Grey doesn’t exactly sound like an appealing colour for the walls. It invokes images of boredom and hospital walls, and yet it is suddenly becoming the colour of choice for kitchens across the country and for one good reason. Grey is the colour that is being lifted straight off the walls of TV’s Downton Abbey.
Ok, so it might be coming from the servants’ quarters below stairs but it is still proving to be very popular. It turns out that the paint in question is still available. It’s made by Myland’s, a paint maker who has been making it since 1884 and supplying Pinewood Studios – hence the Downton connection.
It’s called Empire grey and really evokes a period of British history that Downton has come to represent. Ok, so life during that period was probably not all as lovely as the show makes out but the colour is very classical and epitomises the period. If there is one thing that people love in their homes, then it is period features. However, if you aren’t lucky enough to have cornicing, rosettes and a timber Georgian front door, then a lick of paint is a good substitute. Of course, if you do have these existing features, then some Empire grey on the walls will really complete the job.
The colour of Mrs Patmore’s kitchen may not be for everybody but some of the colours from upstairs are proving popular too. It seems that we British are very nostalgic and fond of the design styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The classic Georgian colours have an elegance and class about them that rarely goes out of style. All it takes is one period drama to bring a colour back into fashion.
Could grey work on your walls? Would it accentuate your period features or are you happy to stick with magnolia. Why not buy a tester pot and find out?