Interior designer Natalie Jahangiry is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on decorating a home to suit a bust family life while sticking to your aesthetic values, too. See the rest of her articles here.
When it comes to interiors, I’ve ticked every millennial cliché box in the book – exposed brick walls, Edison bulbs hanging like I owned a coffee shop, raw wood furniture for that rustic-meets-industrial vibe and boho beach vibe accessories. But let's not forget the most prominent phase of all… where I went all in on the fifty shades of grey movement.
My first flat in Putney, above, sparked my initial interest in grey and monochrome. The first space I had ever been able to personalise became the spark of a trend that I fell into hook line and sinker. Shabby chic rustic shelving, grey cabinets, grey walls and wallpaper, black and white typography, it had it all.
When Tom (my husband) and I moved into our first property together in Wimbledon, below, the house quickly became a homage to full-blown grey hysteria. Every room had its own shade of grey, with strictly copper accents and black and white photography adorning the walls. I became so obsessed that our wedding followed the exact same theme – something that even got a few mentions in the speeches! As stunning as both the house and wedding were, if I had my time again, would I embrace more colour? Absolutely.
Our home was beautiful, but I distinctly remember a moment when Tom said, 'Please darling, can we do a colour in the next room?' and it was like breaking a spell. While extending our Wimbledon home and pregnant with our first, Lily (now five), I started experimenting with colour. We began with a dusky pink in the nursery (Farrow and Ball's Sulking Room Pink), added a pop of duck egg blue to our new kitchen island (Neptune, Aqua Blue), introduced a feature dark wall with panelling (Neptune, Teal), and redecorated the bedroom with half-wall tongue-and-groove painted in dark green (Lick, Green 03).
As the years went on, I grew more confident in my interior style, experimenting with deeper tones, textures, and more interesting furnishings.
By the time we moved to Twickenham, I had fully embraced colour. From drenching rooms to mixing metals and statement pieces, I started creating spaces with real impact. Today, our home is brighter, bolder, and more playful – a true reflection of our family’s personality. I'm no longer tied to rules or fleeting trends; instead focusing on what makes my family happy. My latest project, our new office, is my bravest yet: an earthy red (Coat, La Torre) washes the walls, paired with warm toned furnishings, textured accessories, black metal shelving, a vintage wooden desk, and unexpected pops of yellow and lilac. Safe to say, my grey days are well and truly behind me.
So am I alone in thinking that millennial grey, as we once knew it, is out? I don’t think so. Let’s take a look back at how we got here.
Back in the late 2000s and 2010s, grey became the default 'modern' choice for my generation of budding interior enthusiasts. It felt sleek, neutral, and grown-up, especially for millennials moving into their first homes or apartments. Grey floors, grey walls, grey sofas, grey cabinetry — everything became monochrome. Pinterest boards and high street retailers only fuelled the obsession further.
The issue? Spaces quickly started to feel cold, flat, and lifeless. Grey on grey with little contrast or texture created a somewhat sterile atmosphere, one that often lacked personality. Instead of cozy and inviting, homes risked looking more like showrooms.
But as we’ve grown older, so have our interiors. Our priorities shifted, and with them, our design choices. Warmer, more lived-in aesthetics began to rise: Cottagecore, Japandi, Maximalism, boho and eclectic blends. Biophilic design and houseplants brought nature indoors, while earthy palettes and layered textures added much-needed warmth.
Where we once played it safe with endless shades of grey, we’re now embracing earth tones - warm shades of beige, taupe, caramel, terracotta, and sand, alongside rich textures and natural materials like linen, rattan, boucle, and raw wood. Pops of colour are also making their way in, from bold sofas and patterned rugs to accents in sage, mustard, navy and pink. And perhaps most importantly, there’s been a shift toward personalisation over perfection, with vintage finds, thrifted treasures, handmade ceramics, and unique one-of-a-kind pieces taking centre-stage.
In short, millennials like myself may have fallen into the grey trap because it was safe, affordable, and advertised to us everywhere, but today we’re breaking free. Overall we’re choosing warmth, texture, and individuality, creating homes that feel less like a trend and more like us.
Don’t get me wrong, grey still has its place – in fact, I’ve used warm grey and taupe tones to soften sharper black and white spaces in my own space and in clients' homes. But where I once clung tightly to a strict grey, copper, and monochrome scheme, I’ve since learned to loosen the rules. By introducing a more playful mix of colours and textures, I’ve created a richer palette that not only feels more personal, but also brings a new sense of warmth and life into our home.
Grey was the intro, but colour is the main event. Dare to dive into a playful palette with me?
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