Millennial Gray And The Aesthetics Of Gentrification

[@afirewasinmyhead]

It’s annoying that minimalist has come to mean “plain white, empty” instead of just “minimal colours, no clutter.” I consider myself a minimalist and I enjoy a limited colour scheme but one of those colours… is pink. Like bubblegum pink. You can be a pink room minimalist lol. I wish we could come up with a term for the classist plain white “minimalist” style that doesn’t misconstrue it with an honest desire to live simply.

[@ellemenohplants2644]

Ditto! All the color and coziness with minimal maintenance.

[@karenholmes6565]

Mid Century Modern is often cited as a design style that minimalists call back to, but that style wasn't colorless. In fact, color was what made it compelling. There was lots of wooden paneling, bright colors, the thing that I loved about that era was that every day items were the art objects, which is really what is terrific about minimalism in my mind, that things we use all of the time are pretty and decorative.

[@afirewasinmyhead]

​@@karenholmes6565 This 🙌

[@thatbberg]

Yes! I've always said my design style is "minimalist structure, maximalist color" lol. I like solid colors, minimal patterns, etc...but all really bright.

[@idreamtiwasbackatmanderley414]

Clinical? Sanitized?

[@jenniferriske1328]

the all white walls just remind me when I used to live in apartments and I couldn’t’ change the colors. I was so happy to have my own home. It’s small but warm. It has colors on the wall and it’s cozy.

[@henashong]

my home is very white, brown and beige toned - which has really helped with anxiety and stress. a way to help with the home feeling "cold" is so add lots of natural textures in plant pots, kitchen bowls, fabrics. it helps a ton to hunt for items second hand that bring back life into the home through pieces that tell a story (flea markets are a great place to look). 😊

[@juliadingdong]

this sounds beautiful! sounds like the aesthetic i loveee. did anyone or anything help you develop the style? like pinterest or someone you admired?

[@Thaimeilin]

@@juliadingdong S 😊

[@henashong]

@@juliadingdong yes! I watch a ton of interior design videos that helped with creating minimally beautiful spaces and Pinterest is always my go to. 😊

[@realSimoneCherie]

That’s how I feel. Colors and patterns are very stimulating to me and not in a good way. Its almost overwhelming. I prefer to have to seek out that level of stimulation intentionally, not be surrounded by it.

[@NotAFanOfHandles]

Your home's color palette reminds me of oatmeal - warm and filling, especially as I like to top my oatmeal with a healthy dash of cinnamon. 🤗

[@PrettyTranslatorSarahMoon]

Back when I lived in a house, I painted every room a different color of the rainbow and I made complementary colorful curtains for each room. Each room had its own unique feel, and I LOVED IT. A cool, relaxing light blue for the bedroom, a dark luscious blue with colorful turquoise-green-purple wallpaper for the bathroom, a bright, sunny orange for the laundry room, a homey pale yellow with green for the kitchen and dining room, and a foresty dark brown and green for the living room with brown curtains with colorful embroidery. We sold the house super-quick, just fine.

[@Helga-fe5xl]

Sounds nice!

[@grammarnazi12]

Sounds beautiful! I used to want a house just like that when I was little and dreaming of the home I would have one day as an adult (said home has yet to materialize haha). And seriously.... It's just paint. Depending on the condition, location, layout, specific real estate market of your home, it might not make a huge difference in how fast the home sells. Of all the renos that someone might want to do after buying a home, I feel like paint is probably the easiest one.

[@jaylu0717]

I was a so-called minimalist decades ago because I couldn’t afford stuff. Now I’m called a minimalist simply because I don’t like clutter or useless junk. It was never about money or a “trend.” It was just my style for the past 30 years. I never gave it much thought and still don’t.

[@RayaRSS]

Same here, was like this since I was a kid, I just don't like clutter and things. However, I don't like all white spaces as a personal space.

[@AA-iy4gm]

It doesn't seem that the main topic in this video was necessarily saying that minimalism is bad.

[@karenholmes6565]

I had to sell my mom's home when she passed in 2020. We shared the home, and I couldn't refinance her house because I became unemployed due to the pandemic. Her debt had to be folded into a new loan and I couldn't get that loan. So I ended up selling her house at the very top of the market. I painted the interior and exterior white and gray. I de-personalized the entire house, which was fairly easy to do because I was going to be moving anyways. I got about 15k more than what I listed it for, and the reason I was able to do so was because I created a fairly sleek minimal aesthetic. Do I want that in my home? No. But I bought a house all cash from the proceeds of my mom's house and I painted it white and gray again. Why? Because in half a dozen years I want to sell or rent out this house and I know that it will still help sell it to have it neutrally painted. I hate that this is the way it is, because my personal taste is not stark. I am trying to get enough capital together to buy a victorian fixer near the ocean so I can turn it into a real BnB, not an airbnb, meaning I am actually going to be living in it. I am so looking forward to living in a house that is not a product for sale. Of course, the victorian will still be a product of sorts, but not the same type of product. I am going to go with colorful wallpaper, wooden trim, the entire shabang

[@chickensoupfordinner]

My parents had a colorful home when I was growing up and when they sold it it sat on the market forever even though it was in good condition. It didn’t sell until they painted it in neutrals. I think a lot of people lack imagination and can’t look past someone else’s personality. Paint it easy to fix and not the most important thing about a house.

