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Is Forest Green the New Grey? Yay or Nay

Okay so I did see it coming, the trend towards dark emeralds and forest greens, but what I was surprised to see, was that suddenly, forest green is available as a standard upholstery fabric.

As standard as grey.

My sister Elizabeth and I were in IKEA yesterday choosing some storage for her living room and here was one of their wing chairs in a forest green, rayon upholstered velvet:

IKEA

At IKEA, they are calling it Dark Green. Maybe the copywriters are older and just couldn’t type the words forest green, haha.

West Elm came straight out and called it Forest Green. Perhaps the copywriter was a millennial who simply wasn’t traumatized by all the pink and forest green from the 80s like I was.

West Elm

When we were in Dallas last month, we dined in two restaurants where forest green and pale pink was the primary colour scheme:

Photo by Maria Killam

Sachet Restaurant

 

Sassetta

Pink, is definitely here to stay as a trend colour. And a trend colour generally has a minimum shelf life of about 10 years. It arrived first on the scene a few years ago already.

I posted about how we had started to see pink as a trend colour for exterior almost two years ago here.

Forest green was considered so neutral in the 80s that it was a standard window colour. There are still many apartment buildings in Vancouver with pink stucco and forest green windows. After all stucco doesn’t seem to need painting like wood. It seems to only gets painted once it really gets dirty or if someone really dislikes the old colour.

Eclectic Trends

Apartment Therapy

Love Property

This past Friday, Terreeia, Kelly and I had a lovely lunch at the Botanist in downtown Vancouver. And again, we have dark forest and emerald greens along with pink!

Here’s a picture of my amazing design assistant Kelly Parkinson and I at lunch:

Kelly Parkinson and Maria Killam

Over to you my lovelies, are you on board? If you already had forest green and pink in your house from the 80s, would you do it again?

Who’s already incorporated pink and forest green into your decor?

Related posts:

Trend Alert: Pink for Exterior

My 2018 Trend Forecast included Peach and Forest Green

The Best Way to Update Forest Green (What I said in 2009)

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120 Comments

  • Claire says:

    I noticed the Emerald Green a lot last year at KBIS, not the one we were just at in 2018 together, but in 2017. I also noticed some pieces in that same colour velvet, at the Sunpan showroom in Highpoint last fall, It suprised me, but I can see it coming more and more now, especially with this post. Funny though, I didn’t noticed the forest green items at Ikea when I was there a week ago with my daughter…but I am in southern Ontario, so quite a ways from you. Not sure if their lines are always the same everywhere?

    Anyway, my very first client had forest green walls and pink floral sofas with matching drapery. Well, of course I changed all that to update her look in 2011. Do you think she’ll want me back now to swap it out again? HAHA! xo

  • Jean Anderson says:

    No, not ever again. I just think of old, dirty, faded furniture when I see that chair and couch. Sorry.

    I love, love, love pink and green but I like a different combination. I like hits of forrest green but big areas of it
    are heavy and depressing.

  • Forest Green is not a trend it has always been a classic in historic interiors. Green felt billiard table cloth, green black shutters and window trim, green backed roller window shades that I have just used in a historic museum restoration and the shade cloth is still available!. Have a client who insists on a forest green bed covering and does not want to go custom . Hopefully we will be able to find a really nice one soon. Forest green goes with any bright color. Think any color flowers with dark green leaves. Dark Green is here to stay. Yea!

    • Maria Killam says:

      I’m so glad you posted this comment, every colour in small doses has it’s place. Just like brown, black and grey. It’s the overuse of all these trendy neutrals that has people shudder (like me because I’m a 80s child).

      Also, white kitchens and subway tiles are classic and timeless but they also happen to be trendy at the moment.

      Thanks for your comment! Maria

      • Kathy says:

        I agree with you Ann, dark green is a classic color and I don’t think it ever totally went out and looks fabulous in most old houses. The 80s version of Victorian-era design was all cabbage roses and lace and wallpaper borders, not truly Victorian colors at all. While a full Bradbury and Bradbury reproduction interior is not for everyone, I challenge anyone to look at the subtlety of the color combinations and the use of color and pattern to transition from one tone to the other. Of course, green in all its forms was a staple of Craftsman interiors and exteriors, although olive and sage were more common varieties. All truly wonderful.

        And green survived into days when Victorian and Craftsman was out, and painted over white, cream or grey, especially for sash and shutters and flooring and furniture, and into its revival, and through the Tuscan and grey trends to today. Just in smaller doses.

        I think our visceral “yucK” reaction to design that is around 30-40 years old quite interesting–usually it is strongest just prior to when it starts to come back in style. Then people say, “Oh! I just tore all that stuff out!” Too bad we are so fickle, and it is a hassle to salvage anything, and most of it ends up in the landfill.

