The #1 Reason Millennials Choose Depressing Colors
Millennials have found their go-to home decor color: gray.
Everywhere you look—open houses, Pinterest boards, Instagram stories—it’s gray, gray, and more gray. This generation has a serious aversion to color in their homes, and younger Gen Z folks have some strong feelings about it.
According to a recent article HuffPost.com, Urban Dictionary even has a term for it: “Millennial gray.” It’s described as the “sad depressive hue” that coats the lives of millennials, reflecting their journey from the carefree ’90s to the inflation and depression of the early 2020s.
One commenter on X (formerly known as Twitter) wished misfortunes upon millennial house flippers who turn charming homes into “soulless gray blobs,” according to HuffPost.
(Total disclosure here. My whole house interior is either Benjamin Moore’s Picket Fence or Sherwin Williams’ Heron Plume. I love the colors and I don’t think it’s SUPER boring. But it’s definitely not colorful.)
On TikTok, some millennials are self-aware enough to poke fun at their drab decor. User @victoria.thatsit shows off her home: gray bathroom, gray floor, gray counters, gray mat, gray chairs, gray couches, gray dog beds, and even gray dogs. It’s all gray, all the time. Occasionally, there’s a splash of green—like the famous millennial green couch—but mostly, it’s an endless sea of gray.
The gray trend isn’t limited to interiors. The exteriors of homes get the gray treatment too. Real estate listings are full of modern farmhouses with gray, charcoal, and black hues. Chip and Joanna Gaines, anyone?
So, what’s up with this gray obsession? What’s happening in the millennial mind that makes this bland, almost corporate look so appealing? Is it boring, or is it a classic and calming choice? HuffPost has some answers.
According to the article, it’s a rebellion against their parents’ over-the-top decor. If you grew up in the ’90s, your parents probably had a shabby chic style with lace, gingham, and flea-market finds, or perhaps the Tuscan-villa look, à la Tony and Carmela Soprano’s home.
OMG,. remember the Southwestern aesthetic with salmon, turquoise, and beige? Millennials crave simplicity after all that chaos, says Marissa Warner, an interior designer from Ontario, Canada. Gray provides a serene escape from their overstimulating childhood homes.
Gray is also a reaction to the overuse of beige in the ’90s. “There was an over-saturation of yellow ‘builder beige’ in the ’90s when most Millennials grew up,” Loren Kreiss, a Los Angeles-based interior designer told the HuffPost.
Millennials are naturally allergic to warm colors, turning instead to gray. The rise of Restoration Hardware’s gray-heavy designs over the last decade hasn’t hurt either.
Millennials are known for their high stress levels, dealing with economic collapses, climate anxiety, student loan debt, and a housing crisis. Gray’s calming effect is a big draw, explains Jennifer Chappell Marsh, a therapist in San Diego in the article.
A neutral, uncluttered home can provide stability and control in a chaotic world.
Sustainability is another factor. A 2023 Deloitte survey found that 60% of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Neutrals like gray don’t go out of style quickly, meaning fewer replacements and a smaller environmental impact.
Finally, gray is gender-neutral, which appeals to millennial couples trying to create an equitable home design. It’s also why many millennial parents opt for “sad beige” palettes for their kids’ clothes and rooms, avoiding old-school gender stereotypes.
So, while millennials might be a bit obsessed with gray, there’s a method to the monochrome madness. It’s calming, sustainable, and a rebellion against their parents’ maximalist tendencies. Plus, it looks pretty darn chic. Thanks to HuffPost for diving deep into this colorful—or not so colorful—trend.
8 Top Reasons Gen Zers and Millennials Despise Working with Boomers
1. Reply All Abuse
“Boomers are far too liberal when using the reply-all button. Young people are much more personal with their approach to work and don’t like their business broadcasted to the entire company.”
Gen Xers and Millennials despise working with boomers.
2. Unnecessary Phone Calls
According the survey, one respondent said: “My qualm is how they ring your mobile with no regard for your calendar – like, I’m in meetings all day. You don’t get to skip the queue” and “The use of calls because ‘it’s easier to explain over the phone’. No, you are just too lazy to type it out, so now I have to dictate the request, and then there’s no paper trail. If there’s an error they can blame you.”
3. Can You Google It, Please?
“Boomers tend to eat up your time with questions they could answer themselves via the internet,” according to the survey. “Asking technology questions they could easily Google,” one person said.
4. Outdated Language
“Georgia is sick of the outdated language that some are still spewing into office culture. “Passive-aggressive ‘loves’ or ‘darls,’” she explained was her main gripe.”
5. Printing!
“Lacey is more obsessed with the damage they are doing to the environment. “Why do they have to print everything?” she asked.”
Woman standing and pressing button on a copy machine in the office
6. Power Hungry
“*Jess finds their obsession with promotions tedious. “They are just so power hungry,” she complained.”
7. Let's NOT Meet
“Amy just can’t stand their need to make everything so official. “Why does everything have to be a formal meeting? They just love creating stale environments.”
8. Anti Work From Home
“Rebecca just wants Boomers to stop obsessing over office presence. “So many of them believe we work better in the office and we just don’t!””
Team work meeting. Happy young woman wearing pajamas and a blazer waving to her co-workers during an online video call from home