[@karenholmes6565]

@@chickensoupfordinner When it comes to real estate, you want to look for the houses that people pass up because of the paint colors. People do not have imagination at all. They also walk through some place and little tiny things will add up to a general dissatisfaction. Things like painted hinges, old fixtures, missing closet doors, dirty outlet or switch covers, will send people away. They think these things are a sign that the house is a fixer even if they are the most surface of problems. When I sold my mom's house I turned around and bought a house that was filthy. I got it for about 50k less what it was actually worth because there were holes in the walls and cracked windows. Sometimes my imagination is a little too good....lol.

[@emilyjensenius4289]

I noticed the white/silver/grey trend going on in mommy-influencer KZbin years ago. How they keep all that stuff clean and white when they also have kids baffles me. Speaking of flipping, I'm pretty sure the house right up the street from me is getting flipped and they've stripped the outside and redone it in...you guessed it...gray.

[@hyenaedits3460]

The beige nursery thing really annoys me because children actually need bright colors. Their vision is still developing so they can't see subtle differences in neutral-toned things. They're also... children. They need more novelty and fun in their life than an adult because their brain is not developed enough to entertain themselves.

[@emilyjensenius4289]

​@Hyena Edits Right?? Like, I see KZbinr families go from one expensive house to another and first thing they do is repaint everything white and put silver mirrors everywhere. Its

[@emilyjensenius4289]

​@Hyena Edits Right?? Like, I see KZbinr families go from one expensive house to another and first thing they do is repaint everything white and put silver mirrors everywhere. Its

[@danabry5223]

I always thought that the mommy beige thing was a flex for them. "I am a mom but I'm better than you because I put in enough effort to maintain this high maintenance home all while somehow thinking I'm also being a better mom because of an obscure and not really backed research that says neutral colors are better for developing children" I have strong opinions on it mostly because I see it as a flex for a lot of people and motherhood is already hard there is no need to compete with other moms for who's "better" in anyway

[@karenholmes6565]

Actually, having lots of white on countertops, and other hard surfaces helps you see where kids actually wiped their dirty hands.

[@kellycelmira]

Neutral colors are my preference because I always feel my head is busy with too much thoughts many times useless thoughts. I need a space that allows me to relax.

[@AccordingtoNicole]

Some of us just like white and grey. It's calming. 🤷‍♀

[@starzzzy22]

I think liking white and gray is fine. What I hate is scrolling down Zillow and every single "updated" house has gray walls, those gray vinyl floors, white or gray kitchens, etc.

[@lijohnyoutube101]

I call it the morgue look and think its sterile and creepy. I hope warm wood tones return I am tired of seeing everything look dead.

[@user-kpkxgtj]

But... is this just everyone, everywhere? Every decor video, every inspiration photo, every house tour? It seems it's all white-on-white, or shades of grey and beige, or a pale washed-out blue everywhere 😢

[@vanessabogaert2104]

@gingerhalo1234 i have grey walls, but very warm toned wood floors. The grey keeps the floors from looking orange. I think the trick to grey or white is natural accents like natural textures like jute, and a few accents of color. And varying textures in your decor.

[@missynnifer]

I like neutrals because they are flexible. I can swap out soft furnishings with loads of colour and texture. Good for someone who gets bored reaaally and is renting

[@we-need-to-talk-about-it]

That’s how I feel too. I add a couple of burnt orange and terracotta pots and pillows, and bam, you’re ready for fall. Change them up with pastel colors for spring. We have grey or white walls everywhere but we don’t lack color at all. I would never consider painting a whole room a bright color. What if I don’t like it, or get bored of it in two years? I also get my big pieces of furniture in light neutral colors, because neither I nor the Earth can afford the furniture version of fast fashion and all the waste that goes with it.

[@jbblue48089]

I love Mina Le’s video about Greige (grey and beige) dominating home decor, reminds me of this :)

[@JW99736]

So, I personally don’t have much money, and I don’t like the “gray floors, gray everything” look of a lot of house flippers these days…but I’ve ALWAYS loved a lot of white with pops of color here and there. To me, as someone with high anxiety, a white background is really calming and less stressful than a ton of stuff going on when I don’t know what I’m doing with design. I really don’t think this has anything to do with gentrification, it’s just personal preference because it’s easy. Working with a lot of color and darker colors is not my forte and makes the normal day to day clutter of my house feel even more cluttered. If I could afford to pay someone to interior design for me, maybe it would be different, but on my time and budget, neutrals and whites are an easy way to make it feel nice without a lot of thinking and analysis.

