A while ago I decided to join the craze for grey and painted my hallway in Little Greene’s French Grey Mid. The only problem was that it was brown in my flat – massive error. I just wish I had had the insight of journalist and blogger Kate Watson-Smyth at the time and her brilliant new book, Shades of Grey.
I’m thrilled to be the second stop on Kate’s book blog tour because I fell in love with her style and AH-MAZING home a while ago so I knew her book would be filled with brilliant advice, inspiring images and Kate’s witty writing style is the cherry on the top. I particularly enjoyed the practical advice in the book, which makes it a really useful design resource: which shade to choose, advice on paint finishes, what works well with grey.
Here are a few of my favourite interiors and pieces of advice from the book to give you a quick sneak peek…
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P120_RPS.1391.HAMM_BEDROOM_014-2.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small p.42
I have always wanted to find a pale neutral grey like the colour in the bedroom above. There is in depth advice in the book about specific paint colours, which is always useful.
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/088-RPS1532_Plumb_r1392-35678.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small p.106
Kate advises using a very dark grey, similar to the image above, to give small objects or pieces of art great impact – isn’t that bedroom beautiful?
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/KITCHEN_012-2.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small p.96
There are also ideas in the book for different ways to use grey, whether it be painting kitchen cabinets or pieces of furniture. I love the kitchen above and the way grey has been used to give greater impact to the shelving.
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/P016_RPS.1391.PBAS_SINGLEBED_007-2.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small p.160
My current favourite combination of dusky pink and grey works perfectly in the bedroom above. I really like the idea of painting half the wall, too.
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/RPS1830-Shades-of-Grey_Page-46.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small p.46
Kate also explores how grey can be use in modern settings as well as more traditional rural settings like the dining hall above.
![Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth | Interior design advice | How to use grey paint in your home | Book review by Apartment Apothecary](https://assets.apartmentapothecary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/9781849757126.jpg)
Shades of Grey by Kate Watson-Smyth, published by Ryland Peters & Small, all photography © Ryland Peters & Small
As the grey bandwagon looks set to continue rolling for a long while if you would like to use it in your home, this is the book for you.
Katy x