        I believe, Maria, you said somewhere on your blog that colors don’t go out of style, color combinations do. And since certain color combinations work well together, they have a way of coming back eventually, although in modified form. The pink is far lighter and less rose or mauve in the examples you provided, and the styling is far more streamlined than it was in the 1980s..

    • teresa says:

      Ann, I so agree with you! Could you post your source for the shade cloth. I live in a very old large historic home and have had difficulty finding it. I still have the original black shades as well as the holland cloth ones, but some are in poor shape. I missed this phase, Maria, so I don’t mind it. In fact, I like most colours so long as they suit the house and style.

  • Mary says:

    Like you, I lived through the forest green of the 80s — don’t think I want to relive that. But pink is another story. I feel it’s an escape from harsh days. Think the warm, rosy pink of New Mexico soil, combined with terra cotta, rust, chestnut, and a hit of black to keep it real.

  • Barbara says:

    I had grey everywhere in the 1980s, and no way could I use that anywhere. I kinda thought it funny how everyone wanted grey this past decade, did they not remember how fast it went out entirely? I still have a grey towelrack, that never got put up….

    I liked forest green then, but am not going to use it in a big way now. My happy colour is orange, my first apartment in the early 70s and my last house now. I like what I like and do not want to follow trends.

    Btw, pink was not with forest green in the 80s. Rose was with grey, though.

    A lot of the stucco houses (about 15hanjs years old) around me have been re-painted, horrible very dark colours, it is so sombre I hate it. It costs a lot and uses so much paint.

    • Jill says:

      I agree with Barbara, I never saw it with blush pink. Around here in upstate NY burgundy was the color I always saw paired with dark green back in the day. I never liked that even though I love dark green, probably because it often got garish if the burgundy was too red or the green too bright. The blush pink with it looks fresh to me.

      I doubt I will decorate with dark green much other than plant greenery, but I love it in clothing. Black watch plaid is my go to wool in the winter.

    • Lee Cardwell says:

      I agree Barbara. I remember the forest green with burgundy. My parents had a burgundy/forest paisley bedspread, while I had the rose and cream bedroom, complete with silk flower arrangement in the mauve art deco vase. Crocket and Tubbs would have been very jelly. My friend had a gray and red bedroom. If the green catches on, I hope it will be a bit more brighter, i.e. more Kelly than Forest.

  • Tracy says:

    I love the forest green and agree that it is classic. However, I am not crazy about the forest green/pink combination. And grey and pink was also a very hot color combination in the early 80s. Anything pink screams either “preppy 80s” or “poodle skirt 50s” to me.

  • Kelly says:

    The shutters and doors of my 1890 farmhouse are painted a dark forest green from 20 years ago. Many older farmhouses in the Bluegrass State continue to be painted white with dark green (or black) doors and shutters. Done right, I think dark green is classic and lovely.

    • LIsa P says:

      Yes! It’s a classic with white for farmhouses, with other rich jewel tones in classic English country houses, with naturally greyed cedar in woodsy cabins, and on cedar strip canoes. Beautiful in those applications! And those photos pairing it with palest blush are lovely. But I’m old enough to remember great swaths of forest green on walls and leather sofas and window t(and lots more) in rooms with heavy formal drapes and lots of brass picture frames–so I feel no need to go there again! For those who love it, go for it! (But don’t make all your fixed elements forest green!)

  • Carrie Hodges says:

    I loved my forest green bedroom in the 80s–I used deep rose accents, not blush or pink. I would definitely paint a small room like a powder room that deep green but probably forgo the pink this time. But I’ve learned to never say never.

  • Karen says:

    I love green in any shade and have a lot of it in accessories and in a wing back chair and ottoman That Sherill chair was one of the first pieces we purchased as newlyweds 28 years ago.

    so…YES I would and will use use dark green again but prob not with pink. The drapes in the breakfast room have a black background with cream magnolia flowers, gold and red honeysuckle and cream dogwood blooms along with tons of green in leaves and such. I like the contrast and the green shines through. We also have 16 of every piece of Wedgwood’s Napoleon Ivy Queensware china and that makes a lovely table. Botanical prints on the walls, etc. We consider dark green, to be a classic color just like navy.

    Thanks for asking!

  • Ponti says:

    I think of forest green as a classic color, like Navy. It’s popularity might come and go but it can always be used in a way that looks fresh and clean. I like the passing green/pink trend but yellow and green is a timeless color combination and a favorite of mine.

  • Trulaine Hough says:

    Interesting! No, I’m just not into that color combination, although I like the Kelly green color in decorating. I also just changed my burgundy and dark brown master bedroom (sorry kind of Tuscany look with oil rubbed brown faucets in master bath) I wanted to update so I got the natural color coverlet from pottery barn and some blush throw pillows & a dark brown velvet pillow trimmed in cream, along with a really cute sparkly dark brown, natural, blush Kate Spade pillow. Looks updated and I didn’t have to change drapes… just traded a burgundy tassels with a natural colored ones.

