Fifty Shades of Gray

Fifty Shades of Gray

The color gray evokes many things—old age, a cloudy day, the debate on whether to spell it with an “a” or an “e.” Gray is the color of business, of industry, yet over the past decade it has become the most popular color in home interior design—how did that happen?

In Medieval times, gray was associated with poverty because it was the color of undyed wool, for this reason it was also worn by monks to symbolize their vows of poverty. Gray climbed social classes during the Renaissance, when black became the color of nobility in Europe and gray was used to compliment it in both art and fashion.

Over the past decade, gray has dominated interior design. You can’t step foot into a newly remodeled apartment without seeing gray walls, a gray kitchen backsplash, and gray wood floors. If you go to any growing city in the US, you’ll drive past countless identical gray apartment complexes. Pantone even chose the shade “Ultimate Gray” as their color of the year in 2021.

Despite its undeniable popularity, gray’s negative connotations have not been fully left in the past, color psychologist Karen Haller said that “gray is the only color that doesn’t have any positive psychological qualities.” If that’s the case, then why do we cover our homes in it? Since it comes in so many different shades, gray is a much more versatile neutral than the creams and whites that were in fashion before it. It’s the perfect backdrop for bold pops of color (or in some cases, darker shades of gray). In short: it’s a simple, versatile starting place for the design of any room