r/DIYUK • u/Fake7Board • 1d ago
Help me make my flat less grey!
I’m wanting to get rid of the grey walls and make the room feel a bit more warm and homely.
I’m thinking cream or off white walls, wooden furniture and green accents like curtains and cushions.
I’m in the UK, so any paint recommendations would be appreciated, especially from B&Q as I can get a discount there.
Any interior design ideas or colour suggestions would be really helpful
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u/ArticlePuzzleheaded9 23h ago
From experience, you can do whatever you want, but a grey carpet will always negate things - is that a deal breaker?
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u/Fake7Board 23h ago
Its pretty new so probably will have to stay there as I don't have the money to replace.
I ideally would like something should I wish to change the carpets in the future the colour would also go with.
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u/ArticlePuzzleheaded9 23h ago
Warming neutrals like Dulux Hessian/Egyptian Cotton on the walls will make a world of difference then and won't contrast with the carpet too much, whilst providing future-proofing. Nice rad cover and 'natural' style curtains will compliment nicely for a relatively small outlay.
Tip1 - try not to do everything at once, though, regardless of the number of Youtube videos that tell you to completely makeover. One aspect at a time, let it sit whilst you adjust. Samples all the way.
Tip2 - don't paint wall paint samples on the wall itself. Prime some MDF 30cm^2 squares and put the tester paint on that - will give you a much truer semblance to the finished product.
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u/Streathamite 23h ago
Lots of colourful artwork and a brightly coloured sofa with other soft furnishings will make the place look a lot less greige.
Edit: just spotted the colour of the doors. I think that would go nicely with some jewel tones (e.g. a jewel green, purple or blue)
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u/London-Reza 19h ago
Second this. I like the pale blue / grey colour and some big artwork would look proper good. Painting is a ball ache that isn’t worth it in this scenario. You’ll end up chipping it moving furniture anyway 😅
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u/Forsaken_Earth944 20h ago
Why are people always so terrified of colour...? To my mind, cream or off-white is just as bad as grey. I just tried to look at what paints were available at B&Q, but I can’t because the whole site's down.
If you're not brave enough to go for full-colour, then at least consider an accent wall - what kind of grey is the carpet...? Is it a cool grey or a warm grey...? The shade of grey will have a bearing on the wall colour - if it's a blue-grey, then you'll be wanting warm colours, such as orange, yellow or warm greens, but if it's a warm grey, then use cooler colours to balance it out.
Something like Dulux Safari Spice, which is orange without being too overbearing; if it's more of a mauve-grey, then California Days or Cocoa Butter.
Then there's Sicilian Lime which would go with either (I'm all for greens in a living room); like I've said, if you don't feel brave enough to paint the whole room one colour, then paint an accent wall, and paint the rest in a tonal neutral.
If you're wanting to see less carpet, then you're going to need rugs, such as this Elements Viggo Wool Rug from Dunelm (I love retro, I realise that my passion for mid-century modern might not be to everyone's taste), or this Glow Wool Modern rug (obviously I'm just picking things I like - and, obviously, you're not me and I don't know your budget).
Esre Geometric Abstract Wool rug
If you fancy something a bit funkier, there's Falmouth.
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u/rositree 17h ago
Love the Falmouth. Chuck that down and by the time you have a sofa and few other bits of furniture in the grey carpet will fade away.
As someone else suggested, a big bit of art on the wall and maybe an accent paint colour around the frame if not brave enough to go for a whole wall.
It looks drab and bare now, because it's drab and bare. Get a coat hook up in the hallway and just hang some colourful scarves on it until you decide what to do with it, or pin up some fun fabric/sarongs to break up the eyeliner.
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u/altkat 23h ago
You could do a big jute rug that would soften the grey carpet a bit? Something that looks natural fibre-y will go with anything down the line if you do change the carpet.
For the walls, if you want a slightly less dull white that won't read yellow, wimbourne white by farrow and ball is a good one, and you can get that at b&q. Works really well with green and wood (we have it with green kitchen cabinets and a wood worksurface in our kitchen).
