Comment: All hail the new neutral

Remember when magnolia was the go-to neutral people couldn’t get enough of, and the experts advised anyone looking to sell to paint everything beige?

Well, interiors trends are ever evolving, and just when we’d all got used to every other wall now being painted grey we’re told that, actually, it’s all about blue.

Experts agree that this is the new neutral, and I’m noticing it everywhere – mostly in ever-so-stylish people’s kitchens.

According to interiors bible Living Etc, blue has “replaced grey as the go-to on-trend colour” – particularly navy blue kitchens. And it’s not just units we’re talking about – blue is all the rage on walls, floors and splashbacks, too.

As someone who’s always been a bit scared of dark walls for fear of making gloomier rooms look too oppressive, this is a mental shift – but I can’t deny it looks lovely.

And as one of the experts in this week’s feature notes – while blue can look cold in dark, north-facing areas of your home, if you add layered lighting the effect can be fabulous.

We’ve got a whole house in need of an epic paint overhaul, so I’ve been interested in this kind of insight.

I’ve discovered the hard way that grey isn’t always, ahem, great. Indeed, the major down side of lashings of pale grey is that finger prints tend to stick, and when you have three kids that’s a lot of smears to stare at.

All the way up the stairs and along the hall, the colour that was meant to be light and bright has become a rather darker, murkier shade than we’d signed up for. It’s got to go.

I’m going to trust the experts on this one and embrace the blue, I just need to choose between the many similar-looking shades.

And given how long these major decisions tend to take at our house, by the time I’ve made my mind up magnolia will probably be back in vogue.