[@Punchiecat]

I agree. A white background helps my anxiety too. Then I can introduce some coloured accessories here and there as I want. 🙂

[@jcg03002]

Same, it helps me feel less bummed out in winter because it maximizes light.

[@rogeramezquita5685]

I think that minimalist style is very useful I live in a small Studio in nyc which having too much stuff can be overwhelming and also the part that I don’t get too much natural light white and bright furniture help to bright up a lot the space

[@Pedgo1986]

It depend i hate unnecessary clutter and dust catching "decorations" but i hate with passion this minimalist clinically sterile style divided of any character, soul, emotion, warmth. I would go crazy living in that when i see it first thing that come to my mind is morgue and padded cell in insane asylum. And i believe this sterile style is giving people anxiety and they are not even aware of it. We know and it is well researched that brain need stimuly to function properly and overload and LACK of are causing all kinds of problems.

[@onaraisedbeach]

As someone completely priced out of ever buying a home in the city I've lived in for over 10 years, I'd just like to give a massive, wholehearted 'F*** you' to house flippers and buy-to-renters.

[@melodyfraser1738]

And don't forget those investment companies! F*** them too!!

[@silliepixie]

+

[@karenholmes6565]

I would love it if we decommodified homes.

[@Ashaliyeva]

Same here!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔥

[@1dokbokki]

I feel like that's every major city though?

[@sarahjcgillespie]

Me, a millennial, sitting in my minimalist all-white living room: I'm not rich I just ran out of money to decorate

[@labrams7]

I have been waiting for a video that tackles this subject - thank you! I am tired of always seeing the same all white and grey soulless aesthetic being lauded as something to aspire to. I love colour and would like to see it incorporated more in interior design. Also I love the way you said "silver" with so much distaste - I feel you.

[@emiliabolsas]

I am finishing a long-awaited kitchen renovation. Trust that I sweated over my teal custom cabinets. Thank goodness for Home Depot designers who were an unabashed hype squad for color. They see so few customers choosing anything interesting.

[@Justcetriyaart]

Also also, many people are genuinely scared of using color. either decor or even apparel. I personally like a minimal palette but I've help people feel good about picking different colors that more match their personality. "is this going to really work? " "Will I regreat and have to pay even more to fix later?" "ah, I don't want to bother so just stick to the basics". Side note, I like Kim's home, only would have add more surface textures and various shade of white. In her case, I wouldn't be surprised that she went that route not of trend but out of fear of even more comments/ or decision fatigue.

[@karenholmes6565]

For people that are afraid of bold paint getting colorful accessories is a nice step towards it. Get a colorful throw, pillows, maybe a colorful area rug. That way people can play with color without committing to it. Especially true for renters.

[@ZyroZoro]

The minimalist, grayscale aesthetic is actually my favorite aesthetic. I find it very calming and relaxing. I hate clutter and unnecessary trinkets and decorations everywhere. I don't find it cold, dull, boring, or dystopian at all. To me it represents simplicity, anti-materialism, and anti-consumption culture.

[@TheSimArchitect]

I like white because you can change the colors by adjusting your lighting, easily and cheaply, depending on your mood (smart lights are very cheap these days and you just need to use an app on your phone to change the colors of your ambients entirely). Whites, grays and blacks are just perfect for that. It's good if you need to sell (if you own) and you don't need to repaint your place when you return it to your landlord (if you had to paint when moving in).

[@catarinamigueis7684]

My first reaction to this video is: yey, Chelsea's back! I don't have a lot of time to watch the Financial Confessions, so I am happy to see you back to making smaller videos on important topics. It's good to see the new faces in TFD, but I guess I just love Chelsea's content.

[@AnaViolinViola]

I like having neutral white-silver-beige decor at home, as I find it soothing and relaxing…but to each their own😊

[@zhisu2665]

sometimes I don't mind a basic plain room because a lot of stuff and colours can be very overwhelming but at the same time.. where's the personality? where's the home?

[@victoriamather2267]

With who you share it with and your actual belongings 😊 your home doesn’t have to be another piece of decor.

[@magicalfluffybunny]

All of my walls are white because we couldn't be arsed to paint them 😂. But I get it.

[@Tamariiind_]

Can we also talk about how social media makes everyone aspire to the same look and aesthetic…. It’s like everyone lives in the same home no matter where you are in the world… it’s scary

[@PsyberSenpai]

That's not social media's fault. The same has happened throughout history, people looked at magazines, browsed Ikea, and ended up adopting the same style. Social media just made it easy to access the aesthetic.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

well im swedish and here everyone has the same home lmao, well... it seems it's a scandinavian thing. also IKEA is the cheapest furniture store bar none which probably makes it

[@firefly314]

I like white and gray as it looks clean but I love to add pops of color elsewhere. We also have beautiful, warm hard wood floors in our home so it makes it feel more alive. And I’m a millennial so yes, a million house plants.

