I think the key to the perfect olive is keep the tone muted — otherwise you’ll end up with a room resembling the inside of an avocado (like I did). The great thing about an olive green room is that it serves as the perfect backdrop for brighter, more intense colors like aqua, burgundy, or this year’s Pantone color of the year, honeysuckle. It really is far more versatile than you’d think!
Here are some colors I am thinking of trying:
Benjamin Moore's “Forest Floor", Farrow and Ball's “Olive”, or maybe Sherwin Williams' “Relentless Olive.”
Has anyone had success with olive? What color did you select?
Images: High Fashion Home via Desire to Inspire, House Beautiful, Lonny, Elle Décor, Style State
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I painted two walls in my kitchen a pretty true olive green, as in a shade even deeper than the olives in my refrigerator. It looks great and the key is that the olive is next to my early 60's cabinets that are unpainted plywood with a nicely mellowed yellow-y polyurethane finish. The other element that makes it all work is the glossy black subway tile backsplash.
I know, I know, "honeysuckle" is the color of 2011. However since this year got going I have found myself more and more attracted to olive green. I even bought a shirt and coat in it- something I never would have considered before! it is an interesting neutral and somehow sophisticated, because it is challenging to pull off well. I really like the use of it in the first room!
The common thread in all these rooms that makes them special isn't just the green, but the use of lots of white, medium-toned woods & leathers, gilt/brass elements, reflective/polished elements and the presence of good lighting to balance the wall color.
If these spaces were filled with taupe upholstery, chunky & dull expresso-colored wood and minimal lighting, I'd imagine those walls could end up looking very guacamole too.
I did my family room in Benjamin Moore's Dry Sage -- it's a subdued olive and I get lots of positive comments on it.
I like olive green and I would like to see it come back in a good way.
That horse painting is to die for.
I have loved this color for a long time.
A little on the green/grey side: BM Coastal Fog, I've used it a lot...One of those great colors that changes as the daylight wanes & the lamps come on. You won't tire of it.
My "foyer" has an accent wall in olive green METALLIC paint -- I think it was a Ralph Lauren color, probably not CALLED "olive". I have a couple of small sunburst mirrors and a papyrus painting from Egypt also done in metallic paints hanging against it, and I love it!
Ben Moore's Nantucket Gray is a lovely mixture of olive green and gray. I painted my master bedroom with that shade, I love it! Great roundup AT!
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/07/master-bedroom-mini-makeover/
Boy AT has been getting a lot of spam lately!
I don't understand the poster's hesitation. Why is olive green considered difficult? It goes with white, black, any metal, and almost any color beautifully. It's dramatic without demanding too much attention, bold but somehow neutral. It suits any style of architecture and any style of furniture I can think of.
I guess you have to have an angle...
I would love a very modern chair upholstered in olive velvet. I was thinking about grey, but I think olive would be fresher.
Does anyone else never want to hear about honeysuckle again? I am ready for the 2012 color.
It is definitely not my color....but I love that horse painting in the first photo!
The first photo with the great horse print is from High Fashion Home- Houston Tx- love the olive color- it is very subtle without being boring-
A few years ago I bought my first pair of true khaki-colored pants & thus began my mission of finding colors to wear with them. That carried over into my latest bedroom redecorating project: olive green. I have accented it with a lighter yellow-green, chartreuse and some teal. It really is a flexible "color" (seems almost like a neutal). PLus, it has a very grounding & calming effect for me, which was my goal in the bedroom.
www.AConleyCreation.com
I love the first living room! Where can I find a similar horse print?
I love these rooms, especially the first two and the last one. I love olive green. It has always been my favorite green. And I am SO hoping bedding manufacturers catch on soon, because I have been looking for an olive green bedspread for months without any luck!
The trick with green, any green is to find the shade you like and then look for a paint that is more grey or brown. Color perception, particularly in a wall color is dictated by the other colors you use in the room and just about everything makes green look greener. The more wall area you have the greener everything will make it look so, just go easy on the intensity and it's simple.
BM's Providence Olive. I used it in a small guest room that gets a lot of light and has an exposed brick wall. Love it.
This color bring the beauty of darker stained classic wood furniture to life. It give everything an aura of understated sophistication.
I like Benjamin Moore in Eucalyptus, a dark greyed olive, very neutral. My living room gets lots of light and has white furniture and it looks great.
SherryBinNH, can you please give the name of your metallic olive? I searched in vain for that kind of color when painting my living room.
Where can I locate the 00 7 pillows!
My master bedroom is almost exactly an avocado. The walls are a deeper green and above a wallpaper trim the ceiling is a light green, almost white. Our furnishings are dark oak. It's the most calm and refreshing room because it's green!
Gaak ! When I was 8, my family moved from a California bungalow where my bedroom was white with a baby blue and white chenille bedspread and the nearly floorlength windows had white billowy curtains with pink and blue applique stripes. They built a custom Case-Study type house, all glass walls and Danish and Eames, tres chic. Imagine my horror to find an olive green bedroom awaiting me....brown nubby tailored bedspread, straw shaded wooden swing lamp over the bed, cretonne drapes in OLIVE w/ grey and black and flamingo (aka honeysuckle !) pattern, and a built-in desk/vanity in flamingo formica. With a nubby grey upholstered chair with blond wooden legs. Oh. And then my Mom started buying me olive-coloured clothing, to bring out my olive-coloured eyes. Oh GAAK. Gaak. I still haven't recovered. Obviously. (I vote for #1)
http://www.highfashionhome.com/room-ideas-industrial-countryside-chic.html
Here is the link to the original picture for the 1st image. It was shot at High Fashion Home.
I adore this post!!! I have Benjamin Moore "Baby Turtle" on my walls as a backdrop for peacock and red accents. Sounds hideous and obnoxious, but so good in reality.
Olive is a great neutral that invokes a very earthy feel into a room. It is also a color I love to wear, being a natural brunette with hazel green eyes it compliments me well. The same prinicples must be applied to a room painted in this color. If you have the knack for choosing complimentary and contrasting furniture/decor, then it will look fabulous.
I painted a small den/office in Otter Point. It was a Martha Stewart color when she was still doing a line for Sherwin Williams (they can still mix it). It took three coats but, the color is perfect!
I adore this color and have it paired with brick red in my own apartment. I agree with bepsf--it really comes alive with some brass (muted) accents.
sooo, what's the color in the first picture?
What is the paint color in the first picture, the the large horse print? PLEASE....