  • Nancy says:

    Forest Green is a very big color for shutters here where I live on Cape Cod. The historic districts permit it without application. It was big since at least the 70s and is still dominating colonials painted white with dark roofs. I dislike it, maybe for that reason. It looks stodgy to me. Not modern.

  • Arlene says:

    I like this a lot but will be putting accessories of forest green and pink. Won’t be doing big items.

  • Lorrin says:

    Eek. I can’t do it…I’m still traumatized! The pic from Apartment Therapy is the probably the only room I could live with. I’ll stick with my backyard view of the forest and live plants indoors as my way of bringing back “forest green”. 😉

  • Nikki says:

    Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, don’t need another one!

  • Diane Casey says:

    Nay…
    signed,
    A Baby Boomer

  • Tara Imani says:

    I was considering shades of green (Loden, forest green, emerald green) as far back as 2009 when I had a family room with a lot of red undertones in the built-in cabinetry and a new brown sofa with gold threads and plush mix of pillows. The room needed some color and the Persian rug needed to tie in with the furniture. The open room concept had rust and black in the breakfast room, so adding green was seemingly too much color. It had gold walls at the time and seemed too warm. So walls were repainted in flexible gray, a mid-range mauve by Sherwin Williams (Glamour) and ultra deep Bateau Brown also by Sherwin Williams. I was going for a library look.

    This was during the grey fad, and to make the room look more contemporary, I purchased a novel occasional chair in warm gray and gold scroll Design motif over a beige background fabric.

    The history of this angled family room is rich and diverse. It’s now had a second (third?) re-do, gratefully, and the new wall colors are Pavillion Beige (main wall color) along wall of windows, and Peppercorn (a bluish/greenish off-Black grey by SW) as the new accent color. The room gets little direct light as it adjoins an outdoor covered patio.

    We added a great window treatment to soften the stark heavy framed windows. I’m still tweaking the color scheme to accommodate the bold floral fabric (Floral Fantasy in Woodsmoke by Mulberry Home available through Kravet). And the brown sofa was switched out for a beige one last fall. Now looking for the perfect shade of pomegranate/brick red in Mohair to anchor the floral print and add a much-needed pop of color.

    Mid-design, indus add a forest green lumbar pillow to the center of the sofa and it seemed to help tie things together.

    I love emerald and forest green. I do remember the mauve and green decor of the mid-80’s and how I wanted to be able to afford it in my starter home as newly-minted college grads. But I ended up going toward peach and dark beige (Taupe-ish?) solid couches and a really cool blue/peach paisley balloon balance in the Dining Room (of our first house)- which, in retrospect, looked more Bedroom-appropriate (I guess because it was a cotton favric). But the colors were beautiful, muted, semi-pastel.

    Back to my current family room project: the only dark geeens in there now are a decorative box and a mixed teal green and black set of vases next to a blush pink oriental bowl.

    I guess this would be better shared on my own website.

    Thank you for the indulgence.

    I love your blog and information. Looking forward to attending one of your color theory classes soon.

    Happy decorating,
    Tara

  • Rachel says:

    Good to know my honey’s two tone (forest green and light wood “farmhouse table” set circa 1991 would now be considered “in”. Won’t be telling him, though. Ha ha.

  • Info Diva says:

    To me, the best and highest use of forest green is as a color for outdoor use–patio umbrellas, seat cushions, and ceramic planters outdoors. It doesn’t compete with the flowers and foliage, which should be the stars of any outdoor environment. Forest green has been impossible to find for umbrellas and outdoor cushions for years now. Let’s hope next summer is a different story!

  • Claudia says:

    I just can’t get on board with the forest green/pink pairing. To me it looks old-fashioned and the green depresses me. I’d rather see pink with navy or white.

  • Pinkie Crabtree says:

    Just painted my house Dove White with Bone Black trim and a Punch Pink Door! Love it! I didn’t do the forest green trend in the eighties because I didn’t really appreciate green at the time. Now, I am really liking it as it has a garden feel to me so…I might try the forest sofa.

  • Maria says:

    Dear Maria.
    I’m really struggling I have 2charcoal grey sofas only 3months old( you’re right in your views a big mistake!) white walls can you please suggest the best accessory colour for me to use that is warm.
    I’m on a very limited budget so I can’t afford to make any mistakes.

    • Maria Killam says:

      How about pink or yellow? Really any bright colour will bring the charcoal sofa to life, just be sure that you keep the value similar. A stronger pink instead of a very pastel pink will look better against a darker grey sofa. Heres a post I wrote that might help: https://mariakillam.com/charcoalsofa/ Maria

  • Carole qureshi says:

    Well , finally my green leather has come back in style – Hancock and Moore from ’95. Still looks new! Yay?????? Not sure.

  • Holly says:

    ugh noooooo! I guess being older & having lived through it already, I can’t stand forest green. Burgandy too is yucky for me.

  • Robin says:

    A big fat Nayyyyy lol. Definitely not happening in my house.