[@xalbatross1]

I’m a minimalist because I grew up with a father who was a hoarder.

[@EMSpdx]

I feel old. The. whole 'white and beige=rich' thing has been going on since i was a kid in the 1980s (last century, folks!) and 'lofts' in Williamsburg started to be a thing! 2) The first major decor thing I did when I bought my home was to paint the ground floor a pale pink with a few drops of gold paint in it. When redoing my kitchen, I put up William Morris wallpaper and brass hooks. HGTV would be appalled.

[@faeriesmak]

Sounds nice to me!

[@thefinancialdiet]

Your home sounds dreamy!

[@fluffyclouds555]

This is very interesting. I have adhd and anxiety and like the aesthetic. I find it calming. but i am now thinking about minimalism differently.

[@electriclilies2642]

A lot of "minimalist" homes that are all white actually have a ton of STUFF in them, and are actually quite maximalist. I like having white walls, and a few colorful statement pieces and art. I think this is more minimalist than white or beige spaces that are filled with stuff.

[@malaquiasalfaro81]

Great point. This trend rides up right next to the Farmhouse trend, and there tends to be a LOT of clutter in those homes

[@ugabrew]

Grey and white are simply neutral color palettes. They create a perfectly nice base to accent with your other possessions (or not if you subscribe to the "less is more" aesthetic). It is a trend currently, but will likely stay in style longer than bold colors (remember red accent walls?) and it provides flexibility as your style changes. I'm not sure why we are linking this to flippers or gentrification just because neutral colors are popular. You might as well include nice appliances in here too since those darn gentrifiers are always replacing old inefficient appliances in their houses because... well, because.

[@Dial8Transmition]

My mother and sisters loves sleek, grey toned decor, I personally can't stand it. Every time I walk into the living room (or the "waiting room" as I like to call it because that's what i looks like) I have to do a reality check to make sure I didn't lose my color vision, feels like I'm walking into a sensory deprivation chamber

[@TimCornett]

I don’t buy nothing I can’t spill coffee on

[@beckyadams4729]

After our home was destroyed in a flood in 2016, we remodeled our whole house (its not like we had a choice). Normally, my husband and I love bold colors, and art just covering the walls. But after the flood we chose a grey and white color scheme. I realize now, that we chose this, because we were just so overwhelmed with what had happened we needed a calm place to live. Now as we are looking to move, I am so glad we didn't go with the bright boho theme we usually chose. Whoever lives in this place next will have a (relatively) newly remodeled home, with neutral colors. I hope that they enjoy making this home their own.

[@alysiasanchez5015]

My husband and I bought a house that was flipped and is completely gray and white. flipped four years ago. we fell in love with the house as a whole (unique 1945 set up, garage, a backyard for our dog and toddler). i don't love the colors. they're hard to decorate around. i'd like to bring in warm earthy tones. but i also don't have it in me to repaint the entire house, as a full-time attorney with a toddler. I've seen those "ghost of decor past" reels. i know our barn door is now dated. but i just refuse to get caught up in that kind of stuff. and so. we will live in this cold, white and gray house til the day we die. i might get that from my parents who did not update a single aesthetic thing in our home which is like a 1986 time capsule. they did manage to put for kids through college and graduate schools and have a lot in retirement. did we ever bring our friends over? no. 😂

[@zulejkajaversek9161]

You can bring in oversized art and rugs in your fave colours, and when you have that, you can pull colors from them and buy curtains, cushions and smaller art in those coordinating colors and you will have a home with personality but without the drudgery of painting😎

[@4kassis]

"My taste is more colorful" - you mean the mustard pillow? - on the grey couch in front of the beige wall and the white closet?

[@dimplesd8931]

The funny thing is interior designers are now pushing blue, green and brass to counteract millennial gray. A few years ago they tried pink, lavender and purple. NOPE. Grey still won. The best way to choose a color palette is to choose colors you love from nature and use them to contrast and compliment each other. You can use a color wheel to help you. I found a shell on the beach with colors of cream, white, taupe, aubergine and soft blue grey in it. If nature can put those colors together beautifully so can I. Doing our renovation now. 😊

[@MrNimra]

So if I have money but don't buy a bunch of useless things that don't make me happy I'm "conspicuously non-consuming". And the alternative would be...preferable? Drawing a line from an average individual's conscious consumption to celebrity mansions-du-jour and corporate gentrification is a huuuuge reach. Being able to afford any 'aesthetic' is, and has been since the beginning of civilization, a luxury. That's nothing new.

