7 Ways to Decorate with Dark Green and Gold (and Why You Should)
Dark green is the colour of the moment, but don't forget about its best friend – glimmering gold
Jelly and ice cream, cheese and wine, Posh and Becks… Some pairings just belong together. So if you’re thinking of embracing the colour du jour of interiors – dark green – you might want to also consider its partner in crime: gold (or brass or bronze). Because there’s just something about the glimmering highlights of rich burnished gold that perfectly offset the deep forest coolness of dark green, making the combination a deeply satisfying one. Here are seven rooms that know the power of green and gold.
Focus on texture
Want to add an extra layer of glamour to this colour combination? Step forward green velvet. By teaming a rich emerald velvet with small high-gloss elements, such as the bronze coffee table legs and gold tripod floor lamp, the owners of this living room have brought in an elegant dash of 1930s glamour and created a neat, modern homage to the Art Deco period.
Learn why velvet is the perfect winter warmer
Want to add an extra layer of glamour to this colour combination? Step forward green velvet. By teaming a rich emerald velvet with small high-gloss elements, such as the bronze coffee table legs and gold tripod floor lamp, the owners of this living room have brought in an elegant dash of 1930s glamour and created a neat, modern homage to the Art Deco period.
Learn why velvet is the perfect winter warmer
Bring in a third element
This beautiful dark-green kitchen with gold accents shows how a mid-toned wood can act as the perfect companion material to this duo.
The slim, light-wood shelves and raw-oak bar stools shown here are almost the same tone as the gold pendant lights and tap, but they bring an organic warmth and texture to the space, which tones down the Art Deco influence and brings in a modern-country feel instead.
This beautiful dark-green kitchen with gold accents shows how a mid-toned wood can act as the perfect companion material to this duo.
The slim, light-wood shelves and raw-oak bar stools shown here are almost the same tone as the gold pendant lights and tap, but they bring an organic warmth and texture to the space, which tones down the Art Deco influence and brings in a modern-country feel instead.
Go for gloss
This is a look that celebrates the glossy beauty of gold and allows it to shine thanks to the trio of show-stopping pendant lights above the island and the striking gold taps in this kitchen scheme. The green gloss cabinetry takes a supporting role here, but the gently reflective finish ensures it still adds to the luxe feeling of the room, along with the black veined marble worktop.
10 of the best contemporary dark-hued kitchens
This is a look that celebrates the glossy beauty of gold and allows it to shine thanks to the trio of show-stopping pendant lights above the island and the striking gold taps in this kitchen scheme. The green gloss cabinetry takes a supporting role here, but the gently reflective finish ensures it still adds to the luxe feeling of the room, along with the black veined marble worktop.
10 of the best contemporary dark-hued kitchens
Create a snug
If you want to design a cosy and cocooning snug or reading nook, dark green (or even a very green teal) is your friend. As shown here, you can create a really rich and sumptuous room if you take the same colour right across the cabinetry as well as the walls.
In keeping with the soft, relaxed tone of this space, the metallic accents have been kept to a minimum but they are still there if you look for them, gently glimmering away; the cabinet handles, bronze lamp base and slim mirror frame all add gentle gloss and polish to this peaceful space.
If you want to design a cosy and cocooning snug or reading nook, dark green (or even a very green teal) is your friend. As shown here, you can create a really rich and sumptuous room if you take the same colour right across the cabinetry as well as the walls.
In keeping with the soft, relaxed tone of this space, the metallic accents have been kept to a minimum but they are still there if you look for them, gently glimmering away; the cabinet handles, bronze lamp base and slim mirror frame all add gentle gloss and polish to this peaceful space.
Take it to the dark side
Deep green can really tip over into dark and dramatic territory if teamed with black walls, as shown here, or furniture. In such a scheme, the addition of gold or brass metallic elements is not just a nice detail, it’s an essential element as it serves to bring glimmers of reflected light into the shady corners and dark recesses of the room, lifting the deep tones.
Metal latticework screens like these ooze Art Deco elegance, but a gold patterned wallpaper would create the same effect.
How to create a feature wall that stands out from the crowd
Deep green can really tip over into dark and dramatic territory if teamed with black walls, as shown here, or furniture. In such a scheme, the addition of gold or brass metallic elements is not just a nice detail, it’s an essential element as it serves to bring glimmers of reflected light into the shady corners and dark recesses of the room, lifting the deep tones.
Metal latticework screens like these ooze Art Deco elegance, but a gold patterned wallpaper would create the same effect.
How to create a feature wall that stands out from the crowd
Tone them down
If high-gloss gold and rich emerald green is too bold a combination for your taste, consider this pairing of warm olive green and burnished bronze instead. The rich shades complement each other beautifully, bringing to mind dappled golden sunlight and mossy woodland.
Because these colours are quite muted and almost sludgy, care has to be taken not to allow this look to tip over into old-fashioned. Here, the clean lines of the units, the sleek marble worktop and abstract paintings all ensure the room feels contemporary in style, while the chunky wooden floorboards bring organic texture and warmth.
What do you think of green and gold as a colour combination? Let us know in the Comments section.
If high-gloss gold and rich emerald green is too bold a combination for your taste, consider this pairing of warm olive green and burnished bronze instead. The rich shades complement each other beautifully, bringing to mind dappled golden sunlight and mossy woodland.
Because these colours are quite muted and almost sludgy, care has to be taken not to allow this look to tip over into old-fashioned. Here, the clean lines of the units, the sleek marble worktop and abstract paintings all ensure the room feels contemporary in style, while the chunky wooden floorboards bring organic texture and warmth.
What do you think of green and gold as a colour combination? Let us know in the Comments section.
Let’s just stop for a moment and appreciate the beauty of this kitchen. The rich deep-green walls and cabinetry, the burnished gold handles, the slim gold picture rail. This is a design that takes the pairing of green and gold to its limit, but manages to stay on just the right side of restraint.
The key to recreating a similar look is to focus on the small, often overlooked details, such as electric socket plates and shelf brackets, and introduce glimmers of gold and brass through these, so the details are there if you look for them but don’t immediately leap out.