I was just watching the B&B caretaker episode. I had to laugh when Jo was doing her computer design presentation. She said "On the exterior, we're going to clean it up; we're going to give it a fresh, fun paint color..." as she showed them a picture of yet another gray paint scheme. Yep, nothing says fresh and fun like gray.
shareLOL! That said, I think she does a better job on the exteriors than the interiors. She pretty much has to leave them in their original mode, while the interiors she rips apart to fit her preconceived "style."
shareI was just saying on the Property Brothers board that I think Joanna must have a warehouse full of grey paint to get rid of because it's the only color she uses lately.
shareIt's practically the only color the Property Bros. use too. I happen to like it but there's no getting away from the fact both shows use it constantly. Possibly that's because older homes don't tend to let in as much light as modern ones, so silvery gray tones tend to bounce light around nicely, make rooms seem larger, and also compliment almost anything you want to use for flooring and furniture.
Still, if using grey is a popular current trend it will ID the decade in which the remodel was done unless and until some owner repaints. Kind of like the horrific "avocado" appliances and orange shag carpets ID houses done in the 1960s. At least grey doesn't keep you up nights.
I find Joanna's love for and use of neutrals to be extremely refreshing. And sensible.
You can always add other pieces to a room for a splash of color. But if you paint an entire room a color like orange or lime green, you are unreasonably restricted as far as what will look acceptable in that room. And it will be dated VERY quickly. I have the feeling that ten years from now, people will walk into homes with rooms painted magenta or teal and know immediately that the color was applied during the 2010s, when people watched a lot of HGTV and took their cues from the shows that often pushed vibrant "fun" colors for interior living.
Neutrals are the way to go, for me. And neutrals need not always mean a completely desaturated gray tone. Taupe, mushroom, beige are warmer tones and accomplish the same neutral feel. Your walls shouldn't scream at you, should never be the most attention grabbing feature in the room.
You make some good points. The house did look very nice with the gray paint. I just thought it was funny that she called it "fresh and fun."
share"nothing says fresh and fun like gray."
That's the motto of the U.S. Navy.