[@kristen544]

I agree. There was a stretch here & this could have been 2 different videos. After watching the whole video I think the purpose was to point out that it’s a trend of house flippers to neutralize homes with the minimalism trend & that it’s the historical features or personalization that gives a home character & “feel like home”. Then when done on a community-wide level it’s part of the gentrification of neighborhoods. However, I would think that historical features of a home were also probably once part of a trend. That’s why there are certain basements that remind me of my grandmother’s old house. 😊 I agree it should not be applied to personal preferences (which she kind of mentioned there at the end, to like what you like), but it’s kind of hard when the whole first part details how this grey-white trend has been used by wealthy people as part of a “conspicuous non-consumption” which translates to “look how much I could have but don’t have”. I guess as long as it leads to less consumption that probably good. I agree with you that the alternative is NOT preferable in any way. Looking to wealthy people to set trends even it means re-doing their whole mansion to achieve it is unfortunately what we allow it to be. No matter how much you mimic, they will make all the money from it while you spend. If we tried not to do that, they wouldn’t make all this money & continue to “dictate trends”. Like what you like. Make your space yours. Trends are not inherently bad or stupid. They can be fun because there’s a lot of creativity on display but following them even if you have the money is unnecessary. Do it only if you want, only if you can. Don’t go crazy. Now I’m writing too much. I will just to continue to not conspicuously not consume.

[@karenholmes6565]

I love what I see a lot of Zoomers doing, which is thrifting decor. I used to sell antiques and collectibles before the economy took a dump in 2008. I wish I was in the mood to sell secondhand, because it seems to be a growing (and affordable) market. There is used crap at every price point, even free if you find someone just trying to get rid of stuff.

[@minimalcat1987]

Chelsea just hates the practice of minimalism, sadly. It's a major flaw in this channel.

[@dianajin9119]

all of my walls are white bc who has the time to paint it? Also, color on the walls seems like a major commitment

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

Oh dear, everywhere and everything is a class struggle these days. I'd say that minimalist homes are great because they are much more adaptable for any personal or trend-based updates without investing too much in that process. If an interior is too personal or way into some particular visual trend, it'll take a complete overhaul to adapt it to new times or new people. Which I guess is neither economical nor sustainable.

[@dianajin9119]

absolutely this

[@hyenaedits3460]

Part of the reason minimalism is seen as a class thing is because rich people can afford to re-buy things and they have the time and energy to regularly declutter.

[@dianarusnov292]

​@@hyenaedits3460 It's really not a class thing. It's a lifestyle that anyone can adopt. There are tons of rich people with so much crap in their houses, and if you get into home decor then I mean the gaudy, camp home decor. It's honestly just safer and more economically friendly to sell a house with a minimalist vibe that's easy to adapt to fit your own style. It's the most neutral option.

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

​@@hyenaedits3460 I don't think it's that much connected. It takes a certain mental discipline to avoid getting overgrown with stuff which can be present or lacking both in well-off and not-so-well-off people. As a designer myself I've seen a variety of cases. Poor people can also accumulate stuff in great quantities, it's just not going to be something expensive.

[@hajras]

Mina Le did a great in depth video about a month ago about this greige aesthetic. Highly recommend!

[@afirewasinmyhead]

This!

[@Martina_E]

So grey

[@lijohnyoutube101]

I call it the Morgue look.

[@lisawise4204]

Most of the main rooms of my house are painted Sherwin Williams “Repose Gray,” and I will use this color in every house I own for the rest of forever. However, I have a teal bathroom, a medium blue bedroom, my daughter’s room is lavender and my son’s room is sky blue with a race car wallpaper border. The reason I love Repose Gray is because it goes with everything - currently blush pink in my living room/office, purple in my en suite bathroom, etc. So I’m about the neutral walls and permanent fixtures, because they’re easy to personalize or change , but the neutral/white and gray EVERYTHING, nah.

[@Justcetriyaart]

so if they used color, it wouldn't be a luxery? point is people with money follow trends and spend money. Also, many white things are done with anti stain fabric/ tech. Most of us at the start really did this because of decision fatige and to keep a small space (waht you can afford) light and not buy too much if you need to move to find cheaper rent or work. And really, painting a multi-colored house is annoying and rather a light blank canvas. Also, arent we trying to consume less ingeneral? be it for money, the environment, ect?

[@realSimoneCherie]

It’s not just about home buying. Increasingly people are lifetime renters and forbidden from making creative modifications to their living spaces. Even in places they love, there’s a chance the rent will increase next year and they’ll be unable to renew. Painting and then un-painting comes at quite a cost and/or quite a bit of effort for a temporary living situation.

[@borkbork4124]

Not only living in an all white apartment, but that I can only hang things with command strips because when I move the complex doesnt want to fill the hole where I want to drill my hooks for my curtain rods. Cant mount anything on the wall like my television with only command strips. Got some art on the wall and secured my dresser to my wall because I have small dogs. Fine if people say white is calming to them, but not to everyone. All white is sterile, it reminds me of a hospital. Especially blue lighting. I bought a lamp with a warm colored bulb and it makes the space better.