  • Noooooooooo…… nooooooo,……. just no!
    Didn’t like it then and don’t like it now, BUT I love the pink!!

  • Kathy Campbell says:

    I hate repeating myself. I loved my forest green family room with crisp white built-ins in 1992. But I’m not doing it again. I had a pink bedroom in the 80’s – again not repeating. Just like I can’t wear Lily Pulitzer again!

  • Tina says:

    Ha ha”………if I just wait a little longer my natural oak cabinets will come back in style!!!!!

  • Lynn from the PNW says:

    culturally we are in a throw back to the eighties so it makes sense that forest green it back. In the last 5 years, we have whiplashed through colors. I don’t quite understand the obsession with color trends in classic design. I think the thing about classic design is that any color can work as long as the classic base is reimagined for the current time. Forest green is a beautiful, sophisticated, and relaxing color that has withstood the test of time. But Kelley green (remember it was “the green” a few years ago) is still a beautiful, bright, fresh color. Can’t a room designed in this green could still be “on trend”?

  • Julie B says:

    N to the O on the forest green and pink/peach whatever!!! Been there, done that. What’s next, the pastel versions? No, just please, NO!

  • nancy says:

    I have a pinterest board titled “anything green goes” because I love most shades of green. That said when one of my teen twins came to me recently and asked me to redesign his room and that he wanted to use a forest green paint color I admit I tried to push a different color on him. In the end I let go and his choice prevailed and his room is amazing and absolutely “him”…I say if you love it use it regardless of whether its a trend or not.

  • Vanessa says:

    I think it might be a magazine/blog trend but not many real live houses will go that way. There are still so many people who are not comfortable with color and both pink and green are definitely colors so that will be two hurdles to overcome for someone who is pushing for that combination.

  • Kim says:

    Baby boomer here and the forest green/pink combo is NOT for me! That said, I do really like most shades of green, especially emerald and teal. To me greens signify nature; trees, leaves, grass, flowers. I’d pair green with almost anything other than pink. I actually do like the trendy green tile in the Sachet Restaurant photo but I’d never do that in my home.

  • Aimee says:

    I love green- in all shades. So happy it’s coming back. For me, as long as it’s not done with gold, burgundy or rose I am ok. Thats the combo that dates it for me. Truly though, I like anything but grey these days.

  • Jen says:

    I love me some saturated green on the walls…e.g. Timothy Corrigan’s gorgeous dining room http://www.timothy-corrigan.com/gallery/dining-rooms…but at least the first few photos look much more like a spruce green than forest green on my monitor. They appear to have a lot of blue in them (and are a little muddy as well). Not a fan of spruce green, but maybe those look different in person.

    Forest green, yes! Apple green, yes! Kelly green, yes! Spruce…well, no thank you.

    (Oh, and I’m an ‘older copywriter’, er, poster, and I can type forest green flawlessly, thank you very much, ha! ;-))

    • Maria Killam says:

      Haha I know but usually when an old colour comes around again, people give it a new name, just like no one has been saying ‘royal blue’ they’ve been calling it ‘indigo blue’ Thanks for your comment! Maria

  • Barb says:

    Wow I didn’t realize I was decorating my twin boy/girl nursery a trendy color combo when I chose blush pinks and emerald green! Here I thought I was coming up with an original idea! Oh well, makes it easier to buy decor in stores when you pick trendy colors.

  • Lesley says:

    We bought a pink stucco house last year and it was the very first thing to be repainted into an olive deep green (Benjamin Moore- tapenaude). We live in the very centre of B.C. and get long white/ gray winters. The pink house was never part of the landscape as it just sat on the surface.
    It was a great way to meet all the neighbours as they have all stopped in and thanked us for the paint job. I don’t think pink will ever be part of my colour palette. Emerald green, yes but as an accent.

  • Monica Miller says:

    Is forest green the same thing as “hunter” green? It looks similar.
    Hunter green/Navy were the barn colors (meaning tack boxes/saddle pads etc..) where my daughter rode (hunter/jumper) in the 90’s (Texas).
    In the 80’s I don’t remember pink with green but definitely dark (forest?) green and maroon/burgundy (“puffy” drapes) everywhere including the floral borders. That was in Vancouver while visiting friends and family.
    I was living in Norway in the 80’s – everything was white kitchens, white appliances, blonde wood and pastels. The American ex-pats wanted black appliances which were all the rage back in the States but not available in Norway.

  • Susie says:

    I recall forest green and burgundy, but not pink. Nevertheless, I don’t appreciate that combination. Do love dark green shutters, and many other classic forest greens. I love green in general, but not really with pink. Maybe more of a monochromatic or analogous color scheme.

  • Jen M says:

    Not pink and forest green, but just redid our library in Edgecomb Grey with the trim and bookcases in Revere Pewter and having the sofa and chairs reupholstered in a deep moss green. I just love green!

