I don't profess to being an Interior Designer but having spent the last 25 years around fabrics you get to see trends unfold in front of you. Grey over the last two years has been such a popular colour that it is difficult not to blog about why it is so popular for interiors. Dulux now offer 557 different shades of grey, apparently there were only 50 but Dulux would clearly disagree! When grey first came to prominence a couple of years back we noticed that they were just titled grey oilcoth or pvc vinyl. Now we have smoke grey tablecloth, dove grey tablecloth and stone grey tablecloth to name but a few. As Oilcloth is perfect for making things such as handbags, make-up bags and other fashion accessories this too could be a contributing factor to its popularity.
A quick search of the Internet will see lots and lots of articles about how and why grey is so popular. There really are some interesting takes on it. I found one article that called grey the new magnolia! I think that might be slightly true as magnolia has always had a bit of a one size fits all reputation and the first love of every landlord I've met!
We see it everyday with our range of Oilcloths, PVC Vinyls and Acrylics and looking into this a bit further most designers agree that grey's neutrality are what win it so many fans. Put it simple, it doesn't take over a room that some brighter colours do which allows you to accesorise better and add colour through things such as plant pots, lamp shades and tableware. Wipe Clean Tablecloths are no different, we have seen a huge increase in orders for our range of plain wipe clean tablecloth and especially grey. This again allows people to break up the space presented by a plain tablecloth. We have seen some stunning table layouts with flowers, plant pots, place mats and even cutlery. Having the neutral colour in the background probably allows you to go s bit more extreme with your choice of accessories.
One of reasons out there for the popularity is our use of more LCD, halogen and low energy lighting give out a cooler more subdued effect than the old tungsten 'yellow' bulbs we used to use. With the introduction of more use of glass, stainless steel, concrete and slate it's easy to see where grey fits in. When designing our exclusive range of cotton fabrics and oilcloths we placed a real emphasis on greys, earthy browns and taupes as this is simply what a lot of people are asking for.
So there you have it, whilst not an Interior Designer I hope I have given you my idle ramblings of why grey is so popular and that 'Grey Needn't be Grey"