Taste or follow convention?

Re-reading the OP. I can say that, without exception, it would never occur to me to go with a colour scheme in my home (or anything else, for that matter) just because it was what everyone else was doing.

I am secondhand rose and I have a house furnished, almost entirely beautiful 19th century furniture. It is all really good quality and completely worthless, as it is so out of fashion.

But I couldn't care less. I like it, DH likes it and both our DC have already decided what they will each keep when we die. Even DGD has been assured that, yes, she can have Grandma's Chinese carved sewing box/table when Grandma is no more.

As for colour, every living room I have ever had has been yellow, varying from the strong yellow/ornages of the 1960s, to pale creams in the 2000, back to a slightly stronger yellow and cream today. I like it, to hang with convention.

Our first house, purshased in 1976, was all shades of brown or orange, absolutely ghastly! In our next house I discovered Designers Guild, a life long love affair with colour ever since.

Your home is yours so it should reflect who you are and not slavishly follow trends.
Having said that, I suspect most of us are influenced at least a little by what we see in magazines and the media.....remember the 1990's and all the spicy colours influenced by that TV programme.....I loved them at the time but shudder to think of them now! I have lived in my house over 30 years and it has changed many times, but always reflected me (and my family of course!)

When I last moved house, our buyers loved it because of the bright and cheerful colours we'd chosen!

Navy and dark green seem to be the new grey.

White is being wild and adventurous at the mo!

I think they best way to not look instantly "last year" is to mix and match and not "theme" the room too much

A no-brainer, really. Why not choose what you do~ like and maybe get a trend going in that direction?

But you cant on a budget. Even paint palettes change with the incoming trends so unless you colour match you are chosing from the "trends" unless you can afford pricer ranges.

At one point all blues had a tealey tone and it was hard to find a blue-blue

Another time all the reds had orangey teracotta-ey tones

Its designed to look "of the time" so it looks dated in a year or two and you redecorate

I remember buying carpet years ago, looking for grey, and being told it WASN'T a neutral colour, but that beige was! LOL

In a rented house, I once painted the living room a vivid turquoise. While I LOVED the colour and it looked amazing with large vats of orange flowers, I hadn't realised the colour was a depressive. Now I see that colour and it makes me feel slightly ill. AND I had to recoat it with magnolia at least 4 times, when moving out, to return to the original neutral.

Whatever the latest trend is, after a few years it'll be old hat and dated. Grey is one that's on the way out now, and about time too, IMO. Why anyone in the UK would want grey walls or kitchens, when for much of the year you only have to look out of the window, defeats me.

Have whatever you like, and are happy to live with.

I chose white ivory all over with wood floors. I have art on some walls and the"gallery" twisty staircase with photos of the children and Mr Merryweather and I framed and hung.

It's simple, easy to clean and if I feel fed up I get new art or change cushion covers to give it a refresh.

I think offering a blank canvas to a new buyer is preferable, however it's your house make yourself comfortable and make it your home.
FYI I hate the grey tone.'modern' trend.

If you ask yourself, "What makes a trend?" you get the answer, "People choosing that style/colour," so if you choose it when your taste would be for something else, you are just perpetuating what you don't really like.
A no-brainer, really. Why not choose what you do~ like and maybe get a trend going in that direction?

Sometimes it depends on what you can afford. In 1996 grey was just going out of fashion, so we bought, at a bargain price, a complete bedroom set of wardrobe, shelves and drawers for one of the DD's bedrooms. Navy and dark blue accessories. We had the furniture until last year.

GrandMattie

You have good taste (in my opinion) my dining room and one sitting room are deep red, one sitting room a very dark aubergine, master bedroom deep blue, everywhere but the ceiling, and all the other bedrooms/bathrooms a mixture of bold colours. I love it, warm and cosy.

I went looking for a new carpet recently: the choice seemed to be '50 shades of grey' (or neutral). If I wanted something different, I'd have to pay a lot for it! Don't know what to do now!

My trouble is that DH wants white doors and windows everywhere in and outside the house and I do not.

He would happily live with muted colours on every wall, and I want something bright and cheerful.

Compromise is difficult when tastes are so different!

You should decorate the house to your own taste, after all it is you who will be living in it. Only if you put it on the market is it a good idea to see what may be in fashion as it could be more appealing. Buyers should have the imagination to see the house in their own style, shouldn't they?

I don't like grey in any shape or form, my favourite colour is red but too much red can be overwhelming so most of the downstairs is painted in a fairly neutral but warm soft peach with dark red curtains and cushions.

When we moved into our last house the lounge had been used as a children's bedroom so walls were deep dusky dark mauve and dark brown. To complete the look there were Dinasaour freezes over a foot deep pasted all around the walls! Like going into a Jurassic cave. My own choice is light walls with flowered cushions rugs etc in red and red curtains.

You are living in it. Choose what you want and feel makes a home. I consider dull neutrals are a cop out for some people. I have 3 friends whose houses are dull brown and beiges and they just look muddy and old.

When we moved into our new house 7 years ago, it was every shade of brown - every single room, every single carpet, blinds, doors - the whole lot - Brown. YUCK.

I was on a mission to bring colour into the house - I've perhaps gone overboard - my daughter says it's like a Disney film - but I love my colourful house. If and when we move, the people moving in can re-decorate to their own tastes. End of!

You can keep your bland boring colours/materials/carpets etc, I still live in the chintz era. Love flowers, inside.

Beautiful roses woven into Axminster/Wilton wool carpets, flowery warm surrounds, that's me. Not your clinical minimalist homes where everything has to match, or else. Nothing modern. I like a home to be a home where there's comfort and a warm atmosphere----it's good for the soul and the mind too.

You have to live in it, so decorate on. A style you feel comfortable with. You can think about how to decorate if you decide to sell when the time comes. I've been in my house 34 years and it's been decorated in several veey different styles in that time.

We decorate to our taste, and don't care what anyone else might think. We are the ones living in it! ?

Squiffy you made me laugh out loud. When I had my last house painted I chose a neutral shade prior to selling i told the decorator the fancy name & he said oh yes magnolia! We decided the name had been changed to protect the innocent ? however after moving I've finally reached the point of decorating main bedroom after 4 years of doing other work first & still want the colour I chose back then - grey! Now everyone thinks I'm just following a trend ? still, there's plenty of choice now.

I love to see colours and clever decorating schemes; however, when I have tried this for myself at home, the effect is usually far from desirable, and over the years I have found that white paint in eggshell on the walls is the best option for me. So, I don't follow trends - the colour in my home comes from paintings, books, cushions and curtains. So much easier when you redecorate, too!

So it seems neutrals can be controversial too.
White, off-white, cream, beige, magnolia, grey......... etc are all neutrals yet are not universally loved.

It's so strange on that TV programme, tho, where people who have rejected a house suddenly want to buy it when it's been tidied up and redecorated!