[@MichiruEll]

All my furniture is white and from Ikea, because when I bought it I lived in a small dark studio that would feel suffocating if I had dark furniture. Also I suck at identifying if colors go well together, so white/grey is easier. Idk, I don't know why we are focusing on the colors rather than the behavior.

[@yasminnarcizo7182]

And there's still the point that house flipping often means covering problems so they're not seen, instead of actually solving them

[@Flamingogirl13]

Feeling smug with my colorful belongings. Thanks, Chelsea!

[@thatjillgirl]

I understand why homes get treated as investments (because they often can be), but they really need to be treated first and foremost as a home. They're for living in. I always kind of liked the idea of flipping houses, but always as just a fun hobby where you take a house that really needs some love and restore it to good function in a way that preserves the character of the house. I've never been interested in the profit-driven house flipping that just makes some quick aesthetic adjustments to turn the house into whatever look is currently trendy for fast sale.

[@zulejkajaversek9161]

You are so right about therapy when you are starting a business. I started my first business without a clue and any smart plan and I developed anxiety with panic attacks from it, possibly burnout too. I haven’t really recovered from it because I couldn’t afford therapy when I needed it the most. So yeah, that sucks. At least I didn’t acquire any debt in the process…

[@nlpnt]

This is why cars are such boring non-colors too, most of them are made for dealer stock and dealers order what sells. Plus there's a persistent myth that if you buy an inoffensive "color" and avoid things like manual transmissions, cloth interiors (remember nice cloth car interiors?) and aftermarket sunroofs it'll pay off in resale value. What really happens then is that your used car is competing against all the other bland default-spec appliance cars.

[@Hibleb]

Love that answer for Question 2!

[@christinaslocum8761]

I used to envy the all white aesthetic and wish for an all white kitchen. The kitchens look so dated now and cliche. A space with ambiance and life is so much more desirable, imo.

[@marylander3798]

My house was "neutral" when I brought it and I had to repaint to make it my own style. The cheapest grey vinyl also had to be replaced now I have warm tones on the floor as well

[@aricufl2214]

I agree with this. A lot of people on KZbin just follow the “minimalism” trend, by buying decor items without any functionality which ends up defeating the purpose. Houses are meant to be/look lived in.

[@ZaydaFleming]

If I wasn’t renter I would have such colorful walls. As it is I cover the walls in art and have somewhat colorful furniture. I stayed in an Airbnb last year that was in. Recently renovated building that had been turned from a commercial building in apartments and the walls were painted that grey color that is everywhere and I swear it was bad for my mental health to be in there. I understand neutral architecture and color choices being important in a rental space, but gawd I want to be in spaces with some personality…

[@raheeeg]

As a povo, white on white on white always makes me think of the dentist

[@ahousecatwhohasacellphone]

I think it's interesting how some will say that the plain white interior decor look helps their anxiety while for me, personally, it makes mine 10x worse!! I can't imagine having to maintain an all-white/grey/beige home... not with pets or other house mates and certainly not with children hahaha

[@666moparman]

Thank God you have given this interior design has a name, I spent alot of time trying to ask people why all social media influencers and by extension young people all had light gray walls, carpet white bed sheets and silver/ mirror furniture in their photos. Once you see it in one post you cant help but notice it in alot of people's mostly bedrooms. I thought it was a Insta filter that gray scaled the background so the person in the photo stands out more.

[@Justcetriyaart]

cause its easier to source, deal with, and lighten for posts

[@mrwormtester]

I love gray. No regrets on all of the gray finishes and fixtures in my home as it's less likely to show dirt and stains so I find it lower maintenance. But I love colors, too, and having grown up in a white walls home where we weren't "allowed" to have colors for some reason, I painted all of my interior rooms in color. For people with limited budgets, I think it makes sense to keep longer-term finishes like flooring or cabinetry a neutral hue and then decorate with color or trend items. I personally prefer cleaner, bare spaces; it makes me feel calm and peaceful.

[@julecaesara482]

Personal taste rant: Here in Germany, there has been a trend in building these smaller, yet very boxy family houses with a flat roof or one that only tilts to one side. It saves money not to have an attic. It saves time to have a "stone garden" (dude you just dumped gravel on the ground). All of them have dark grey doors, windows, roof tiles, and are painted in a lighter grey. People that renovate their older houses also paint them grey now, which is to me the greatest offence. Have you ever seen a house with grey walls, grey windows, and red roof tiling? It looks like some unholy child...

[@justynawisniewska1213]

Omg same here in Poland. I mean I like neutrals but why does everything need to be grey all of a sudden?

[@zulejkajaversek9161]

Yeah, in Slovenia, we seem to like a white/dark grey boxy house. Haven’t seen any unholy children yet😀😇 but people do “upgrade” old houses by building a boxy addition on the roof (I don’t know how to explain it but I guess you get the idea).

