How to use grey tones to decorate your house

Grey tones are increasingly popular with homewares, wallpaper, paints and furnishings but getting the look just right isn’t easy.  

No-one wants to create a bland space, so how do you add touches of grey without overdoing it?

Is grey a colour?

“Grey is really anywhere between black and white.  It’s important when people decorate with grey, they need to think about it from the full range of greys,” says stylist and interiors expert Naomi Findlay.

“In our kitchens, the greys are coming in more and more.  There are some gorgeous grey ceramics out there at the moment as well as great artworks that are monochromatic,” she says.

Grey tones can now be found in everything from soft cushions to couches to bathroom items,  with grey becoming the new neutral colour in many homes.

Blue grey

Interior designer Royston Wilson says grey is so versatile it can be used as a neutral colour in the home as people strive for a unique look.

“It (grey) is used a lot as a neutral.  It’s nice to have a change from beige isn’t it?” he says.

“Lately we’ve been getting into cool greys towards blue as the under colour.”

Add texture and detail

With the grey trend taking off, there is no shortage of homeware items and furnishing options now available in grey at a variety of price points, Findlay says.

Findlay – who has four grey lounges, grey rugs, dinning chairs and a grey office at her place – says the key is to add texture and detail.

Next big colour: Why it’s all yellow

“So you might choose to have a textured grey wallpaper with metallic silver studs on your couch,” she says.

“Instead of people thinking about what colour to add (with grey tones), think about what element to add instead, like wood or metallics,” she says.

Metallic grey with wood

The key to decorating with grey is to recognise the tones underneath, says Wilson.

“The most important thing to be aware of with grey tones – it isn’t really a colour- so look for the underneath tones.  Make sure you put warm grey with warm tones and cool grey with cool tones,” he says.

“If you’re using warm timber tones with orange tones then cool grey with blue and purple undertones goes beautifully together,” he says.

Orange/tan wood with grey

Top tips

Balancing out greys with other textures and subtle detailing can lift the look and feel of spaces decorated or painted grey.

Using a variety of grey tones in the one space can break things up.

“You can accessorise with other colours, it’s so easy to accessorise.  It’s interesting that we aren’t using really strong, vibrant colours like we used before,” says Wilson.

Retro decor: Australian kitchens by decade

Wilson recommends getting the right flooring to match the tones in the greys you plan to decorate because “it gives you grounding”.

Too much grey can be a problem, according to Findlay who says there can be a tendency to overwhelm spaces with nothing but grey.

“Make sure the hard spaces you don’t want to change (i.e. flooring or walls) in the home work with grey.  Make sure you have contrast and texture or you could feel like you’re living in a concrete jungle,” Findlay says.

Bathroom makeover: $50 bargain style hack

“Make sure you add interest and detail.  So it might be that you want to put in metallic pot plants for example,” she says.

Using a variety of grey tones in the one space can break things up.

“You may choose to have a textured grey wallpapers with metallic studs on your couch,” she says.

wallpaper

Grey options

Looking for some inspiration? Here are a few looks our interiors experts love that feature grey tones.

Wilson recommends taking note of the use of greys in these bathrooms put together by Bubbles Bathrooms.

 The use of grey tones here helps to create a great bathroom look.  Picture: Bubbles Bathrooms

Grey tones are used effectively in this bathroom with wood and ceramic elements. Picture: Bubbles Bathrooms

Here are Naomi’s favourite examples of grey homewares and interiors.

greylook1
greykitchen
greydiningroom