Why is magnolia paint so popular?

[DiscoStu]

Given that everyone slags it off, why is it so popular? Is it cheaper to produce? Was there a special offer one year, so everyone bought it and it's kinda stuck? What? There's loads of nicer cream shades out there so I can't understand why everyone just goes for magnolia. Come on ABers, give me the answer!

[WendyS]

I think magnolia and all the similar shades such as cream, are so popular because most people like to have a neutral colour.s on their walls. This enables them to be more flexible and immaginative about the colour of furnishing accessories. Also, lighter colours make a room seem larger and have a less overpowering effect.

[n00dles]

Probably because being one of the neutral colours it will blend in with any colour scheme you choose, without spoiling any strong contrasting colours, but enhancing the chosen shade......

If selling a property, neutral colours can give an appearance of added space, as stronger ones will draw a room in. As the majority of viewers to property cannot see 'further ahead' to how a room will look when it has had a makeover, magnolia is considered a colour most people can live with..and again it won't clash with strong bright colours, that the prospective buyer might have in the way of furnishings!

[DiscoStu]

Thanks for the replies, but I know all that already.
What I want to know is, why is it that magnolia in particular is so popular, when it's got such a boring reputation? Why haven't all the other lovely cream shades, which give the same neutral effect, established themselves in the way that magnolia has? I would never choose magnolia myself, but I know many people who have and I just don't get it.

[oops!!!]

I think people use the other creamy shades too but later on forget the proper name of the shade they have used and then call it magnolia ..it's easier. lol

[heathfield]

Magnolia was a new colour back in the 1950's, and people got quite excited about it. If you ever see typical early 1950s colour charts, you'd see why. Since then it's just become a sort of a standard for the reasons given in the answers above. I agree about the other cream shades available, but historically, the 'colour hints' ranges of paint are really quite a recent innovation. (And are much more expensive, for some reason).

[janetsflower]

Because you can buy a huge tin of magnolia for a fraction of the cost of a fancy named cream paint. Infact if you look around magnolia varies from brand to brand so you can probably find the colour you want anyway