Colour of the month Light Grey - August 2018

“Grey. It makes no statement whatever; it evokes neither feelings nor associations: it is really neither visible nor invisible. Its inconspicuousness gives it the capacity to mediate, to make visible, in a positively illusionistic way, like a photograph. It has the capacity that no other colour has, to make ‘nothing’ visible”

— Edy de Wilde, 23 February 1975 SOURCE

Colour of the month Light Grey - August 2018

The colour grey is a constant topic of discussion if you live in a city like London (or just about any metropolis in the world) where most of the architecture and skyline is saturated with it. 

Grey concrete floors, grey buildings and the never-ending reference to "how grey the skies are" usually linked to "how heavy/cloudy/miserable the weather is today,” are permanent features of London life. I have therefore decided to take a more optimist look at the various aspects of grey, and have chosen its lighter hues for my colour of the month.

Grey is a perfect neutral colour, which is refined, chic, sleek and elegant. It can be paired beautifully with deep, rich, bright tones for a dynamic statement, or with pastels for a more sophisticated look in your home. 

Walk into a tree-lined garden along a pebbled pathway, through a beautiful and simple concrete archway, to a brushed cement or marble floored corridor.   Adorn a wall with miniature semi-abstract landscapes framed into a square or a single circular watercolour print of a cloudy landscape with veins of shocking blue running through it. For lighting, wire birdcage like lamps hanging from the ceiling, and then add some wonderful elegance to the room with an ancient Cypriot goddess sculpture carved in stone. Digitally printed abstract stripes in multiple shades of grey silk nestle perfectly on clean, baby corduroy covered cosy armchairs and sofas. Leather foliage embossed wallpaper with the faintest hint of grey bring a bit of outdoors in. 

Add touches of grey glass vases in varying shades throughout the house, in every room from the lounge to the kitchen.  For dining pieces, look for subtly designed ceramic plates with embossed patterned rims, and handcrafted glazed bowls and mugs. Experiment with paisley printed napkins and tablecloths, and maybe some polygon kitchen tiles in various patterns for one section of the kitchen wall.

Give the bathroom a clean, slick appearance and create a calm and relaxing mood by using grey marble or stone tiles for the walls and floor, and a touch of brass for fixtures. Printed, abstract patterned shower curtains work well against a plain background. Finish the bathroom off with a finely woven wicker mat.

For the bedroom, experiment with a neutral palette of greys; pillowcases in cotton, bed sheets with ombre abstract patterns and duvet covers with fine ticking stripes. A finely woven, cashmere blanket placed over your bed and single colour rugs on stone or marble flooring will bring your bedroom together.

With a little imagination, grey can be the opposite of dull…!