She’s a colour more commonly associated with the Army but just how do you introduce this divisive colour into the home? This was one of my most polarizing posts this year. People either loved it or downright detested it. I personally think the colour Olive has its place in contemporary décor in 2020. The question is “Just how do you use it?”.

My suggestion would be to go bold with it and restrict its usage to a contemporary style home, to avoid the risk of it looking dated or clinical. Pair it with blonde woods and black accents. And keep it fun with bold tiles and modern fittings.

I wouldn’t bother with a feature wall, the key to making this tone rock its space is by being confident and going full noise with it! My favourite shade of Olive has to be Resene Planter.

If you’re not quite confident enough to go Olive then my suggestion would be to opt for a moodier, warmer tone such as Resene Permanent Green; technically too blue to be considered Olive but still a more contemporary and bolder choice than your classic forest tones. These moodier, darker tones of green are also much kinder in your classic style homes; pairing beautifully with all wood tones.

We also love these tones of green when paired with wood paneling or dado lines such as our example below where we have paired it with one of our fav wall murals The Best Nest.

Featured above: Resene Permanent Green, and Best nest mural - Featured in Habitat.

STYLIST'S TIP:

Stylists tip: if you don’t absolutely LOVE the colour Olive and aren’t 100% confident in how to dress the room to best accompany it, I would probably opt for an easier green tone to work with. This one is probably best left for the professionals or those uber-confident design savvy people amongst us.