The term ‘Millennial gray’ is well-known among members of Gen-Z as the somber interior decoration featured in houses and furniture often owned by Millennials.
One TikTok user cruelly referred to the aesthetic as ‘the boiled chicken of decor’.
Urban Dictionary offers a much harsher explanation, defining ‘Millennial gray’ as ‘the sad hue of the color gray which many coat their life in. The color reflects how went from non-sense happiness, looking at cartoon network and Nickelodeon in the 90’s to Inflation and depression in the early 2020s.’
The phenomenon has been theorized to be a rebellious response to the colorful childhood homes that Millennials might have grown up in.
Gen-Z, however, seem to have taken the decor style personally and started slamming millennials for their home decoration choices.
One TikTok user Lindsy Davigeadono shared video of her house, which includes ‘Millennial gray’ appliances, furniture and flooring
Pictured: The ‘Millennial gray’ aesthetic
‘Millennial gray’ started trending in the 2010’s and refers to a home having an all-gray interior with gray furnishings and decor
One TikTok user commented online saying: ‘I’m millennial grey but can we all remember what we grew up with?? We [had] red carpet, green carpet, everything brown outside, orange kitchens, blue bathrooms’
Growing up in the ’90s, home aesthetics were taken over by the ‘Tuscan-villa’, which featured beige hues, vines or the dreaded grape themed kitchen.
‘Shabby-Chic’ was equally a staple of a ’90s home, with frilled lace, a range of white and pastel colors and floral patterns.
Interior design specialists attribute ‘Millennial gray’ as an attempt to counter their aesthetically chaotic upbringing with a more calm, neutral home.
Interior designer and owner of the Home Narrative in Canada, Marissa Warner, said on TikTok that the trend is ‘kind of our parents fault’.
The term refers to furnishing a home with an all-gray interior, such as couches, floorboards or walls, or painting old furniture gray to modernize it
She said: ‘The shades of gray trend really accommodate our desire to move away from the overstimulating chaos of our childhoods and towards a more serene environment,’ reported the HuffPost.
One TikTok user – and self-professed Millennial – Lindsy Davigeadono shared video of her house, which includes ‘Millennial gray’ appliances, furniture and flooring.
‘Even my house is gray,’ she said, showing off the gray exterior of her home at the end of the video.
The calming nature of the gray palette, however, appears to be frustrating Gen-Z.
One commenter even goes as far as saying ‘this is my personal hell’ in reference to a ‘Millennial gray’ house online.
Another said: ‘Omg do you feel like you live in a cinder block prison? I don’t know how this isn’t depressing for people.’
Many have expressed that they feel ‘haunted’ by ‘millennial gray’, and finding vintage decor, furniture, floorboards and walls painted over or covered.
A video went viral on TikTok showing before and after photos of a non-existent old, vintage house being turned into a ‘Millennial gray’ home.
Whilst the user who posted the video acknowledged that artificial intelligence most likely played a role in the initial creation of the video and photographs, the house flipping trends that Gen-Z are so angry over are demonstrated not only in the video but also the comments.
‘If you want a modern house buy a modern house,’ one wrote in all caps.
Another user wrote – also in all caps: ‘Why can’t they just buy a boring normal house!!!?!?! Why do they have to destroy everything that’s beautiful and old???’
To which the creator responded: ‘because they hate us, and they want to feel like it’s jail.’
Despite many comments understanding the video was not a real house flip, the trends in old house and furniture modernization are definitely not sitting well with Gen-Z.
It isn’t just AI sending the ‘Millennial gray’ home trend viral, as more Millennials are coming to realize that the decor they chose seems to fit the stereotype.
One user commented: ‘You just noticing what millennial gray is, very millennial of you.’
It has been suggested that Gen-Z’s horror toward Millennial gray is a result of their tendency to lean more toward self-expression and individualism.
Business of Fashion reported that out of a survey of 1,000 Gen-Z, 89 percent rated fashion as important for boosting confidence, and 82 percent said fashion is important for establishing their identities.
There is also indication that Gen-Z are more willing to buy secondhand or thrifted items, reported Business Insider, potentially contributing to the new trends of vintage fashion.
In order to counter the stereotype and avoid the online wrath from Gen-Z, millennials have started gravitating to ‘millennial green’ and have begun maintaining vintage decor or well-preserved old houses.