When it comes to painting nurseries, gone are the days of feeling pressurised to decorate in pink or blue. This year, parents are set to go gender neutral when preparing for new arrivals and leading UK paint brand, Valspar®, has revealed the nation’s favourite gender neutral nursery shade – Rabbit’s Foot (R79B).
Valspar® fans on Facebook voted on their favourite colour from a shortlist of gender neutral shades, carefully selected from Valspar’s pre-selected range of 2,000 colours by top interior stylist, Kate McPhee.
Available from B&Q in all Valspar® Interior, Exterior Wood & Metal and Masonry paints interior paints, including the scrubbable and stain resistant Valspar® Premium Blend v700™ Walls & Ceilings, Rabbit’s Foot is a soft and soothing neutral. Psychologists suggest that babies under three months can only see monochrome colours, so opting for a grey colour scheme for a nursery can promote visual stimulation, as well as thoughts and emotions. The winning shade is backed up by Pinterest’s prediction that modern, Scandi-themed nurseries are set to be bigger than ever in 2018.
Kasia Wiktorowicz, Valspar® Brand Manager at Sherwin-Williams, said:
“The arrival of a new family member is very exciting and a popular time for redecorating but we don’t think there should be rules when it comes to colour! With the help of interior stylist Kate McPhee, our followers have voted for the perfect gender-neutral paint shade that will create a soothing interior for new-borns, without sticking to tradition. As well as offering parents a wide range of colours, our Premium Blend v700™ Walls & Ceilings paint benefits from excellent scrubbability and great stain resistance, making it a trustworthy choice for nurseries.”
In addition to the soothing grey of Rabbit’s Foot, interior stylist Kate McPhee predicted that the other gender-neutral colours set to feature on nursery walls this year would be sage green (Soothing Sage R251E)
or a subtle yellow (Royal Mews Gold R139D). Experts have found that green interiors can promote calmness and concentration, whereas yellow is a colour associated with happiness and energy.
Available at B&Q diy.com