Dream Homemakeovers and Grey is Back

We made it back at last. What with Sophie having to do the voiceovers for her show, me on a book deadline and Covid striking our producer it took longer to get going than we thought and it was back to the duvet dens  last week for our recording of The Great Indoors Podcast …

To kick off the new series I introduced Sophie to the delights of Wordle and, in return, she told me about her moth infestation. Which was nice although we did talk about deterrents for this common problem. We also discussed her new show and the return of grey… specifically Elephant’s Breath which was, apparently, Farrow & Ball’s most searched for colour last year. I know!

This soft grey shade was launched in 2005 and has been hugely popular ever since. In 2009 I wrote a piece for The Independent in which Dulux announced that grey was overtaking the traditional magnolia and shades of taupe to become one of its most popular colours. Oh how I laughed. I was laughing less by 2016 when I wrote my first book Shades of Grey and my entire house was painted in, well, three shades of it.

By 2018, grey was starting to pass on and when Sophie and I launched the podcast in October of that year she declared it dead. I, with more prescience – even if I do say so myself – said it was merely having a lie down.

And so it has proved. Grey is BACK. Apparently. Or rather it has never gone away. The Times wrote a piece on its return and the new issue of Living Etc has just dropped through my door with a glossy trends pull-out featuring, yes, grey.

Farrow & Ball are tipping Elephant’s Breath to be their best-selling shade of 2022 while Coat Paints, founded in 2020, say grey is massive for them as it finds a new audience. So what do you think? There is no grey in my house any more but I have written about how to pick the right shade in this, the most popular post of all time in 10 years of the blog, if you fancy a go either for the first time or a return. Or perhaps you haven’t changed your décor and have just sat out the cycle and find yourself back at the top again.

Now in complete contrast, for a word about Sophie’s Dream Home Makeovers (Channel 5 Wednesdays at 7pm). Not just a chance to fill this post with more colour but also because, for once, it’s an interiors programme that has no element of game show to it. There’s no competition and no winners or losers. Applicants bring their own money and ask for help with their décor (there’s no building either beyond carpentry).

And if you’re worried that Sophie is a little colourful for your style I present exhibit no 1: in the first episode she created a black room. In the third a room of neutrals (which she found quite stressful to be fair!).

“It’s not about making telly for entertainment – although clearly that is a factor – but about working with the client to come up with something they want,” she says.

“From the first visit I’m looking for little clues and a hook to hang my scheme on. What didn’t make the final edit of the black room was that the owner had just ordered a black kitchen so I knew they would like it. I was working with them and listening to them all the way through although a lot of that doesn’t make the final edit.

“It was a huge room, with a massive telly and they wanted a speakeasy vibe. It was the first time I had ever wrapped a room in black.”

In the second episode, Sophie tackles colour blocking for a professional set designer who was very particular about the quality of the paint used. They opted for Benjamin Moore who have a range that will cover both walls and woodwork which will save money as you don’t have to buy a separate tin for the skirting boards and end up with lots of leftovers.

“Other people need a lot of hand-holding with their schemes but we look at mood boards, and planning and I hope the show educates viewers on colour and layout and gives the homeowners the knowledge to do the rest of their homes.

“Obviously on tv we need the reveal so it’s about spending a lot of money in one go but you don’t have to do that. You can save and do a bit at a time.”

And, of course if you invest the time you will plan and get it right and you won’t have to spend money doing it again because you will taken the time to get it right first go so any changes might just be a question of repainting the walls rather than having to move them.

But of course last night was all about John and Leslie, whose home was in several shades of grey with the odd colourful cushion.

“I thought they might be afraid of colour so I presented a gentle scheme to them and, in a first for me, they said: ‘that’s a bit disappointing’ so we went for it! And I will say that when I first met her she was tight and anxious and by the time we had finished her whole body language had changed.”

Mind you if grey really is back, I wonder if Leslie will feel tempted to get the brushes back out? And on that note I will leave you but keep an eye out for a fleeting appearance of The Mad House in episode 5.