Green has been trending for awhile. And for good reason, it’s a friendly colour to get behind. Green is neither too cool or warm. It’s easy to work into a colour scheme. Nature’s backdrop even.
Green in the trend cycle
Because we’re at a moment in the trend cycle where everyone is looking for “anything but stark white” (again), GREEN is looking like a great choice. In my eDesign department, we’re always giving our clients a nudge towards colour and green, along with blue, is usually an option people can wrap their heads around.
The greens that are trending are getting warmer, more olive and sage than the bluer leaning preppy forest green from the start of the black and white trend.
A fresh alternative to the cognac sofa
Everyone is burnt out on the stark high contrast of white and black and cognac. Nothing wrong with a cognac sofa which I said was timeless many years ago. It’s just that cognac turned into orange everything for accents inside and outside during this trend.
So the colours that are looking enticing again are the warmer earth tones.
What do you think about green kitchens and bathrooms?
Because we’ve been talking about the warm neutral kitchen for awhile now, but I want to know how many of you are also considering green. So tell me in the comments. Are you pinning them as fast as you can find them? Planning a green kitchen or bathroom of your own? Catching yourself gravitating towards olive and sage greens when you’re shopping for your home?
Would you install green tile in your bathroom? Green cabinets in your kitchen? I’d love to hear from you!
Watch this week’s Youtube episode for my take on the green trend and how to keep it timeless:
Understanding the Undertones of Beige
It’s an emergency, by the way, if you’re tackling any home projects this year, or if you’re in the business of colour and design, to get to know the undertones of neutrals. No longer are we having the builder spray everything, trim and all, in the same basic white paint. I was here helping people fix their beige rooms when it was last trending, and I can tell you, if you don’t know how to choose the right beige, you’ll be a lot more cranky than if you chose a less than perfect white.
I’m hosting a FREE Colour Designer Masterclass and Thursday April 2nd is your last chance to attend, be sure to save your spot here!
An Inspiring Before & After
Here’s a beautiful before shared with me by a lovely eDesign client. It’s the perfect example of how beige is a perfectly beautiful backdrop for decorating when you get it right.
Here’s her living room before. She was looking for the perfect neutral backdrop to flow through the connected spaces of her main floor.
And here’s the amazing after! I gave her a very pale green beige as a fresh backdrop for decorating. I love how much airier the room feels with the brick painted out, the drapes that match the creamy walls. And she has done a beautiful job of decorating with colour!
Related Posts
Why a Beige Kitchen is a Tricky Design Project
What Everyone Should Know about Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige
Hello Maria, I have been reading all you posts for several years. I guess there is a reason you post videos instead of readable posts more and more often recently. It’s a problem for me though, and maybe for other of your readers. Watching a video takes longer than reading a text, it is not possible to pin the pictures. It would be great if you could add a paragraph, even without pictures, summarizing your take on the green bathrooms and kitchens.
I agree 100%. I don’t have time for videos and avoid Instagram as well.
I agree as well. I work with words for a living and would appreciate a written summary.
Me too. I avoid videos, even on news stories. I would much rather read.
Me too! I’d really appreciate a written summary as rarely have the time or inclination to watch videos.
I share your frustration. Unfortunately, it seems Maria is now prioritizing profits and alienating her original readers. I don’t know that I blame her, as I am sure there were years where she didn’t make enough, so now she is “making hay” while she can. I’m disappointed, but thankful that I was able to enjoy the blog for as long as I did.
I have a 45 year old tradition home. We’re replacing the kitchen. We have medium oak (not golden) crown molding & trim throughout the house. I’m trying to decide on cabinet color & debating b/t doing green or doing a natural maple. Our flooring is a variegated vinyl wood floor (new & not replacing) with light to medium tones. We’re seniors & will probably only live in this house about 5 or so years. What would you suggest? Thanks.
Since you are only going to be in the house 5 years and the “colorful” green trend is just beginning my vote is for green wood cabinets over natural maple. A lot will depend upon what countertop choices you are considering. If your floor is variegated vinyl wood floor in a light to medium tone AND you choose a countertop material in a similar LIGHT to MEDIUM tone – then I would go DARK on the cabinates in GREEN to achieve a significant contrast between our countertops/ and floors with your cabinets. Just my two cents. Good luck.
Susan, in terms of your new GREEN cabinets – that color – whether you choose a “cool” darker green paint color or a “warm” darker green paint color for your cabinets will depend upon if you see both your floors as being “cool” or “warm” AND also your new (similar to the floor color) new countertop as being “cool” or “warm” colors. Be consistent with all three items as well as your wall paint.
Natural Maple and add pretty green accents.
Maple kitchen cabinets with oak crown and VINYL wood floor? Please, no, it’s highly unlikely that will work. Pick the green cabinets. Be very careful picking your countertop/backsplash. Sounds like your vinyl floor is highly variegated…if yes, that’s the ONLY pattern you get. Everything else needs to be solid.
I love green, but I gravitate toward cooler greens. On the other hand, there’s an old saying in the design world … “All greens go together.”
If you look at the tile in the shower (first photo), they have both cool and warm greens. They all work together.
All for green! We painted the exterior of out north woods lake cabin green and are most likely selecting green kitchen cabinetry. Walls will be paneled white pine. Floor is a brown-grey concrete. Thinking of a white or black counter? Same floor bathroom may have a green/blue tile.