  • Bonnie says:

    I like both colours. But – I think I would get tired of seeing them together after a very short time.

    • I like both colors too, and after wearing black to a client meeting today regarding a huge master bath reno, with their black dog, I think I’m gonna advocate matching clothes and upholstery to your pets. I had long haired cat fur on me, even with using a lint roller. She’s not a black cat, but my NYC cats matched my black leather sofa!

      • Dee says:

        Hopefully this is all tongue-in-cheek since there are actually a lot of people who dump their pets in shelters with the excuse that they don’t match the rug or furniture! No joke… I hear it all the time.

  • Kimberly says:

    I love pink, just painted our front door a happy coral pink that we love (SW Dishy Coral). But the Forest Green not so much. There are other shades of green that are much fresher and don’t seem so heavy and somber. Exterior shutters seem like a good place for it, though.

  • Carlyn says:

    I really dislike this color combo. I didn’t have it in the 80’s and it’s not going in my house now. I don’t really like grays, or black, either. I love creams, browns and blues. I have switched paint on my walls to cooler, lighter creams this year, but that’s it for following color trends. My house is a craftsman with lots of medium brown woodwork and flooring. My furniture is mostly craftsman style, too, so my preferred colors are perfect in my house

  • Jill says:

    Green as an accent color? Yes, Please!

    Green as a neutral (or substitute for a neutral . . . or for a wall color or for anything big or hard/expensive to change the color of like upholstery on a sofa or countertops/backsplash/etc) Probably no thank you.

    Forest Green (if that means dark green)? Probably no thank you, for the most part.
    Accents of a lighter, brighter Green? Yes please! Also, yes to a mixture of various pretty green colors (but it has to be well done).

    Green with Pink? No, thank you.
    Green with White? Yes Please!

  • Lucy says:

    I think green is a staple. I am old enough to see many color trends come and go but green always prevails. How could you be without green as it is everywhere in nature. For myself Forest Green is too dark and heavy but I have always loved Emerald. Last week I went to a Design House in Ritz Cove next to the Ritz Carlton overlooking the ocean. The setting was beautiful and the designers used shades of Pink or Blush in small doses. It looked lovely but I did not see Forest Green. The wonderful part about using any shade of green is you can use any color with it. Trends are just trends and one should use colors that make them happy!

  • Lisa says:

    Nope. Just no. The eighties are really not what we need as a redo.

  • Debra says:

    Yikes. I. Just. Can’t.

    I guess it is okay in the restaurant ( not really!)

    Not a fan of the forest and even less of the pink and peach with it.

    However I do love an emerald and plum together.
    That might be happening in my house soon 🙂

  • Susijo says:

    Greens of all shades appeal to me. I remember forest green and dusty rose being a hot combination in the early 90’s when I got married, so while I like those colors, together they look dated to my eye and I would never use them again. However, we are shopping for a new sofa – to replace our red plaid one from 27 years ago (still in good shape), and I have been holding out for green, so the new trend may be timely!

  • martha schaub says:

    Beverly Hills Hotel green and pink at its best!

  • Julie S says:

    I love green, almost any shade, but I really dislike forest green with pale pink. My home decor colors of choice for a long while have been leaf green, indigo, off-white, natural yellow-beige materials, and a small amount of gray and soft terra-cotta orange, and since green is my favorite color I am happy to see it showing up more and more in decorating. This particular combo however just feels heavy to me. I was born in the early 80s and I definitely remember my mom using forest green. Possibly why I would avoid it now.

  • Maryellen Dunn says:

    Forest green and pink is my very favorite color combination. The green keeps the pink from being too sweet, like it would be with blue.

  • Christian V. says:

    Actually, yes!! This came at the perfect time for me, Maria. I’m currently decorating my living room in teal (close) and pink/salmon. Thanks for the pinspiration.

    I was born in the early 80s so I do vaguely remember the combo. I think the shades were more muted in the 80s though, no?

  • Elle says:

    No, no, no!!!! We bought our current home 15 years ago and it was already 12 years old and everything was hunter green, forest green, whatever you want to call it. It was the accent color of the neighborhood!

    Last year I finally got my front door and shutters painted to something else besides that horrid green. My master bath still has 4 x 4 white and green tiles and a guest bath has 12 x 12 emerald green tiles…yuck! Needless to say, I never liked the color and can’t do it. Still trying to get rid of it!

  • Rebecca says:

    Oh my gosh not on board. Wasn’t before and am not now. But it is fascinating how it all just cycles around and around!

  • Mary-Illinois says:

    That combination is pretty but it’s not the combination I gravitate towards for my home. I had a green sofa in the 90’s with cranberry/burgundy accents. I’ve never repeated a color I’ve had in the past. If I redecorate I want something new to me.

  • Gery S. says:

    Thank you for keeping me on trend. I had those exact salmon pink sheers that I sewed myself when my husband and I first married. I happen to be a fan of that green. Would you say it goes with muted as well as bright colors? All of your examples are show it with muted colors. Thanks.

