How to use grey fabric in your room scheme without over-greying your home.

We love the continued trend for grey as a base colour for interior room schemes. Trend forecasters also predict it will continue into future seasons. It can be tempting however to over-grey our homes, making them gloomy and depressing - especially noticeable on those British rainy days! Grey walls, grey fabric, grey flooring??

So what is the trick to using grey fabric?

The trick is to use your fabric or walls as part of a balanced scheme. Consider the wall, woodwork and ceiling colours and if you select grey fabric consider the tone of grey. Consider the colour of your lamps and accessories as well as your soft furnishings. If you are using grey fabric for all your upholstery and soft furnishings, paint your walls a contrast colour - even if it is a tone of white.  Keep it fresh.

Farrow & Ball do a great range of soft grey tones that compliment our grey fabrics: Amonite, Cornforth White and Pavillion Grey to name a few. They also have a selection of warm whites, as do the Paint & Paper library - we love their warm white tone: Stone I as it blends well with the warm white base colour of our printed linens. It isn't too yellow in tone - some warms white/cream paints can look really yellow next to grey fabric.   Alternatively a grey tone of taupe or stone can warm up your grey scheme - try Farrow & Ball's Purbeck stone with our Rock Grey Fabric.

If you do want to decorate your walls with greys our Meadowlands Collection features some lovely subtle accent colours that can be added as cushions, accent edges and just subtly in cushion piping. These blend beautifully with our grey fabric. Petal is a soft pink that works well with our Rock grey fabric. Dew is a soft blue/grey fabric tone which again blends well with Rock Grey. Inky Sky looks lovely with our Rock grey or pebble grey fabric, adding depth and definition. This scheme can look be quite smart and urban or be schemed to create a coastal vibe with grey fabric as a base. Our Camomile yellow printed linen is a lovely accent to our rock grey fabric.

Use accessories and lighting that add accent light or colour to your grey scheme.  We will soon be introducing ready made lampshades in 3 different drum shades and a selection of colours. Lampshades are a fresh, instant way to brighten your grey scheme with a contrast colour, even if your favourite colour is grey. Above all bear in mind that your environment can lift/dampen your mood - use grey wisely and you’ll enjoy a balanced, on-trend interior.   

Zoe.