I don’t! :) I think grey is a great, cool-toned neutral. I have used SW Lattice throughout much of my home, and the counters on my kitchen perimeter, my fireplace surround, and master bath counters are Carrara marble...which is white with a lot of grey. I do think people became adverse to what Restoration Hardware has been showing for the past 5 or so years....that complete, greyed-out, concrete color everywhere, on every finish. The catalogues had such a depressing look to them. I thought many of the things were lovely, but in totality...the effect was a bit grim.

I have no problem with WLT...I don’t have it and wouldn’t want it in my home, but I don’t think it is a bad choice. It might even be the best choice for a beach house. I think the grey wood look tile is somewhat of a trend, similar to how the really dark, espresso wood floors were. The problem is...while real wood can be re-sanded and re-stained when that finish becomes passé...the tile is there until it is removed via crowbar. That is why I think people encourage others to choose at least a color of wood that is more like, well, a real color of wood! :)

I have never been a gray lover, but I definitely acknowledge that it is a neutral and classic. I think the reason so many say it is a trend is really just because it was so everywhere all over non stop. I guess for people like me who aren't drawn to it, when it is so much around (as it was for a while) it doesn't sit well.

I can definitely admire it when done well, and for the wood look tile, I actually put some in my house we just sold (though it was brown) and I also think it's a wonderful product. (especially for kitchen/bath).

I think when things become so popular and everywhere, there is a moment or two where it's in heyday and after that maybe the masses (myself included) want something else.

But again I totally think it's a neutral. I remember 40 years ago (almost) trying to find neutral colors for wall to wall carpeting and it was simply beige or gray.

I don't really think of specific colors as trendy. Neutral palettes have been in for many years, maybe because they work so well. It's kind of like a cliche - the reason cliches become cliches is because they work. In my house, I mixed trends with classics. My walls are gray, but my cabinets are white. I also used warm stained wood and black and silver. I prefer variety over perfectly matched spaces. It all depends on what YOU like. Don't let trends dictate your aesthetic too much, because in the end, you have to live in the house, not the "experts."

My kitchen (new 2 years ago) has gray cabinets and gray walls. It is NOT open concept. I chose gray as it was the best for my house. I would have loved a white kitchen, but with my huge bay window and a full west exposure, it would have been blinding in the winter when the leaves are gone from the trees behind my house. It also works well with the adjoining rooms.

But I have no other gray rooms in my house unless one counts the entrance hall which has a solid metallic pewter wallpaper. That was chosen (after months of samples!) after a pipe broke in the ceiling above and damaged all the wallpaper in the small entrance hall. It did not damage the same paper that went up the stairs and was also in the upstairs hall. Of course, that paper had been discontinued! I really liked that paper and didn't want the expense of removing it and having new paper hung (involved scaffolding on my stairway - could not do it myself even 33 years ago!). So, finding something that "played nicely" with that wallpaper was essential, and the pewter metallic paper does. It was actually a background paper for a Clarence House hand painted paper. It's also in the back hall (which leads to the kitchen), under a chair rail, Farrow & Ball's "Bumble Bees" paper is above. In the DR on the other side of the kitchen, the walls are a tone-on-tone Cole's bottle green striped paper. The curtains are Colefax & Fowler's "Bowood" chintz which has a bit of gray in it.

So, it works in my house (very traditionally decorated and a 1948 house). Will some young buyer (whose entire knowledge of interior design was learned from watching HGTV) someday think it's "dated"? Probably. I could care less. I did this kitchen for ME and for what worked best in my house.

As for the wood-look tile, well, I just don't like it. If I use tile, I prefer it look like tile. If I want wood, I'll use wood, but that's me. If I were using wood-look tile somewhere (such as in my basement), I would chose a mid-tone brown wood, not gray. I do think that gray stained floors are trendy, plus I find them very unattractive. I prefer to follow nature. Yes, there is driftwood in nature that is gray, but one would not turn driftwood into a floor.

One can do what one wants in ones own home. If one does not intend to live there long, and the house is in a subdivision, venturing very far from what others do in that neighborhood, may make the house harder to sell someday. People who buys such homes really prefer to have their own homes look pretty much like those of their neighbors. Actually, that's true in most neighborhoods, new subdivision or not. In my neighborhood, most of the houses are decorated very traditionally, with lots of antiques used. No, they don't follow a particular trend, just a general style that is preferred by people who are attracted to this neighborhood.

Well, gray did become "trendy" in that it was suddenly very popular and we started seeing saturation use in areas that we really hadn't see it all that much for decades - like on cabinets, and furniture (BTW I still own my bedroom set from the 1950s that was "Swedish Modern" and originally stained gray), floors, walls and window treatments. And I think that trend has peaked. Another color scheme will come into vogue, never fear, but...

I agree that many elements of the gray trend will stick around, just because they do work so well and look so good. Gray, or at least, gray-brown toned wood look flooring is one IMO. We just might see the gray pendulum swing in favor of warmer grays, or lighter or darker, or less prominent use, but it will stick around.

I found myself accidentally on trend with my gray living room, stairwell, powder room hall and guest bedroom, and my coral dining room, all of which I painted when we moved into our current home 10 years ago while everything was still beige, but gray was just beginning to creep into higher end stores. I could find a handful of gray couches that I liked, just couldn’t afford the high end price tag. Now I have to hope we can replace the beige one we settled for before gray is gone again! We were also slightly ahead of the trend turning to lighter wood floors...we have almost natural white oak, so we should be good for another 10 years at least

Gray works well for me because I like bright clean colors with no brown or black in them. I have a lot of bright art on the walls in my living room. I painted a lemon yellow first and it looked like a kindergarten classroom. My husband reluctantly agreed we needed to repaint a neutral, and gray was the winner. We are ready to put a fresh coat of paint on, and it will be exactly the same. The bonus of the gray trend is that it’s been easier for me to find accessories that work with my color scheme.

