Kate Watson Smyth - Shades of Grey: Decorating with the Most Elegant of Neutrals

SHADES

OF GREY

SHADES

OF GREY

DECORATING WITH THE MOST ELEGANT OF NEUTRALS

KATE WATSON-SMYTH

SENIOR DESIGNER Toni Kay

SENIOR COMMISSIONING EDITOR Annabel Morgan

PICTURE RESEARCH Christina Borsi

PRODUCTION MANAGER Gordana Simakovic

ART DIRECTOR Leslie Harrington

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Julia Charles

PUBLISHER Cindy Richards

First published in 2016.

This revised edition published in 2019 by Ryland Peters & Small

2021 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW

and

341 East 116th Street, New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text copyright Kate Watson-Smyth 2016, 2019

Design and photographs copyright

Ryland Peters & Small 2016, 2019

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-78879-124-3

E-ISBN 978-1-78879-331-5

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress CIP data has been applied for.

Printed and bound in China

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Theres no doubt about it, grey is the shade of the moment. Restaurants, shops and homes are coated in it. Theres not an interior decorating programme that doesnt use it. And never mind 50 shades the human eye can, its been claimed, detect more than 500. As can the average paint chart. And if you thought the whole grey thing was about to be over, I refer you to global paint giant Dulux, who have just expanded their range of greys and now offer 557 in total. Everyone wants to paint their houses grey at the moment, says Karen Haller, a colour expert who teaches industry professionals the science of applied colour psychology, but its one of the most difficult shades to get right because of the colours that lie beneath.

No wonder that in past years we all just slapped a pot of cream paint on the wall, then hastily turned on the TV. But everythings changed now. To start with, were much more design-savvy. And the global economic crisis has meant that, for the first time in years, were decorating our homes to live in them and not just to be attractive to prospective buyers. A decade ago, we redecorated every three years; its now between every five to seven years. So we need to actually put some thought into our choice of paint colour and work out what we like, because we are going to be living with it for a while.

Nowadays, entire careers are built on colour consultancy, psychology and therapy. There are specialists and technologists where once there were simply painters and decorators. Research, albeit of the very unscientific lets-just-check-on-Twitter variety, shows that amateur decorators (thats you and me) try an average of nine different shades before they get it right. And the final colour, which may look grey on the wall, is probably called smoky blue. Thats if its not referencing small furry animals, Hollywood film stars or dead fish.

Shades of Grey will reveal the difference between grey and gray and discover why it has become such a dominant trend in modern interiors. No blushes will be spared in sharing other peoples (oh all right, my) mistakes so that you can get it right. We will discover, once and for all, how to use those pesky sample pots to best advantage, and whether its worth splashing the cash on pricey paint. Armed with this book, youll be able to find the perfect shade of grey, and you can put the money you save on sample pots towards going somewhere hot and sunny, where grey is the colour furthest from your mind

Context is everything; you never see grey in isolation. There will always be other colours around it from furniture, paintings, or a person's possessions, so it will always change in different environments.

Simon March, founder of Colour Makes People Happy

GOING GREY

Grey is no passing fad. But it is one of the hardest colours to get right when it comes to decorating your home. To find the best shade, you need to consider which direction your room faces, what time of day you will be in there, the prevailing weather (even the hemisphere makes a difference) and last of all (in fact, lets be honest, least of all) the actual shade you like.

At this point, I should issue an apology to all those who were expecting something a little racier on the subject of shades of grey.

No, this isnt that book. But you may well get a little breathless when you realize that you cant paint your north-facing sitting room in Gauze (as the entire family will sink into a depression) but have to make do with Moles Breath instead.

So how do you choose the right shade of grey? Its not as simple as buying a pot of paint and slapping it on the wall. If it were that easy, you wouldnt be reading this book. If it were that easy, I wouldnt have had to write this book just so that I can finish decorating the kitchen.