10 Ways to Bring Back Retro Green
Earthy shades of green are showing up on walls, but which one should you choose and where should you use it?
Soft, natural colors are having quite the style moment, harking back to the 1970s, when all things earthy were in. One of the easiest of these hues to work with is green, in shades like sage, forest and even — gasp! — avocado. (Yes, the green that characterized the decade’s bathrooms is in the mix, but this time no avocado toilets are in sight.) Find out how to pick the perfect retro green and use it in just the right place.
2. Link to the garden. Blending indoors and out is very much of the moment, and here’s how to get it just right. Paint the wall next to your garden doors a muted avocado-skin green and plant right up to it. This draws your eye along the wall and outside, helping the two spaces become one — visually, at any rate.
Considering a bright green instead? Don’t — it will compete with your planting instead of complementing it.
Considering a bright green instead? Don’t — it will compete with your planting instead of complementing it.
3. Reflect light. The avocado bathroom suites of the ’70s generally came in two shades: a zesty yellow-green and a darker, more serious, gray-tinged hue. Although they both tended to make small rooms feel even tinier, the lightest version of that grayish shade on your walls actually helps bounce light around, just as white does.
Increase the space-enhancing effect by painting the woodwork, floor and ceiling in chalky white tones, and keep the furniture pale and interesting too. Max out the green theme and tie the design together with an abundance of houseplants.
Increase the space-enhancing effect by painting the woodwork, floor and ceiling in chalky white tones, and keep the furniture pale and interesting too. Max out the green theme and tie the design together with an abundance of houseplants.
4. Alter your bedroom’s mood. You can switch up the atmosphere by using a soft, earthy green in a bedroom. By day, it looks cool, calm and collected; by night, and especially if illuminated with warm-colored lightbulbs in low-level fixtures, the color turns a deeper, more dramatic shade that creates a cocooning, comforting vibe.
Use it on all four walls and tie it in with other forest-floor neutrals like mushroom, deep greens and pale wood. Opt for the cooler spectrum to keep things feeling contemporary.
Use it on all four walls and tie it in with other forest-floor neutrals like mushroom, deep greens and pale wood. Opt for the cooler spectrum to keep things feeling contemporary.
5. Bring it back to the bathroom. Use green cautiously on bathroom walls. Why? If you choose a darkish shade, it will cast a hint of that color (not the most flattering tone) onto your face when you’re looking in a mirror.
So stick to a shade that’s at the palest end of the earthy spectrum, go for a large, space-enhancing mirror, and ensure that lighting — both natural and artificial — is complementary and practical without being harsh and in-your-face functional.
So stick to a shade that’s at the palest end of the earthy spectrum, go for a large, space-enhancing mirror, and ensure that lighting — both natural and artificial — is complementary and practical without being harsh and in-your-face functional.
6. Think Scandinavian style. Adopt a Nordic approach to your room’s design and you won’t go too wrong. Understated style and monotones are the perfect partners for a room that’s decorated on all four walls with the palest sage green. To keep the space from feeling cool and unwelcoming, add touches of luxury with faux fur, knitted throws and deep-pile rugs in warm, neutral colors.
7. Splash avocado on the kitchen. Really? Well, yes, but there are a couple of factors at work here that guarantee success. First, you’ll note that the wall color is different — and, importantly, lighter — than the shade on the cabinetry. Second, it’s matched with glossy accessories in understated black, creating a more sophisticated look than often seen in the ’70s.
8. Energize with playful shades. If a muted color palette isn’t really your thing but you’ve been won over by the idea of green walls, you can liven up your room with a whole range of brighter tones in fabrics, painted furniture and accessories.
What works? Yellows, turquoise and bronze add warmth. What to avoid? Anything that drags your retro green of choice back to the old days, so steer clear of orange and brown.
What works? Yellows, turquoise and bronze add warmth. What to avoid? Anything that drags your retro green of choice back to the old days, so steer clear of orange and brown.
9. Go deep. If you want to add a touch of drama to a room, go for a deep bluish green and put it on just one wall to create a focal point. Matching it with warm wood in flooring and furnishings plus a smattering of copper amplifies the comfortable glamour of the space. The greenish-blue stripes in this rug tie the design together too.
10. Dip into the trend. Not quite bold enough to decorate an entire room in avocado green? Nominate a piece of furniture to paint instead and put it against a darker background so that the walls recede and the furniture advances.
Which dark wall shade to use? Navy blue and dark gray work well with the more muted shades of avocado. In a bedroom, you also could try a moody gray-lilac.
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Tell us: Which of these greens are you drawn to? Have you used them in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
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Which dark wall shade to use? Navy blue and dark gray work well with the more muted shades of avocado. In a bedroom, you also could try a moody gray-lilac.
See more of this home
Tell us: Which of these greens are you drawn to? Have you used them in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
More
Read other stories about decorating with green
Find a designer to help with your color scheme
Browse green pillows and throws