How to Decorate with Green — Kyla Magrath Interiors

I don’t know about you but in summer I love rich jewel tones, they remind me of holidays, white sand and turquoise sea. There is something about having a tan that makes jewel colours pop. I have a few emerald green dresses that look great pared with a pair of fringed boho sandals and messy hair. Whenever I wash the dresses, I leave them hanging for a while in my bedroom as the colour adds much needed vibrancy and after a week or so when I want a change, they go back in my wardrobe. I’m often known for draping colourful scarves or sarongs around cushions, over chairs or using them as make shift curtains.

Its all very well loving these temporary pops of colour and as items of clothing we get to daily swap and change to suit our mood, so how do we go about incorporating green into our homes. Colour is a funny thing, we love it and we are drawn to different shades but are often scared to decorate with it.

Pantone’s colour of the year is green. It’s a beautiful colour that can evoke so many different feelings; its known for creating peace and tranquility but it can also signify luxury and majesty. I’m often asked how to decorate with a colour, so I thought id share my top tips on how to use green around your homes.

A Feature Wall

Some people think feature walls have gone out of fashion, but I still love them. They are a great way of introducing colour or pattern in a measured dose, but will still make a statement and change your whole room. Whether you choose use wallpaper or paint, there are some fabulous greens on the market but I think with a feature wall it’s a great idea to go really go for it and go bold. Try Abigail Ahern’s Mercer Green paint or Cole and Son Palm Jungle wallpaper for a really rich vibrant look. There are some gorgeous green tiles on the market that when used as a kitchen splashback or in the bathroom will look absolutely stunning and almost like jewels. Emery & Cie are my most favourite.

The Whole Hog

There is something about painting a room out in one colour that really brings together a look. Personally, I prefer darker colours and will paint all the woodwork the same colour as the walls and it somehow makes the space feel bigger and softer. Studio Green from Farrow and Ball is a really dark moody green that will look amazing with the whole room painted out. Inchyra blue also by Farrow and Ball is not quite as dark and is a mix of green and blue and is equally as fabulous. Both will look stunning when teamed with golds, pale pinks or blue. Natural earthy colours and materials like tan, leather, wood and whicker also look beautiful with green.

Accessories

The great thing about accessories is you can change them up to suit the season. It’s where you can be bold and flamboyant and really add those pops of colour. Cushions, blankets, lampshades, art, glassware are all fabulous ways of bringing green into the house. A bright green cushion or blanket on the sofa or an emerald green vase on a shelf or side table. H&M Home is one of my go to places for cushions are they are a fantastic price and usually bang on trend. Equally, utilize the botanical trend and display cactus and or palm art prints on your walls to inject some greenery into your room.

Plants and Flowers

In my opinion plants are flowers are essential to a room are are a fantastic way of decorating with green. They soften the edges and create life. I have them everywhere, with a mix of fauxs and real. I’m not very good at keeping plants alive so I have mostly fauxs and buy fresh flowers for the dining table or my bedroom. Light green Feathery ferns look fabulous in plant hangers and with darker green eucalyptus or ivy look great trailing from shelves. Faux green hydrangeas are one of my favorites and I have them in vases dotted all over the house. Gorgeous green faux succulents or cacti are just bang on trend and you can now get them at loads of the high street homeware stores. Of course Abigail Ahern is Queen of the fauxs and you can’t beat her range for quality and lifelikeness, but if you cant afford those then check out Next or Homesense.

Furniture

A rich sumptuous green velvet sofa is top of my wishlist and will bring luxury and vibrancy to any room. There are some absolutely gorgeous ones on the market, check Made.com, Sofa.com or Loaf. However, if you are on a budget and you have a sofa with removable covers, then my top tip to you is: consider dying it. About 10 years ago I bought a sofa from John Lewis with brown linen removable covers, there is nothing wrong with it but I fallen out of love with it and didn’t like the colour anymore. I popped into my local hardware store and bought 2 packets of Emerald Green Dylon for £12 and 2 hrs later, I had virtually a brand new sofa, (see my Instagram feed for pics).

Equally, another cost effective way of bringing gorgeous green into your home is by up-cycling furniture with paint. Annie Sloan’s Florence, is a rich jewel green chalk paint that will look beautiful on cabinets, side tables, picture frames, mirrors, dressers or wardrobes. This is a lovely way of decorating with green without committing to a whole room scheme.

Shop the Look

1.Abigail Ahern faux green hydrangea-WyldHome 2.Palmjungle Silhouette lampshade-Lovefrankie.com 3. Moss knit green cushion-H&MHome 4.Feuilles De Luxe Wallpaper-theloftandus 5.Large faux cactus-Next 6.Studio Green Paint-Farrow and Ball 7.Textured green vase-H&MHome 8.Tropical print cushion-H&MHome 9.Bluebell sofa in Spruce vintage chenille-sofa.com

Also I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve teamed up with artist and interior decorator Rebecca from The Loft and Us to give you a 20% Discount from her online store www.theloftandus.com valid until 07/08/17. Rebecca’s bright, bold and stunning Feuilles De Luxe wallpaper is taking Instagram by storm and is featured on my Shop the Look above. Just fill out the form below and subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss future post to claim your code.

Finally if after reading this you are still a little unsure, but would like further help pulling together a scheme or using green in your home, then please check out my services page and contact me. Id love to help and work with you.

Kyla x