Exploring the Rise of the Millennial Grey
Via u/newsillygoose on Reddit.com
The internet discourse about the so-called ‘millennial grey’ colour scheme and its usage (or over-usage) by young adults trying to decorate their living spaces has been circling around for a good few years now. Opinions on something as simple as a colour have been flooding social media platforms, ranging from approval and encouragement of personalizing your home to your own style all the way to scrutiny and anger fueled by the lack of knowledge of architecture and the role of colours in a child’s development. As abstract as this issue may seem, it affects people’s lives more than anyone might imagine it to.
TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and many other social media platforms in recent years have witnessed the emergence in popularity of young millennial couples (usually between the ages of 25-35) who have taken it upon themselves to renovate their newly purchased houses or apartments. Rather quickly, people have picked up on a pattern shared by many of the videos millennials posted about their renovation journeys: these houses, flats, and apartments have been overwhelmingly grey and monotone - a palette phenomenon people have collectively taken to calling ‘the millennial grey’.
Let us dive into the subject with a quick definition of what we mean by millennial grey. It is a range of colours of similar, consistent hues between light grey and beige. There are many different variations depending on the light surrounding the paint as well as the actual make-up of colours, but we can be sure that every layman would refer to most of them as a simple grey. The name refers both to the range of colours as well as the phenomenon itself. Nowadays, referring to something as ‘millennial grey’ does not necessarily mean a paint colour. It could be singular decorative pieces, clothing, cars, etc., as long as they all fall under the general aesthetic of a rather bland greyness.
Quite a few mothers who have decided to share their motherhood journey on TikTok have been under scrutiny for raising their children without enough colours in their lives, but one mother in particular received flabbergasting backlash after purchasing a colourful christmas tree toy and spray-painting it with toned greens, browns and beiges to fit the aesthetic of her home. Seemingly affected by the criticism, she purchased the toy again the following year and skipped the ‘makeover’ stage this time.
Scientists have observed that toned and pastel colours have a calming effect on children, while bright, vibrant colours tend to get them energized and active. Now, these longstanding colours are the subject of an intense discussion regarding their inability to provide children with the correct exposure and sensory development that they require to thrive.Here it is essential to note that there is a key difference in surrounding a child with toned colours to create a calm, cosy space for them and have them live in such a space based solely on your own aesthetic choices.
Another mom on TikTok shares her experience with distinguishing her own style and preferences from her child’s needs. The ‘Gothic Baby’ has been shown to enjoy gowns, bats, dark rooms, and everything black from the day they were born, and it has also faced a lot of online hate and criticism. That is until their mom revealed a ‘secret playroom’ filled with colours, plushies, educational posters, toys and books of different kinds, which has largely changed people’s approach towards the account, showing the possibility and, most importantly, the necessity of separating your stylistic choices from your child’s developmental requirements.
The issue of greyness has been a hot topic due to its popularity in interior design worldwide and not only among millennials. Developers of new apartment buildings tend to choose a grey, toned style for flats they intend to put on the market or rent out because their neutral aspect will appeal to a larger group of potential clients; it is a blank canvas that anyone can make their own. That is to say, if landlords would even allow any changes to be made to the interiors of their homes, such as painting a wall, putting up wallpaper or, in many cases, even hanging up pictures. The costs of repairing hypothetical damages prove to be too much for landlords who later require the residents to pay for those services. This, in return, causes people to be too scared of the charges to change anything in their homes and leaves them stuck in the greyness for months or even years on end.
As understandable as that technique is in a landlord/subletter situation, homeowners lean into the millennial grey culture just as often, and it turns out to be coming from a more complicated place than you would assume. If we go back a few centuries to the 1800s, we will see mainly two types of interior design: colourful wallpapers, extravagantly detailed decorations, chandeliers and golden-framed mirrors in the homes of the extremely wealthy and grey, blank rooms for all members of the lower-class. grey used to mean that you simply could not afford colour in your life, but slowly, with new technological advancements being introduced to the public and new inventions coming into the world, there also came changes in materials used to create paint and decor. In the early 20th century, Art Deco started the revolution of architecture and introduced new materials such as reinforced concrete. Going hand in hand with purism (the anti-cubism movement focusing on the simplistic shape and lack of details) that entered the art world, the modernist movement started to grow in popularity.
The modernist movement used concrete, glass and steel as its primary building materials; it focused on functionality and rejected ornament, which then led people to embrace and appreciate minimalism. The consensus on the characteristics of the movement came to be described as “pure” and “clean” in opposition to the earlier maximalism that could pose as overwhelming or just a little bit too much. After World War II, when many buildings were destroyed in its aftermath, some architects despised the idea of rebuilding cities in a modern, simplistic style, and thus postmodern architecture was born.
Because trends tend to travel in time in different areas such as fashion, music, and architecture, we are now looking at the big comeback of modernism. It is right to say that in this day and age of colourful, loud advertisements being pushed into our faces on every corner and mass production of decor, trinkets and technologies, we can sometimes feel like the world is a bit much to deal with. Being able to come home to a tidy, organized and quiet space that is rid of distractions can be quite calming. Millennials responded to the apparent need for a quieter world by personalizing their houses and flats to make them comfortable, relaxed and less immersed in our consumption-based culture and creating the ‘millennial grey’ outbreak. It is important for all of us humans to have a place where we can quiet down, clear our minds and take a break from all that the world has to offer, so maybe the millennial grey is not that bad after all.
Everyone has their way of navigating the world; some people need to be by themselves ninety per cent of the time, while others require constant stimulation to feel at peace. Having your children live in a beige room with grey toys dressed in brown clothes might not be the best move, but it doesn’t stop you, as an adult, from doing that in your own kitchen, bedroom or living room. It is crucial for your well-being to feel comfortable and safe
in the place you call your home. Accepting that trends come and go and that different people have different needs and desires when it comes to their homes is the most important part of the millennial grey debate. In the 21st century, it is much easier for people to express themselves in their own spaces than it was even a few decades ago, so as long as we do not push our styles and opinions onto each other, we, as a community, will be able to manage this chaotic world a bit better, one step at a time.