  • Helene Belloni says:

    I’m afraid its not for me one bit.

  • Deb Bruna says:

    Been there, done that, looks like the past, not going back.

  • Michelle says:

    Pink and green is still one of my favorite combinations. I loved it in the 80’s and still do!

  • Adeline says:

    Oh my! I remember the greens of the 80’s and i have no intention of using forest green as a “neutral”.

  • Mary says:

    Noooooooooooo! Please don’t make me look at this color combination. I can’t do it again. I am having a flashback, and it is not pleasant. I stand with the traumatized. It’s too soon to revisit.

  • Adelaide says:

    I remember forest green last time around. It can be a great neutral, but I like more medium toned colours with it, rather than the blergh pink I see around in both furnishing accents, linen and clothing. Would I choose it? No, because I like a more yellow-based green, and if I have learnt one thing on this blog, it is to be true to my own taste so that I can feel happy every time I open my front door and come home. I’ve learnt a myriad of other things too, thank you Maria.
    May I take this opportunity to wish you and Terreeia a fabulous holiday!

  • Courtney says:

    I am “dressing” by sister-in-laws house for her bday, and found the most beautiful pale pink pillow. I’ve paired it with several shades of blue and green in an attempt to tie in her forest green countertops. I didn’t realize that combination was in, but my only hope is that she will truly love her home when I’m done.

  • Shaon says:

    I am so glad that pink is back and personally I have always loved forest green! So I must confess I have kept some of my accent pieces around in those colors, in spite of being asked why I store them. Time for them to make their way out into the limelight again!

  • Linda says:

    I now think it matters where it is. When we first moved into this home and redid our kitchen, I wanted forest green counter tops so badly. My husband vetoed me in favor of white ones. Boy, have I been happy through the years that I actually listened to him (he thinks it is the only time!).

  • Betsy OShea says:

    No, no and no. For me it’s just too dated. I bought my house in 1984 when hunter green, peach, gray blue, burgundy, pink w off white walls (and I don’t recall what else) were the “in” colors. Didn’t like dark green then. Wouldn’t want it now. Emerald or spring green are pretty but hunter/forest green belong in the garden, not inside. The only color I’m happy to see return is pretty shades of pink. I suppose dark green is ok if it’s in a floral print w pinks & raspberry but definitely not on walls or large furniture. Never in my house. Just saying….

  • Squeak says:

    I am so excited! I’m going to be able to save so much money in the next few years, because I hate forest green, especially with pink.

  • Mel says:

    Yay my dark green aluminium window frames are coming back in fashion, I like them but I’ve moved on from the green marble in the kitchen and now have a lovely classic white kitchen :0)

  • Kay says:

    I still have a dark green sofa that friends sold us in the early 90s, when we had no money. It’s not as dark as what you’re calling hunter green, but then it has faded a bit. It’s in our dining room, which is decorated in a mixture of greens. Visitors always say the room is beautiful, so I’ve never worried about whether it’s fashionable.

    I don’t care for pink in my house.

    In the fifties, my mother painted our living room hunter green. So it comes back around every 30 to 40 years.

  • Jan says:

    I don’t think I can disassociate forest green from some unappealing 80’s mental images-burned into my brain. So-not what I will be craving. I do hope the resurgence of peach ( which I’m not crazy about) will help me find apricot/grown-up-tangerine which is related and what I want and can rarely find.

  • Emmers says:

    Yes, I still love it. Two years ago I painted our library den Benjamin Moore Hunter Green. It’s a very classic English room. I’m also redoing one of the guest bedrooms to have emerald accents against ivory and light pink. It seems fresh to me again. I’m excited about it.

  • cheryl says:

    No. I like a lot of various greens, but never forest green or anything close to avocado, harvest gold or rust. Once was enough.
    Another Baby Boomer….

  • Mary Anne says:

    Teal or turquoise is fine (or lime green!) but not dark green. To dreary.

  • Lori says:

    It is a nay for me. Been there done that so I cannot get past the feeling of it being old and outdated, even if it is current again.

  • Marilynn says:

    No forest green here but lots of TEAL!!!!!! everywhere.

  • Brenda Pawloski says:

    I could not bring myself to go there. I don’t care how minimalist modern the styling, it is just too Golden Girls for me (the rattan living room furniture, Rue McClanahan’s bedroom.) A family member had a forest green and mauve/burgundy wedding scheme in the 80s but it went with the stargazer lilies she chose and it’s a wedding and only one day. I have seen too much of it in dusty faded condition in piles of home demolition. Your post came to mind because I was shoe shopping and saw that one of my favorite shoe lines – Vionic – has a mauve/forest shoe with rope trim that brought Golden Girls to mind (called Rae or Hattie if you are interested.) I am 56 years old and my grandmother loved Golden Girls reruns and I love the show for that but I don’t identify with that look/style and don’t want it in any way in my home on or on my person. I am having enough trouble with the return of gold bathroom fixtures and patterned wallpaper when my husband and I have spent so much time tearing both out from our various fixer homes.

