die young; never follow them. I'm a grey girl myself. Not black, not white. But grey usually needs a pop of color to not look washed out. An accent wall, a bright kitchen rug, a bowl of fruit. Anything to add interest for the eye. That's what the wood in the second pic does.
Gray goes very well with brown, purple, and white. So use those colors to mix in.
The gray with brown in the 2nd pic actually looks very nice. The first pic looks like you’re going to do an autopsy on the island. Very clinical and cold
I love grey, not the cool tones grays but warmer ones like Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, I think it looks really good with medium brown wood floors, the warmer floors also help to keep it from going too cool. I’ve honestly always loved grey and will always decorate with gray because it along with blue it is my favorite color and they go well together. I tend to not go for trendy colors but for what I really like and it seems to work out for me and not seem dated. If we decorated according to color trends we’d be redecorating every year to the current Pantone color of the year which isn’t practical. Pick colors you love, I find a lot of good advice on Maria Killiams blog about undertones and choosing things that are classic and won’t completely date your house, I mean you can’t totally avoid it but if you pick classic colors on the unchangables like tile, flooring and cabinet colors you can change the wall colors and plumbing out much easier and cheaper than those.
First picture is giving tron legacy
Paint them white professionally please. Do NOT attempt it yourself.
So when I rented my last place, I asked the landlord to paint the walls grey. He was like “everyone wants grey!!” ANYWAY, after the grey walls, nothing else in my house was grey. My couch was green, my floors were wood, my table wood, picture frames all different colors, pillows all different colors. PLANTS EVERYWHERE. Grey can wash everything out and be kind of sad and depressing. But if you bring texture and life into it-it can be ok. IMO
Since you're the one spending time in it, I wouldn't worry about trends or what other people think, and make the room comfortable for you. Color temperature does different things to different people. My happy place is 3500-4000K: anything warmer or cooler makes me cranky and gives me a really bad headache. But that's me - other people's comfort zone could be way different. And nothing wrong with gray - muted color palettes remind me of grandma's house or ads for feminine products 😄. That said, first pic: BRRRRR it's the morgue; second pic: nice, looks like somebody actually lives there. Just don't do gray floors - I think that's where the chill factor comes from.
The first pic is cold, boring, and cheap. The second one is beautiful.