Olive Green: Sophisticated or Drab?
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Are These Earthy Greens For You?
Olive shades are rich and earthy and blend in with all the colors of nature. Indoors, they add a serene touch of living color to our spaces. Olive green is technically considered to be a yellow and it gets its name from, you guessed it, the green olive. Olive drab, with more green and the addition of gray, is closely associated with military uniforms. Add brown to it and you have dark olive. Certainly an all-olive room would be dull. It is all in how it is used. Take a look, and tell me what you think:
| This beautiful piece of art has all the shades of olive in it, and it provides a soothing backdrop for this living area. Olive drab is friends with khaki. Private Comment
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Two shades of olive green paired with crisp white trim create a cheerful home exterior.
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| Here is a cozy grouping of olive drab arm chairs. The addition of warm gold on the chair backs, throw pillows and ottoman, which looks like a yellow olive, provides some brightness and keeps the room from looking dull. The striated olive ceiling makes this seating arrangement feel even more intimate. Private Comment
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Here, olive drab trims the windows and corbels on the exterior of this wood shake house. Olive needs some lightness to balance out its dark tone. The wood shingles do that job well.
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This galley kitchen leads out to a tranquil Japanese-style garden. The olive drab glass backsplash works well with the light maple cabinets.
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Olive green can be used in all styles of interiors. Here it appears on contemporary curtains done in a stylish arabesque print. It is echoed in the curvy detail on the throw pillow.
Tip: To give an accent color more punch, repeat it elsewhere in the room.
Notice the chocolate brown peeking out. Olive and chocolate are a rich combination.
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Tip: To give an accent color more punch, repeat it elsewhere in the room.
Notice the chocolate brown peeking out. Olive and chocolate are a rich combination.
| This bedroom is pure sophistication. Olive green, charcoal gray, black and taupe all playing nicely. Olive is the accent color as shown in the throw pillows, drapery print and unexpected horizontal band around the room. The icing on the cake is that fabulous zebra rug.
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Similar colors are Sherwin Williams - Hearts of Palm 6415 for the band, and Burlap 6137 for the outline. |
The yellow flowers really jump out at you and make a wonderful accent for this olive green pantry. This is because green and yellow are analogous colors, meaning they are next to each other on the color wheel.
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Here we see pale olive on the walls, olive drab window shades and armchair and a striped bench cushion in similar shades. The light walls and white trim allow the black tables and dark chair legs to stand out.
A similar color is Benjamin Moore - Rainforest Dew 2146-50
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A similar color is Benjamin Moore - Rainforest Dew 2146-50
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I think the designer must have had fun with this one. You can't miss the white box; it really pops in front of a dark olive wall and above a black floor. Although olive and black are a sophisticated duo, the colorful circles on the floor add playfulness and keep this powder room from looking too serious.
So what's the verdict? Drab or sophisticated?
Next: More color guides
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So what's the verdict? Drab or sophisticated?
Next: More color guides
Comments
Denise Vilim says:
Being a fan of bright, bold colors, I can't see myself decorating using olive drab, however, I do think it works nicely with rustic and Tuscan-styled decors.
Love the extended library in the first pic!
Love the extended library in the first pic!
16 months ago ·
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magic_happens says:
I have always considered olive green to be a sophisticated neutral.
16 months ago ·
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inkwitch says:
I have been agonizing over what color to do my dining room, seen through a set of french doors. I want tit to be an extension of the living room, a "gray/taupe." I never thought of olive, but perfect! I've already painted my bath a muted version of olive. 20 yrs ago I would have said "Yuck!" Now it's the only shade of green that I like.
16 months ago ·
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ds design studio says:
inkwitch, sounds like olive would be a great solution for your dining room. Please post a photo when it is done.
16 months ago ·
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Christina Ebbers says:
Olive green is not for me. It's like the traditional homeowners attempt at being contemporary. Which is fine for some people but I don't even like contemporary, so it's just a big fail from my point of view. That being said, I quite like some of the images you've included in this ideabook, especially when the hue is combined with white and other modern elements.
16 months ago ·
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ellie48 says:
Pictures 1, 3, 6 and 7 are my favorite here. They are particularly sophisticated. I always consider olive/olive drab as a neutral. A good post, not drab at all. Thanks.
16 months ago ·
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tarnyacook says:
Not drab at all, really good uses of the colour. Love that you try and give similar paint options where possible, thats really helpful.
16 months ago ·
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tilander says:
We used a paint called retro green in our living room and it was a bold choice, tons of compliments. I change it up using browns, creamy whites with punches of orange and yellow.