  • Michelle says:

    Big ‘ole thumbs down.

  • Vickie H. says:

    Oh Lord, NO! I simply cannot do green EVER! UGH! My least favorite color, followed closely by the ghastly orange. I will stand by……however long it takes!

  • Jennifer says:

    I paint and decorate based on the colors that make my heart sing. I don’t worry about what others like. I don’t want to look around my home and see the color scheme featured in the latest decorating magazine. I want my home to reflect my personality and bring joy into my life. So if you love hunter green and lounging on a big hunter green sofa in your pink nightgown makes you feel like a 10, I think you should buy a hunter green sofa and a pink nightgown.

  • I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Please don’t let this be the next trend.

  • Ruth M. says:

    What goes around, comes around! Off with the slipcover to reveal our on-trend forest green couch (from the 90’s). Pink pillows here we come. Just kidding, I still want a new couch.

  • M says:

    I love green and I love pink, but not in my upholstered furniture.
    Regardless of the color, every sofa pictured is hideous. From the West Elm spindly legged creature to the Apartment Therapy blobby futon looking thing. Is fugly a trend too? 🙁

  • arek says:

    I’m not a fan of forrest green but it looks great on those pictures

  • Mary T. says:

    I love green. To me, it is the color of life. I have many green plants in my house, a moss green sectional in the basement, a dark emerald green accent wall, and now I am redecorating my living and dining rooms and adding a touch of green in the color scheme as well. I realize that my tastes change every 5 years or so- when I first decorated I was completely into red. Now I don’t like red anymore, and am replacing everything red with jewel tones: dark green,blue, teal, plum, and sangria. I pay attention to trends, but ultimately decorate with colors that make me happy. The good news about forest green coming back in- my slate kitchen table from the tuscan brown trend that I love so much will be awesome again!

  • Cassie says:

    Just no!

  • Heather says:

    I do like this color, but so did our home’s former owner…our kitchen, breakfast, laundry and bathroom tile is 12×12 emerald green marble tile. When we first moved in I thought the green tile would be the first thing we addressed, but I’ve gotta say it has grown on me. I have white walls and use all colors in decorating so the green has sort of a funky vibe (or maybe I’m just fooling myself!). I also love all the brass that’s out right now. I have a friend who’s a builder and since most people here in Arkansas haven’t jumped on the brass train yet, his remodel clients want him to rip out all the brass…then he just brings it to me!

  • Katherine says:

    I really dislike a peachy-pink with any dark green. Like Maria says, colors need to be the same value and I just don’t see those two as working well together. Dark green looks better with a deeper pink in my opinion. Now, a true pink with no peachiness with a sky blue or a springlike green is so beautiful together! Of course, with little dogs and kids hopping around on the furniture after being outside in the garden, I won’t be replacing any furniture with light colors probably ever.

  • Brenda says:

    What fun to read through the comments! I agree with those who said dark green (name it what you like) is a classic color. My folks had a beautiful southern living house that was white siding clapboard siding with dark shutters and a Palladian dormer with a curved copper roof and brick walkways. After my mother died in ‘06 and the house was sold, the new owners had the house painted a very dark grey. The neighbors were none too thrilled. We no longer lived in my home town but on a return visit drove by. I can’t say it looked bad but it no longer looked classic nor custom but more builder spec and trendy. In a way I was glad because it looked so different I no longer felt I could walk through the door and find my mom in the kitchen. I too had a dark green bedroom in the mid eighties, a dark green kitchen with oak cabinets in a rental, a peach nursery for my ‘86 daughter etc. I definitely think dark green will make an appearance in my house again sooner rather than later. But really IMO it’s how you use a color in a design not necessarily the color itself that either makes it look fresh or fit for a Thursday throw back. So when green shows up it won’t be paired with peach tie back curtains but in some fresh surprising way that hasn’t necessarily been done before-or at least wasn’t common in 1985. And I hope it goes with whatever house I live in at the time and that it says “home” to my kids and grand kids. Because after all good design and the best of colors are really about creating a home not a show piece. Thanks, Maria for sparking a great discussion that totally made me late for my day!! 🙂

  • Liz says:

    While I love the 2 colours together, I think it can date too quickly and prefer to limit green to literally greens – as in plants or flowers (of course, tastefully done and strategically placed)

    Now if I owned a mid-century home in Palm Springs … But then realistically I’d want to use brighter colours (pinks, turquoise, melon, etc)

    Super fun & frivolous but home decor can be too expensive to change up foundational pieces w ea new trend … Happy Bday, Maria! 🙂

  • Oceana says:

    PTCD = Post-traumatic color disorder.

