Kermit the Frog has been lamenting about being green since the 70’s but with Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year, Greenery (15-0343), its hard to imagine there is anything difficult about this natural color. Sadly though, when choosing colors for your home, green can be one of the most difficult tones to select.
Ask the new mother who selected the perfect, sweet, serene shade of green for the nursery from her 2″ x 2″ hardware store paint swatch, only to be horrified by lime explosion once the paint hit the wall. Or talk to the the first time homeowner who wanted a nice retro green that well reaked of bodily functions. Seek the opinion of a Baby Boomer who can’t get the image of avocado green appliances out of their head. “Its not easy bein’ green.” My own kitchen was painted in 3 different shades of green over the course of about 12 years. Green is tough and it can be even harder to choose depending on the furniture and accessories in a room! It can be too brown, or too yellow, it can lean blue or even a golden orange. Greens often follow trends, so one green is “out” while another is “in”. Selecting the perfect shade of green may just be your hardest color choice.
Even with all the frustration, in all my color choices, green is my mainstay. My father restored an MGB-GT during my childhood to a perfect shade of British racing green. Years ago, I obcessed over a green home in Raleigh’s Brookhaven neighborhood I drove past every day, so much so I tracked down the owner to get the exact color. My college dorm in the late 90’s was a sea of hunter green fabrics and accents, my first home had plenty of soft sage green, my daughters bedroom has a limey-green animal print bedskirt, and my recent personal redecorating efforts include a fair amount of grass green tones. And my favorite color at the moment is kelly green. Its not easy being green, but it sure is pretty!
What’s your favorite shade of green and how will you use it in your home? Looking for green inspiration? Check out this Green With Envy board.
