Whether it is grey paint, grey carpet or a grey sofa, there is no escaping the fact that the neutral shade continues to be a crowd-pleaser in our homes. However, according to Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen many of us in the UK are guilty of not using the colour properly when brainstorming grey living room ideas.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen sprung onto our screens in the late 90s on Changing Rooms. The champion of colour, maximalism and glamour has returned to the Changing Rooms reboot on Channel 4 in all his leather trouser-ed glory.
Despite his fondness for colour, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is an unlikely member of the grey fan club. However, while a fan of the colour he says that in many cases the 'greynaissance' has gone too far.
There is a fine line between using it well and committing a serious interior design crime.
Changing Rooms, Wednesday 18th August at 8pm, Channel 4 and All 4
'Grey is the most incredibly good colour for your rooms,' explains Laurence. 'But the thing is, you just don't stop there, grey is about bone structure and once you've got a grey room you’ve then got to add colour and personality to it.'
'I think the United Kingdom forgot to turn the page on that particular interior decoration manual. Paint it grey, it looks bigger, it creates light but, actually, on the other side of the page is, whatever you do, make sure that you put in a bit of raspberry or a bit of emerald or a bit of banana or just bring in something that will actually bring it to life.'
In recent years thanks to celebrities such as Mrs Hinch showcasing their pristine wall-to-wall grey interiors, monochrome grey schemes have filled our Instagram feeds. Rather than forgetting to turn the page in a manual, it seems many of us were trapped in a colourless epidemic not knowing how to pair anything other than white with grey.
Colours that go with grey in any room are not hard to find. Like Laurence says it is the perfect neutral backdrop to bright hues such as yellow, ochre, indigo blue and green.
Laurence explains that a large part of his mission on the latest iteration of Changing Rooms is to make Britain bright again.
'It is about bringing colour back into our interiors because it's about fun. I want people to understand that expressing your personality through the place you live is extraordinary,' he says.
If the latest episode of Changing Rooms was anything to go by we predict the colour revolution could be closer than we think. So next time you're planning grey bedroom ideas follow Laurence's advice and consider throwing in a bit of banana.
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