  • sandi says:

    Nooo… I can’t do it! I’m with cheryl who commented a few days ago! “Once was enough…another baby boomer” LOL

  • Sandy says:

    No to forest green. Blush pink would be fine. I love how it works with white and grey.
    Thanks for the update on this trend !

  • Tom Field says:

    I really like the pink sofa against the green wall, and indeed the IKEA furniture examples are superb. Not too sure about this as an overall color scheme though – I’ve pondered, and still undecided! 🙂

  • MT says:

    It’s been the color combination at the Beverly Hills Hotel for decades. https://www.dorchestercollection.com/en/los-angeles/the-beverly-hills-hotel/
    I love to visit it, and I LOVE emerald green. The photos above are tasteful, and beautiful. I have memories of an emerald green w/pink roses bedroom border that I chose myself – blech. I’m strictly modern now. So I will visit the pink and green combo at other places, but not likely to indulge in my home.

  • Cheryl B says:

    I have never been so fascinated by the return of an era more than growing up in the eighties and seeing it all return EVERYWHERE but in modern ways. Seeing the shag haircuts and 80’s version of tons of makeup (contouring and highlights) is a bit dizzying. I ask myself about high waisted jeans, white sneakers and denim on denim almost on a daily basis. Should I be doing this?? I did this when I had no sense of self consciousness one time around already, (crop tops and off the shoulder) so why would I subject myself to it in my forties?
    For a complete education in this forest green trend, watch Home Alone. I did with my daughter last Christmas and inwardly snarked that house top to bottom. The return of an era always sees the same ideas but presented in a new way. We’re not wearing blue eyeshadow, frying our hair in a curling iron or hanging fake ivy to match our forest green sofa, so at least the presentation is palatably modern. But when you know how bad it could be, when you’ve seen the parent of a trend, participating in the trend feels tired somehow, still.

    • Maria Killam says:

      I’m with you Cheryl, I am amazed that the return of forest green is right alongside pink which was so 80s. Thanks for your comment (cannot do the high waisted jeans yet-nope). Maria

  • Hera says:

    Interestingly, “yay” meaning “yes”/to go with “nay” is actually spelled “yea.” “Yay!” is yay like a cheer.

    • Maria Killam says:

      But it goes with nay which is why I use it. . . Maria

    • Diane says:

      “Yay” works for me. “Yea” looks Shakespearean or like “yeah” misspelled, as does “Ya” which some texters/fb commenters use!
      Also, I still have flashbacks of going into a ‘70’s “sunroom” that had bright green (I think we even called THAT forest green) shag carpet and green palm frond wallpaper..?

  • Bec Sharra says:

    I actually love the combo – to me it’s such a classic and beautiful combination and so European – think France, Spain, Italy – look at your own pics of Italy on the blog…everywhere & love it!!

  • Lili says:

    Hi Maria, I love the themes you tackle! So helpful!!
    I’ve been in loooove with greens for quite some time now – I have some japanese prints (posters) with lits of greens and I chose a fern green passe-partout to frame them tha just picks the right color.
    I have Raku ceramic vases (my own work) with shades ranking from emerald green / blue green and rust. All those items are displayed against Schiele posters that alsi contain dark blue gray / rust and powder blue. I love this corner of the luving room.
    I have cosidered painting the wall behind in a green gray or fern green – and chaging the fabric of the sofa right in front to pale rose – question: isn’t rise too feminine for a livinroom??

    • Maria Killam says:

      Well pink wasn’t too feminine in the 80s because it was everywhere, and so it will be again because it’s back! Go for it! Maria

  • Lisa says:

    I loved forest green then and I love it now.

  • Beth says:

    So…i was BORN in 1980 and remember (cringingly) forest green and bergundy or mauve being the the thing of the ‘90s. Every dormaforty or friends bedroom had this color combo. I just moved into a house that was built in ‘82 and the exterior was HEAVY on the forst green trim and accents. I couldnt change it fast enough. We live 5 min from the beach in florida and that color makes no sense to me. I am a light and bright kinda gal with LOADS of PURE WHITE, linen, flowy feeling colors and marerials that echo the nature of our surroundings. My favorite color is pool/robin egg/tiffany blue/aqua/mint blue. Cool and calm. BUT lately i have found myself drawn to the combination of this typically tropical color pallette mixed with the emerald green/blue. I didnt realize how close to forest green it actually was until i used it in my sons room WITH the lighter blue-green-grey color (aptly named Barrier Reef). I am in love with the combo and even tho i cringe at thinking it could be mistaken for forest green i am inspired to use it as a connecting accent color throughout my house! ??????

  • Valerie says:

    I was one that purchased the forest green leather sofa, loveseat and chair along with a gigantic ottaman back in the late 80’s. I still have it all today. Currently trying to update the room. I can live easily with hues of greens and blues of most values, tints and shades (not so much pastels)! As a nature lover I notice the different greens outdoors and try to repeat that within my home. Of course green and pink is awesome in the flower garden!

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