[@ysucae]

it's very specifically PREMADE minimalism. not working things you already have into an efficient space, but just going to ikea to fill out, consume, buying pre-printed canvases of unknown artists with generic, inoffensive consumer art. as you said, this has no personnality. it's just the kinda industrial kinda scandinavian kinda zen kind of nothingness, all premade and where you just go for aesthetics and not character and life. you don't support local artists, you don't look into the junk you accumulate, you don't diy, you don't care about designing with the space and history of the place, you don't care about preserving textures and natural materials, you just fill it out with bland shit and a huge tv. minimalism can have colors and life, it's just very strategic and purposeful. even in a not minimalistic aesthetic, the tenets of minimalism can be super useful to steamline and improve the mood of a room. it enhances the beauty of imperfection and the space between light and shadows. the shit you're talking about is not really minimalism. it's just bland aesthetic consumerism in white/gray/beige. and each time i pass one of the premade house with the premade aesthetics in the premade neighborhood where they demolished all of the historic houses and parks, that's what i glimpse in the windows. people are living in that and it's just sad and wierd.

[@music4life813]

Hi! Could you do a video on the current banking issues in Silicon Valley? I could use a good Chelsea explanation!

[@rosseryankeegirl]

I'm gonna put the blame on Ikea. Cause it just feels right.🥴 They started this idea of a "minimalistic type furniture home decor aesthetic that's boring and bland"...and although we've grown from Ikea (not really I still have bookshelves) it's safe to say, they started this boring aesthetic.imo. hey Mona..we see you baby girl..🥰🥰

[@thefinancialdiet]

I think we all still have the bookshelves lol

[@LadyHawke78]

I like a little blue with my white and gray aesthetic, but that’s just me. Trying to get more and more “minimalistic,” as I’m about a year away from getting priced out of my current geographic area and want less stuff to have to move. 😪

[@pro100olga]

I rent an apartment which is white/gray, and I really like its neutrality, and the feel of additional space it creates. Once the textiles are not too light, it's easy to maintain. I would prefer something similar in my own apartment. To me, this video is a bit exaggerating the problem.

[@martinaciprova2720]

I don't really care about the trends, but I painted my walls grey more than five years ago and I still totally love it :) I am not exactly a minimalist, I have a lot of white (Ikea, also very easy to mix and match) or wooden furniture, plus I have some red pops of colour. Grey is just very relaxing and calms me down, I also think that the combination has a lot of personality :D

[@feliciaw.9248]

"That when everything is a commodity that can just be flipped and sold on a dime, nothing is worth living in." Poignant!

[@Martina_E]

Where did your get your couch? I like the color and texture and will pair well with color

[@ssgg23]

I really like greige in bedrooms for relaxing but if the whole house was that color it would so boring!

[@scoobydont]

I hate that minimalists are so afraid of colour. Why do all KZbin minimalist creators essentially live in the same house?? 🙄

[@Shibouu59]

My mother-in-law watches a lot of HGTV and has fully decked out her home in the millennial gray minimalist aesthetic, I'm not a huge fan of it. It's also strange to me that she thinks about her home's resale value when she makes design choices, considering this is her retirement house and will likely be the last house she ever owns. 😅

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

This sounds like a problem that only exists on Instagram.

[@alicewatson7864]

Amanda Mull would be a great guest, I love her articles on the Atlantic

[@emilyhardeman5051]

I think the fact that cyclical trends exist (especially those that vary so greatly from the previous trend) means that many people don't have access to being "on trend" due to income, financial obligations, and/or prioritizing financial security, and is a problem.

[@rmcnally3645]

I haven't even watched the video and I'm already hitting the "like" button ✌🏻😅

[@theplacesthepalsgototravel]

With my toddler, acquiring beige or white furniture doesn’t seem feasible for our family dynamics. I do get fascinated by decor that has no clutter, color, and extremely clean looking. Whatever works for your home, do it, and just feel good about it.

[@NekoMouser]

Removing those historical flourishes...have we still not learned that, even if they fall out of favor briefly, they INEVITABLY make the house worth more over time? They become selling features in-and-of themselves. To each his own, but removing them is almost never a good idea in the long run.

[@karolkowalski3842]

most sane channel on youtube

[@eloisewarren8457]

Rather than go minimal as seen here I live minimal as in I only have items I use/need no excess (can't afford it anyway) and try to keep my home very clutter free. This does not mean I do not display important art or images. It does not mean I have white on white. I have colour. I have photos, keepsakes and art. I have lamps etc. But just not a ton of stuff. Except tea I do have a Chinese apothecary filled with different teas.

