This week, we stumbled on a fantastic article in “The Atlantic” about the phenomenon of gray flooring in American homes over the last decade and a half. Having witnessed the beginning of this design trend and its gradual exit, we found a few things from the article that rang true and we wanted to pass them along.
The Influx of “House Flippers”
Over the last few decades, house flipping has grown in popularity, even with those who’ve had no prior industry experience. In recent years, as the market has become quite difficult for buyers, house flippers found ways to entice buyers to consider their properties. Isabel Fattal wrote in her article about some of the difficulties recent buyers have faced: “Housing is very expensive, and what you get for your money is worsening. Homes are old, and the buying or renting public is used to newness. If you can create a sense of newness inside these older homes, you can charge more.” She went on to explain that flippers who were looking to make a profit had to find ways to make a home look shiny and new, all while spending as little as possible. THIS is where gray floors came in!
Gray flooring, in particular, is a rather new flooring trend. Historically, homeowners have wanted more neutral and earthy tones on their floors - browns, creams, rich wood tones, etc. Gray represented something new and modern. It wasn’t that orange wood of the 90’s and early 2000’s or those overly warm tones our grandparents used in the 70’s with their shag carpets and terra-cotta. Gray represented unnatural, which at the time signified newness. Flippers were able to bring in gray tones with inexpensive laminate, tile, or carpet, and home buyers pounced! These homeowners, sometimes falsely believed that those gray tones symbolized a full renovation, which attracted them to neighborhoods and older homes that they normally wouldn’t consider. Flippers found that cool gray tones and fresh paint were keys to their success!
HGTV Targets The Working Class
We cannot overemphasize the profound effect HGTV has had on our culture in the last few decades! Though there were a few home-improvement shows before the 90’s, (“This Old House” for example) they weren’t featuring home design in the same consumeristic and accessible way that we see today. In the 2000’s, home design shows began to blow up and their job was to showcase simple and affordable ways to bring luxury to their lower middle class and middle class viewers. Brand new wood floors are not accessible to the average lower middle class family, so instead, they showcased alternatives like vinyl and laminate. Back then, imitation wood products were not as advanced as today’s products, so instead of using wood-like tones in their shows, HGTV home designers pushed gray-toned laminate and vinyl in their projects. In her article, Isabel Fattal also reminisced about the influx of “barn doors” and farmhouse decor we saw on these shows, which warned up their gray aesthetic.
It was fascinating to hear a writer’s reflections on what might be behind our cultures’s design trends and it even helped us to see our modern design trends in conversation with the past. Perhaps our return to more natural tones and materials is in response to our collective obsession with gray ten years ago! Either way, we must admit that we still see some homeowners who showcase gray tones beautifully in their spaces. There are not absolutes when it comes to personal design style, and there are certainly ways to work in gray tones that feel current and beautiful! What are you thoughts on the color gray in homes? We’d love to hear your feedback!