6 Green Design Gambles that make St. Patty..well, Green with Envy.
St. Patty’s Day green may not light your design heart on fire, but the day’s nod to leprechauns, mischief and a pint or two puts me in the mood to talk about this resurgent color. Navy and charcoal cabinets have not finished their kitchen debuts, but they are getting some mean green fighting competition from this 2017 favorite.
Mt. Vernon Dining Room
George Washington got bold with it. Bright colors were a sign of wealth so he was liberal with colors at Mt. Vernon (check out his Prussian Blue West Parlor). If walls of Verdigris green are more than your timeless tactics can take, here are some of my favorite places in the home for pops of a more subtle nature.
Lucas/Eilers Design Associates
1 Painted Panel Ceiling
Oh my. If you have the height for ceiling drama, one great way to play it up: panel and paint. Lucas/Eilers achieves a perennial elegance with a sage grey ceiling above.
Design by Mark Cunningham
2 Paint out the trim, mantel, doors & casings in the same muted green color
If you are game to risk changing the standard white trim, this can be an elegant statement to make. This subtle grey/green velvet sofa with what looks like Benjamin Moore’s Night Train on the walls and trim is green-gorgeous.
Photo from Benjamin Moore
3 Paint out your front door This rich Hunter green hue is perfect for the geometric dutch door design and the home’s raw shingle siding
Studio McGee
4 Small doses of cabinetry
Shea McGee from Studio McGee is a big fan of hunter green cabinets. I love that she’s brought it to prominence in kitchens.
Suburban B’s
5 Velvet seating
I have a soft spot for Emerald green velvet sofas and chairs. They feel so Parisian decandent… especially with gold accents.
Smith Boyd Interiors
6 Art
Lean, mean, but not into so much green? Try some art. Move it with your mood: Living Room for now, Entry Hall next. The abstract art piece above is deserving of its own blog (????) and I ???????? the plum and fern color combination.
Green can overpower any space, so my preference is to use it in subtle tones and amounts. Kelley green works for youthful spaces, Kermit the Frog and St. Patty’s day decor, but for me, I like a rich Emerald City green or Yoda’s serene sage. Some clients prefer that greens be left to nature. They don’t want the house to compete. What’s your take on green?
Happy St. Patty’s Day. Get your green on!
Courtney Thomas, ASID
Principal & Lead Designer
My job is to make spaces functional in their layout, comfortable in their use, inspirational in their style and luxurious in their appointment. In that order. For that one moment after installation, the pictures are perfect.