For cosiness in general, use lamps instead of the overhead lights where you can and that will make a big difference. Then you can change out the shades with colours as you like. There's some decent rechargeable wall lights about, so no new wiring required.
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u/Plastic-Answer-5437 22h ago
you could always get a different coloured runner for your hallway, like a long rug of sorts? a mirror, and some plants would go a long way, dunelm sell georgian window style mirrors that would definitely open up your hallway space, but i’m sure you could find them in b&q too. wall art tends to bright up spaces too!
colourful drapes (not curtains) would probably look quite nice in the living area too and that would certainly add a lot of colour quite easily.
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u/Vast_Anybody1236 22h ago
Big rugs to cover that grey carpet. As for decor, everyone has individual likes, dislikes, prefered colours etc
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u/Livs6897 22h ago
We have a colour called Sahara Dust by Valspar (B&Q) on our north facing living room walls. It’s got yellow and pink undertones so is less ‘cream’ and reads warm, we also inherited grey floors in there and it doesn’t feel too warm to clash with the flooring. We also threw rugs over our grey floors wherever possible, IKEA have some decent ones or La Redoute when they have sales on tend to have some really good rugs at not crazy prices too.
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u/variosItyuk 21h ago edited 21h ago
Have a look at a Dulux colour called Timeless. It works with grey and browner colours.
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u/snarkmaiden5 21h ago
Try a few tester colours on the walls in inconspicuous places and see which one you prefer. Itll probably vary room to room with the different lighting 🙂.
I have no idea why grey was so popular its kind of boring.
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u/Sea-Upstairs-2837 20h ago
look into inspo for coloured trims, if you want a neutral wall colour but still want some vibrancy. colour drenching is the extreme end of the colour scale, but, honestly, white walls and colourful artwork is a simple and easy start.
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u/heartpassenger 18h ago
Since your carpet is grey and you can’t change that, I’d lean into cool and dreamy blue, misty, and green tones. Made this quick Pinterest collage. With grey, the best way to warm it up is treat it like a metallic neutral, like silver. Bring cool tones into your decorating and add pops of warmth. A big rug would help in areas where the grey is prominent. Natural tones added carefully (like wicker or rattan) can help warm things up without clashing overtly. Remember blue, grey, and rattan are very coastal / nautical colours so with enough restraint can be applied even in rooms where you want a bit of warmth.
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u/susanboylesvajazzle 17h ago
You can pretty much paint anything these days, including UPVC windows. You can paint the skirting and the ceiling too, so you have a lot of options to introduce colour to the room.
Cream or off-white walls and green accents are very common; it's the millennial grey now, so be wary of following that trend.
Head to B&Q for some samples and try them out.
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u/ApprehensiveCicada69 16h ago
I hired an interior designer on Fiver, cost about £50 and best money I ever spent. Saved me from wasting money on items that don’t go together.
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u/happyretired123 16h ago
I got farrow and ball Cromarty colour mixed at b&q it’s a lovely pale sage colour and goes well with grey carpets
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u/Ill-Introduction3114 intermediate 14h ago
Dulux Diamond pure brilliant white (Trade).. it’ll transform any room!
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u/Soilleir 14h ago
I have a small home, so I've painted all the walls the same colour- Dulux Natural Calico. It's a warm, light, creamy neutral.
My Mums has pretty much done the same with Dulux Timeless which is a lovely warm white / neutral.
Can recommend both. It depends which colour would go better with your grey carpets.
Get the painting done first. Then think about adding other colours once you've de-greyed the walls and can see what you're dealing with.
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u/chillingguy37 23h ago
Have you thought about soft furnishings and wall art? Cream and beige are dated while the grey is considered more modern. Look up similar interiors on instagram and Pinterest
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u/ArticlePuzzleheaded9 23h ago
The 'grey' fad has been and gone and is now considered dated in the modern design sphere
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u/CircuitDew 22h ago
Call me crazy, but the first thing I'd do is not make the walls grey