I’m obsessed with shades of grey and no I’m not talking about the kinky stuff, even though grey can be so sexy. Fresh, modern and easy to match to other colours, grey is the shade of the moment and the perfect neutral. Everywhere you turn you’ll find more and more interiors adopting this fresh colour. Forget 50 shades, in fact, the human eye can detect more than 500. Being one of my favourite colours, it comes as no surprise that I was completely taken by Kate Watson-Smyth’s first book, Shades of Grey, where she shows us how to incorporate grey into your colour scheme at home. For those of you not in the know, she is a journalist who has written about interiors for the Financial Times as well as The Independent and The Daily Mail.

So how do we go about choosing the perfect hue? In Shades of Grey Kate will help you find exactly the right shade for your space. Full of expert advice and essential information, spiced with a generous dash of humour, this book will guide you through the minefield that is choosing the perfect shade of grey paint. With page after page of stunning interiors photography, Shades of Grey is a practical and inspirational guide, as well a feast for the eyes.

“Everyone wants to paint their houses grey at the moment,” says Karen Haller, a colour expert who advises clients on branding and colour psychology. “But it’s actually one of the most difficult colours to get right.” Get it wrong and a room will be cold and dark, possibly even energy-sapping. Get it right, however, and your home will look chic, sophisticated and modern.

I just adore this colour, so versatile it can be moody, fresh, romantic, sexy and so on… In a previous post I wrote about 90s trends and how beige was the colour back then, well it’s safe to say it’s all about shades of grey being our new neutrals in the current era. So if you’re looking for a fresh start or simply some inspiration then do check out this fabulous book as Kate Watson-Smyth sure knows what she is talking about.

Images 1/4/6 Polly Wreford; 2/ Debi Treloar; 3/ Hans Blomquist; 5/ Claire Richardson.

Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all images © Ryland Peters & Small.