Gray was big in the 80s, but then it was mixed with colors like mint green and light pink. That’s the combo that comes across as dated now. When gray really is dated next time, it won’t be the gray itself. It will be how it’s used and what it’s combined with.

Now let’s talk about my gold cabinet pulls...totally trendy, totally don’t care. Cheap and easy to fix.

Final thoughts...if you look back and see your previous decor has followed trends, consider using gray in easily changeable ways, like walls. If you just love it and you’re not planning to sell, do what you love

(Got my paragraphs out of order but can’t fix them now for some reason. Sorry)

Another note and then I swear I’m done. Generally speaking, grAy is the American spelling while it’s usually grEy in the UK. Both are correct in the dictionary.

It's "grey" in Canada. But as more than one in five Canadians are foreign born, according to the 2016 Census, that may be bound to change.

My new build is to be clad in smooth-faced grey brick. As it's the most expensive colour to produce--though not one in a hundred buyers will know that--it's not trendy.

I remember when took frosh year rhetoric in college. My professor said, When you are finished writing something and you look back at the sentence and think it is particularly good, it's probably trite or cliched. Try again. That is the danger of gray right now. It's been done a lot and depending on the circumstances it can look perfect, but it can look like a Twothousand Teens cliche pretty easily.

For sure stay away from that wood look tile in gray.

If I had gray walls in my LR and several other rooms as well, I would not choose a gray sofa as well. Gray is a great BACKGROUND neutral. It should not be the entire story.

We have a lot of vivid color in other places. Armchairs, area rug, throws, art. Lapis lazuli marmoleum in the adjacent kitchen. Don’t want beige. Don’t want white with kids and a dog. With color everywhere else I don’t need one on the couch. I’m an artist and cake decorator. I’m good with colors. Thanks for your concern.

Doesn’t the popularity pendulum swing back and forth every 10 years?

Blue was the rage in the 90s, beige early 2000s, gray starting about 2010.

Gray is never going away its as someone said oversatured in the market at this time and in some cases within a room.

in nature you have broad strokes of colors like blue, white, earthtones like brown, gray, beige, green etc. Then you have specials pops of color like red from roses or golden yellow from an aspen.

Coming back to read the comments again, and honestly I think for the most part, the discussion on this thread is set apart from the general use because people are obviously giving it thought and perspective. It has kind of clarified to me at least, that the "dated" and "trend" aspect really applies more to the market saturation and over-use..... the blind purchasing because it's new and on trend. Giving thought to its use, yes- it;s very likely well done.

townlakecakes - May I ask where you got that rug? I really like it and looking for something similar for my foyer (with gray walls!).

gthigpen - it’s from Rugs USA. Its just a cheap polyester rug, but I love the colors. I have 2 others in my kitchen that are Nuloom, all a similar color scheme. https://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-beena-medallion/Orange/200RZNL05A-P.html

I don't think of things necessarily as "trendy" - I feel like the gray explosion of cabinetry is going to be tagged to the mid 2000 teens... SO in 2030 , the gray kitchens or the white with the white and gray quartz counters will register as being done in 2016 - 2019...

I encourage people to put in what you love. Unless you are flipping a house - then use the current "trend" for quicker sale as long as it fits the style of the home!

Just think back to all the nice centerhall colonials with the Almond laminate slab door that had the oak pull along the bottom!

Make your kitchen suite your home - bring your style in through your backsplash, paint color , light fixtures, handles and accessories - this way you can change as your style changes...

I will speak to the grey tiles in wood-look. I do not feel the "wood look" tile is over. It is very popular so it will continue for a long, long time. The concern with tile (any tile) is that it is PERMANENT and EXPENSIVE to install. And then, just for fun, it is expensive to remove should you ever tire of it. Most tile has a 25 year life expectancy. That being said, many people tire of their tiles (regardless of presentation) after 15 years or so. And that's when they are ready for a change....only to find out how expensive tile is to remove.

So....when it comes to warnings about "grey wood look tiles", you are actually being warned about the PERMANENT design solution you are about to create. Since grey (as a hot design fad) is quickly losing steam (first it was greige, then dark grey/charcoal, and then light grey). The lightest version of grey is white. And that's where the trendy designs are already moving away from as well (white was SUPER hot 2-3 years ago...but impractical so only the super rich were able to get away with it).

Now the design pendulum has swung away from 'cool' tones and is warming up once again. Floors are still light, but now they are moving towards NATURAL tones such as natural oak, natural pine, natural birch, beech, etc. Think Scandinavian Modern flooring (very pale yellow toned floors).

For the reasons above, the warning against grey wood look tiles is multifaceted. The 'trend' is away from grey...and even white is past its prime. Now the cool tones are moving to pale warm tones with natural wood elements. A permanent grey floor is going to lock you into 15 - 20 years of colour. That's what the warning is all about.

I don't mind gray, and it can be lovely in the right room. It's all in how it's done. If the whole space and tones are all gray, it can become quite depressing and cold. It needs life like all colors. If you love gray and it's complimenting your space, I think that's perfectly fine. If you're reasoning is just because it's the in thing, I think that crosses over to trendy.

"trends exist to make people feel badly about what they don't have" -not sure who said this, but it's so true.

interesting article on gray I recently read....

https://laurelberninteriors.com/2018/09/18/horrid-gray-trend/

Gray works best in rooms with “walls” - no floating furniture. It is given life with bright polished metals like brass and copper, warm woods like antique mahogany, color from books and porcelains, from colorful oriental rugs, beautiful curtains, and mostly by not having enormous, bulky sectionals or sofas that are also gray.

Me? I just prefer more warmth in my house.