Magnolia fades away as home decorators see red

For years, it was the inoffensive paint of choice in a nation of cautious home decorators.

But it seems our obsession with magnolia may finally be fading.
Sales of the subtle shade have been outstripped two to one by those of the new favourite – a far bolder red, according to B&Q.
The change in tastes is being put down to a growing number of homeowners choosing to spruce up their properties more boldly instead of preparing them for sale.

Magnolia, which has long been a favourite with both new homeowners and those opting for a safe colour with a view to selling, has gone out of fashion as the housing market remains sluggish, B&Q said.

At the same time, it added, sales of more exciting – but riskier – shades of red have rocketed.

The DIY chain also revealed it sold one lawn mower every minute this year, with sales of patio plants up by 25 per cent – with many of us turning our attention to brightening up our gardens as well.

The changing trends were revealed as the DIY firm’s parent company Kingfisher announced plans to invest £20million upgrading 29 former Focus stores into new B&Q shops creating 230 new jobs and safeguarding nearly 600 Focus staff positions.
Home improvement chain Focus went into administration earlier this year.

Kingfisher said it had taken on stores which were not within 20 minutes drive of their other B&Q chains and was confident they would be a success.

Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire said: 'Although the economic outlook is uncertain, this investment demonstrates our confidence in the UK’s longer-term growth prospects.’

Source: Daily Mail
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