The “after “ in the room above is night and day. I really like the brick painted out, too. I’m here for all the green. For well over 30 years, I made use of it in home decor, paint, furniture. This is the first time I’ve veered over into aqua/ blues. Green still has my heart, though!
Green is my favorite color, all my life! When we gave our 70s kitchen a temporary facelift (dark stained wood cabinets, black formica counters, cream tile floor), I removed several uppers and painted the rest of them sage green. I really enjoy it – especially as the room has no windows/view of outside green – but I knew that a temporary fix was the best time to do this as I figured I’d be tired of it within 5 years, when we plan to renovate. Two years in, I still like it, but still can tell I’ll be happy to have a pale neutral kitchen in the near future! I’ll just add plants and accessories (and a window) for my green fix 🙂
I really like the bathroom at the top . . . until I scroll down and see the floor with it. For me, it would be either the floor or the tiled wall but not both. Actually I love the wall and would make the floor more neutral and use a rug that incorporated the wall tile color.
wanted to add, because the post is about green, I could look at that color for the rest of my life. Recently I had a few of my frequently used objects in the same place and realized they are the same shade of green and I did not intend that, it was all independent decisions. It was my iphone case, my comb, my Denby Regency Green coffee mug, all the same green 😉
Hi Maria! I am using a green Zellige in the powder room of my new build which will cover the entire wall where the vanity is installed. . And before you say Zellige is trendy please remember your blog post entitled “There is no subway tile in Italy”. My new build is a Spanish Revival style home. As we know Spain is also located in the Mediterranean and subway tiles aren’t used in Spain either. Zellige tile is from Morocco and as you may know there are many Moorish influences in Spain. Zellige tile has been used in Spanish architecture dating back to 10th century. The Spanish Revival style home is prolific on the West Coast especially in Santa Barbara,CA. I’m a native Californian living in Texas so I’m really excited to be building this type of home as it reminds me of all the Spanish bungalows in California.
Maria, correction to my earlier post. I referenced a previous post you made regarding subway tile. The correct title if that post is “There’s no subway tile in Spain.”
Our century home has a green square tile fireplace, probably added in the ‘20s, and a green tile bathroom with green marble sills from the ‘30s. So green it is, in this house! In fact, I think we need to add a green tile backsplash in the kitchen to match! 😃
Love the room redesign; night and day difference! Curious as to why you didn’t put the drapes up to the ceiling?
I prefer blues to greens for decorating but years ago I chose a beige paint with green undertones for my living room walls and I am still in love with that color.
I had a dark green and white kitchen for years — loved it. However, when it came time to remodel, I chose natural maple cabinets and medium-toned oak hardwood floors. Those woods are so warm and timeless — they complement whatever color scheme I’m into, including adding dark green accents or, my current love, red.
I painted my bedroom a dramatic hunter green in 2018, and decorated with a range of greens, from Kelly green to emerald to a hint of chartreuse. I was wearing a lot of chartreuse and emerald at the time as it had been having a moment in fashion. I no longer live in that house, but the people living there kept the room green, so I guess they still like it. In my new house, the main living area is painted Behr Coney Island which is sort of a deep teal. I love it with my orangey wood floors.
I love the green bathroom; it’s cheerful and timeless. Twenty plus years ago I had a home with sage green wall to wall carpeting in the upstairs bedrooms and hall and it was so easy to decorate with. But now I live in a home with many windows and much greenery outside, so I’ve leaned into blues.
My daughter updated her kitchen and her choice was a subway tile backsplash with a quartz counter tops that matched. She then chose a Sageish green for her cabinets and it looks beautiful and timeless.
She is now thinking of using a green subway tile in her bathrooms which I think will be beautiful!
Love Maria’s teaching and learning advice and the above room refresh is beautifully done🤍🤍🤍
I’m not sure I understand the concept of green as a neutral. But I’m not surprised that it has its own cycles, as it’s the second most popular color after blue. And don’t forget about the 60’s avocado trend!
I think I spotted this trend about half a year ago when I saw green kitchen inspo posted three times in two weeks on Reddit. I started noticing discussions of green tile shortly after that. So now I have 2 rules:
1. Only install colored tile if you’ve loved that color for well over 10 years.
2. Green cabinets OR green tile, NOT BOTH. That is where trends go to die.
Point 2 is so true.
In the mid 90’s, I had a hunter green and white kitchen with fir floors that read yellow. White cabinets with green walls and hunter green countertops. I thought I was so trendy because I had the counters trimmed in white solid surface material. Traditional style with white crown moulding and tall baseboards. It was beautiful. At that time, I also had 2 sage green painted bathrooms. I will say that green reflected light is not flattering on the skin so I will never have green in my bathroom again. I’ll let the next generation become enamoured with green. My current house has blue accents and two navy blue couches. My current kitchen is white cupboards on the wall with a walnut island and shelves. Cannot express how much I love it.
No green for me. it’s white or off white tile and cabinets in the kitchen and bath.
Thank you Maria! I personally like the videos you do, especially the make-over ones and shopping trips
You mention about repainting cabinets in 10 years anyway, because they get chipped. Do you have a post on what one should consider when hiring a contractor to paint cabinets? Is there such a thing as getting a factory finish when repainting cabinets? The last thing someone wants to do is have their cabinets painted and then have them chip a year or so later.
Thanks Again!
Hi Maria, I love the natural fiber rug in the eDesign Before and After. Any chance your client would be willing to share the source?
I have green in every room of my house. I find it soothing and warm. I gravitate toward the sage greens, so I’m right in style!