Color Palette – Bold Greens

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

The long Minnesota winter has hidden the grass, trees and flowers for too long. I’m itching for bright green as far as the eye can see.  But since Mother Nature isn’t ready to start spring, I guess these rooms filled with bold greens will have to inspire me for now.

It’s easy to see the power of tile in these kitchens – talk about a wow factor!  But are you bold enough to not only tile the walls to the ceiling in shades of green and blue but also paint your cabinets a bold green?  It may be too much for some, but that kitchen certainly packs a lot of personality.

These living rooms have just the right balance of green and neutrals.  The armoire and coffee table add punch to this casual living room on the left.  The pillows on the couch serve to pull the palette together. 

The living room in the middle might be one of my favorites, if only for that kelly green armchair.  I would consider breaking and entering to make that mine (if I knew where the house was in the first place). But I guess the look could be achieved with no criminal activity by finding the right vintage chair and reupholstering it in the perfect shade of silk velvet.  Notice how the large plant adds height, drawing your eyes up to the high ceilings, accentuated by those silky spring green curtains.  Wonderful! 

Finally, why not treat green as the focal point – upholster a sofa and ottoman in rich shades of green, add coordinating pillows and window treatments, and then top it all off with plants that provide the variations of green that nature does best. 

Now these bedrooms clearly demonstrate the power of paint.  Without that vivid saturated green on the left, the bedroom would be nice, but not eye catching.  By using two shades of green paint, a “headboard” was created on the right to give height and interest to an otherwise simple bed (though the bold pink bedding is hardly tame).  But it is the kelly green bed in the middle that I can most see recreating in my own home.  The bold color is perfect for a guest room, where it won’t overwhelm, especially when tempered with lots of white.  I appreciate how the woven shades on the windows and the cowhide pillows add texture and whimsy, respectively.

Green can add a punch to other rooms as well.  A bright cushion, throw and accessories liven up this corner of a home office.  Kids tend to be more comfortable with bold colors, so their rooms are a perfect place to experiment with mixing together bright shades.  But since they tend to tire of a look quickly, be sure to implement this palette in easy to update accessories, like the bedding and stool, as seen above. 

Finally, green can be incorporated into a home in truly breathtakingly surprising ways.  For pure wow factor, the winner would have to be this ivy wall in a Manhattan apartment!  The (all-white) kitchen is just up the stairs, where the homeowner can look down on their reflecting pond and enjoy their own private calm oasis in the city. 

So how can you going to bring green into your home?  Or how have you already incorporated green in your home?  For example, I’m sitting in my office with walls in two shades of bright green with accents in white, brown, pink and orange.  It’s bold, cheerful, and stimulating (just what an office should be, especially in a dreary Minnesota winter).

Tags: bedroom, chocolate brown, color palette, green, Guest Bedroom, kid's room, Kitchen, living room, office, paint, texture, vintage, white
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