Sophie Paterson shows us how to decorate with grey

Comfort, sophistication and practicality is at the heart of Sophie Paterson's design studio.
Jennifer Ebert

Sophie Paterson reveals how to master the grey look in your home.

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1. Decorate with a tonal colour palette

Greys, purples, taupes and creams all work very well when creating a cosy, traditional scheme. Sophie recommends avoiding the use of stronger colours, like yellow, red and green, which tend to overpower – this look should be very natural and muted.

2. Play with grey in a nursery

Going gender-neutral is a practical decorating choice for a nursery, or for when a boy and girl are sharing a room. If you’re preparing a room for an imminent new arrival and have avoided the temptation to find out the sex of the baby, go for a monochrome scheme that will work equally well for either sex. Grey is the perfect hue to create a scheme that is simple, yet stylish. You can always add colour with accessories.

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Busy day today with day 2 of a photoshoot and project install in Mayfair but squeezed in a slot to take delivery of some items for the nursery at my home. Thrilled with how it’s coming together. I’ve tagged all the brands but they are: footstool @bernhardtfurniture (#gift) – I’ll post a story with the link to this exact one. Chair, petrified log side table and floor lamp all @andrewmartin_int . Wallpaper Chevron chic bay blue 3293 @phillipjeffriesltd (#gift) rug ‘hunter in driftwood’ from @starkcarpet (#gift) trim for the Roman blinds which will be installed next week and can just be seen as a sample on the window sill is BT-58317 ojos applique border in granite from @samuelandsons (#gift) and just in view is the toy trunk from @thomasmaybespoke Which is Ava’s one but they are kindly gifting me one for our baby boy with his monogram which will be the same. Carpet is Mulberry from @eaton_square …Just need the @turnellandgigon fabric cushion to arrive and put up the @fionawalkerengland giraffe head and shelves and this corner is complete! #spnursery #home #nestingonsteroids #starkcarpet #andrewmartin #bernhardt #phillipjeffries #sophiepatersoninteriors #ad

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3. Go for a darker shade of grey

A media room is the perfect place to decorate with darker shades. The beauty about darker tones is that they often bring intimacy to larger rooms, and this cosy space is no exception. Warm your space up further with accents of burnt terracotta and lashings of greenery.

4. Mix classic with contemporary

Sophie is a firm believer that the look can be translated into both classic and contemporary homes. Each shade of grey is capable of creating a completely different look, and should not be considered as being for purely modern or industrial interiors. If in doubt, opt for a mutual balance between taupe and a mid-tone grey.

5. Go for gorgeous grey materials

Grey is a divine shade for the the bathroom as it evokes a simple, clean aesthetic. This effect of book matching is achieved when a block of veined marble is cut into slabs. The effect is simply stunning.

6. Take it to bed

On-trend grey is fast becoming the ‘new magnolia’ and seems to be everyone’s colour of choice when it comes to decorating the bedroom. If you prefer a modern bedroom, you may want deeper, more dramatic shades of grey, as show here. Warmer greys can be used anywhere you want to create a cosy, enveloping feel – perfect for a north-facing room that needs the cold taking out of it.

See our grey living room ideas – for gorgeous neutral schemes

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