15 months ago ·
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patscats2 says:
I hate green and brown together. That to me are the drabest (not a word I know), color combination out there. I like the second to last the best. Some of the others have too many things that are green in the room so then it's over the top on the eyes. I use to be a bonified green hater. Then I started seeing all these beautiful rooms with gorgeous shades of green and then I was converted. Whomever invented hunter green and told people it belonged in their houses......, needs to be found and shot!! Ugh, when I would walk into someone's home and they had that color on their walls I would flinch. To me that is the most God awful color in the world of color. It has a place somewhere, but not in anyone's home on anyone's walls.
15 months ago ·
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fabfinish says:
I love the green exterior shot. Green and white can look really fresh and relaxing, but I agree with patscats also, no hunter green!
15 months ago ·
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julie gudger says:
I like the green on the shake house, love the dark bath with white toilet, fun!
15 months ago ·
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Debra Kelly says:
Love the bedroom with the zebra rug....Greens are easy to work with because there are so many variations. nice
15 months ago ·
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I have just painted my new office, in our new house, "Pale Avacado" from Ben Moore. It is stunning! and with a dark gray carpet even better: take a look: http://bit.ly/b1Fgec
I do think the color has to be just right for the space...and dark accents are a must.
I do think the color has to be just right for the space...and dark accents are a must.
15 months ago ·
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ds design studio says:
aneyefordetail, beautiful selections! Thanks for sharing the photo of your office.
It is so wonderful to hear from many of you in the houzz community and we appreciate your comments. Color preferences are so subjective and as you can see from patscats2 post, evoke strong reactions.
tilander, we would love to see a photo of your living room.
It is so wonderful to hear from many of you in the houzz community and we appreciate your comments. Color preferences are so subjective and as you can see from patscats2 post, evoke strong reactions.
tilander, we would love to see a photo of your living room.
15 months ago ·
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Camille says:
For me, olive green was a happy accident. I ordered, without seeing them in person, a pair of lamps that I thought would be grassy green. But when they arrived, they were decidedly OLIVE. I was not happy, but grew to like them. Recently, I bought a vintage oil painting with an olive frame for my living room . The two are within line sight of one another, and I love the lamps pull the eye from the painting into the dining room.
15 months ago ·
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Jan J says:
I really enjoyed every picture, but I love the calm serentity of the first picture of the living area! I am the one of my friends who has in recent years embraced green, after hating it while growing up in the 50's with it in my parents home and then the 70's onslaught of it. I now have various shades of green in half of our house, and love it.
re: to patscats2, we bought a house with hunter green walls in the master bedroom. I like sleeping in a very dark room, but you are right. It was hideous, and nicknamed it the batcave until we had it repainted.
re: to patscats2, we bought a house with hunter green walls in the master bedroom. I like sleeping in a very dark room, but you are right. It was hideous, and nicknamed it the batcave until we had it repainted.
15 months ago ·
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crafterbeth says:
My hubby and I just finished a total DIY kitchen reno,,,off white cabinets with black granite counters....I found myself drawn to a particular shade of green accessories that I was collecting. Yesterday I realized that it was the "avacado" green of the 70's (i.e. olive) my hubby and I had a great laugh over that but the accessories sure look great in my kitchen!
15 months ago ·
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patscats2 says:
jj, "batcave" I can believe. I'd have nightmares if I had to sleep in a hunter green bedroom.
crafterbeth, I find myself drawn to the 70's torquoise. I would have never thought I fall for that color. I hated back then with a passion.
camilles, your lamps are very pretty. A touch of red and you'll have a stuffed olive. LOL Just kidding, I love a touch of red in every room, along with a touch of black as well.
aneyefordtail, your office color is very refreshing and pretty.
crafterbeth, I find myself drawn to the 70's torquoise. I would have never thought I fall for that color. I hated back then with a passion.
camilles, your lamps are very pretty. A touch of red and you'll have a stuffed olive. LOL Just kidding, I love a touch of red in every room, along with a touch of black as well.
aneyefordtail, your office color is very refreshing and pretty.
15 months ago ·
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ds design studio says:
camilles 74, thanks for sharing your happy accident!
Ellie48, I think of it as a neutral too.
crafterbeth, your kitchen sounds divine.
Ellie48, I think of it as a neutral too.
crafterbeth, your kitchen sounds divine.
15 months ago ·
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Lynda says:
To each his own, I happen to think olive can work in contemporary as well as traditional. If you don't like a particular color, you don't have to paint any of your walls with it, right? I happen to love it and have combined it with brown and a splash of orange in one of my guest bedrooms.
15 months ago ·
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Camille says:
Just ran across another image of an bedroom with olive tones that I thought was very pretty.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__yWckZXzfTo/TVFZ84nVZHI/AAAAAAAACmA/k8NHZdLVcLo/s640/BamboochairviaDecorPad.png
Patscats2: I'll never look at my lamps the same way again.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__yWckZXzfTo/TVFZ84nVZHI/AAAAAAAACmA/k8NHZdLVcLo/s640/BamboochairviaDecorPad.png
Patscats2: I'll never look at my lamps the same way again.
15 months ago ·
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