[@citrinedragonfly]

I can't unsee the "millennial gray" aesthetic now that I know it's a thing, and it's affecting the choices I'd have otherwise made in my own homebuying experience. That being said, my walls are all white or just off-white to start with in my new home, partially because it's cheaper for a contractor, partly because I don't know what colors I want where, and a base of white means no worries of other things bleeding through, and partly because it will, in my doll room, make my dolls stand out that much more. I collect a lot of fashion dolls and display them on picture rails, and having a white background for them means that they won't fade into the wall. It also means a brighter space in a room without windows.

[@RamenzillaX]

Personally, I could never live in one of those "all white/beige" sort of places. It's marketable in that it's very inoffensive and neutral...but I like my living space to be a reflection of me in some way - whether it be the color scheme, the decorations, the art, etc. Even my office at work has *cheap* art from my first apartment hanging in it to make it feel more like "home". Also, from a practical perspective, white on white is so much more high maintenance to keep looking clean.

[@annagor4727]

Congrats on 1 million subs 🎉

[@michaelfisher1931]

"Minimalism" always looks the same, to me, as "I'm either broke or my head is too empty to imbue this space with the faintest trace of an individual personality". I have photos on my walls. MOre specifically, my own photos. Even more specifically, photo's of stuff other than family. And actual books I've actually or plan to read on shelves.

[@sitori663]

An ad plays before the video starts. Fine. 10 seconds in, an in-video paid sponsorship ad begins. No thanks.

[@alliedoll42]

I'm a fan of the mid to late century look that my mom and grandmother had. I'm definitely a maximalist.

[@seekittycat]

I grew up in a house with brightly coloured labels everywhere. My house has always resembles a box of Legos. Just piles of colourful stuff everywhere sometimes wrapped in plastic bags. I honestly have no idea how people keep colour out. Do they throw out all the packaging? What do they do with all their old stuff when they buy a new set? Growing up in poverty means the house is 100% utility only. What it looks like never cross anyone's mind.

[@carolynbraunius1914]

Hi Mona!

[@bt2598]

You can still have a lot of stuff that’s also white and gray. I unfortunately have 9 pillows on my bed for the aesthetic but I really only sleep with two

[@silliepixie]

I want to live in a house with character. I hope that they don't all get renovated to bland before I get a chance to buy one.

[@thatbberg]

One place I think the white and grey works: rentals. I've rented so many apartments with bright orange fake wood floors, deep red cabinets, gross green carpet, etc. It's really hard to make bold colors like that work with stuff you already have, but you don't want to spend a lot of time or money redecorating if you don't know how long you're going to be able to live there. My last apartment had greyish white walls, white cabinets, and greyish fake wood floors, and the neutral palette made it soooo much easier to make the space work with our stuff.

[@MR-rj2qw]

Ha! Finally, some problems that are of no concern to me!

[@irinaphoenix2169]

So are those advisors fiduciaries?

[@relaskra]

I absolutely despise white and grey minimalism. It makes me feel like a zoo animal in the 1950s, it’s so understimulating it drives me absolutely nuts. I have like nine office plants and tons of rocks and little toys on my desk and it makes it so much more bearable. I’ll take actively ugly over painfully bland especially in the winter when it’s grey and dead outside. I will happily take tacky or painfully 70s over it ANY DAY.

[@rodemates]

I like the white/grey look but don't think it will ever happen for me. My partner has collected a bunch of mismatched furniture woods and tones and we would have to literally throw it all away to get new stuff to match perfectly. Seems wasteful. We embrace the chaos instead.

[@Justcetriyaart]

might want to check up japan home styles, tend to mix different furniture tones with off white walls and accessories.

[@AprilCMango]

Y’all this is not about you personally liking gray 😭 It’s about people gentrifying with the aesthetic. If you’re not buying up and flipping and contributing to the destruction of these neighborhoods and are doing this to your PERSONAL space, whatever!

[@thefinancialdiet]

I believe Chelsea even mentions that some people prefer these things aesthetically in the video (and that that's okay)!

[@jcg03002]

I hate gray, and think it is depressing. That said though, I am getting ready to sell and we are repainting everything white - why? It looks really clean, airy, and bright. We're in a cold, dark city in New England and try to maximize sunlight in the winter. I have generally chosen to decorate with a lot of color, with rugs or bathroom tile choices. When we move to a forever home, I'm looking forward to buying colorful tile and wallpaper to match my own taste.

[@pearlywhiteteeth]

Do more of the blues clues song.

[@Arachne-qw1vr]

Imagine if we all lived nomadically in our tiny houses moving from food forest to farm.

[@margonaut]

Not following trends makes life so much easier.

[@clairekug5709]

So basically people are upset other people, who aren't businesses but basic people, are trying to get ahead by making a house nicer, and it's upsetting because it's nicer and therefore more expensive??? But then again, they were upset they didn't get nicer things... Bffr people need to get over it.

[@Ms.MD7]

Right lol I'm not rich by any means but I could careless what ppl do with their money.