What Colors Go With Green – Exploring Green Complementary Colors

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Green is a favorite color for many people. Green can be used successfully in all areas of life from fashion and web design to interior design. When making choices about colors, you have to also consider colors that go well with green. What would look pleasing when paired with green in your home, and how do you choose the best colors?  We will be answering these questions and more, so you will have a clear understanding of what goes with green.

Color Combinations and Green

Learning about color is a bit more complicated than simply knowing your primary and secondary colors. There is a whole in-depth system or theory you have to understand to be able to choose the best colors that go well with green. This color theory is your foundation from which you can create amazing color palettes. You will learn how colors work with each other and how to make the most out of every color combination. Colors are not only pretty to look at, but they can also have a profound effect on our emotional and physical wellbeing. For example, you will learn why it may not be such a good idea to paint your entire bedroom fire engine red. Almost everybody has covered the basics of color theory.

The whole process begins with your primary colors of blue, red, and yellow. These colors are your base colors, which cannot be produced by mixing any of the other hues. You then get your secondary colors, and these are created by combining your primary colors. These colors include green, purple, and orange. Then, you have your intermediary or tertiary colors and are a combination of a primary and secondary color. Some examples of these colors include red-orange, yellow-green, and blue-green. All of this can be visually observed on a color wheel, which makes it a little easier to see the colors and work out the color combinations.

Color combinations are colors that go well with each other and there are a few different types, which are what help develop the best color schemes.

Monochromatic Colors

This type of color combination involves using the same color and involves various shades and tints of that color. So, since we are looking at green, it will involve lighter and darker shades of green. You might not have the best contrast, but this combination does provide a clean and harmonious look if used correctly. These colors will always look well together and can be quite effective if you use a more muted color palette when applied to interior design.

Triadic Colors

Triadic colors also form part of the high contrast group and are created by selecting any three colors that are uniformly placed around the color wheel. In other words, it forms an equilateral triangle when viewed on a color wheel.

To create harmony with these colors, it is best o choose your dominant color and use the other colors as accents.

Complementary Colors

Now we come to colors that offer a higher contrast. When you have a look at the color wheel, and you find green, all you have to do to find the green complementary color is to see what color lies opposite it. In this case, the basic color is red but there are numerous shades of green and red. Since these colors offer high contrast, they should be used carefully as you do not want to overwhelm the senses. The ideal way to go is to choose your main color and then add smaller amounts of a contrasting color.

Split Complementary Colors

When you choose your main color and find your complementary color, the colors on either side of this will represent your split complementary colors. This provides a more diverse color range, but the colors still form a high contrast and can also be challenging to work with. You will need to find the proper balance of colors so that none of the colors overwhelm everything.

The split complementary colors of green are then red-violet as well as red-orange.

Analogous Colors

This color scheme involves a bit more color and takes into account the main color like green, and then pairs it with two colors that are placed directly adjacent to it on each side. You are also not limited to only two-color, and you can include a five-color scheme as well. Again, this color scheme does not create the highest contrast but is for a softer, calming, and harmonious color scheme.

Tetradic Colors

This color scheme involves four colors that lay equally distant from each other on the color wheel. This will then form a perfect square shape if lines are drawn between the colors. Again, these colors form a high contrast and should be used wisely to balance out the colors when designing. Again, as with the previous color schemes, it is best to choose a dominant color and use the rest as accents. You do not want a room to be overly busy and too stimulating. You could also choose various shades and tints of these colors to come up with something that is not too vibrant. Another form of tetradic colors is your rectangular tetradic colors. This still has four colors and is also known as a double complementary color scheme as it consists of two pairs of complementary colors.

As with all the other color schemes, it provides a vibrant contrast of colors.

What Colors Go With Green?

Hopefully, you now understand a little more about what colors go with green. Green is quite a versatile color, and because of this, it is a great color to choose if you are unsure about what goes with green. Ultimately, you cannot go too wrong with this color. Green is a vibrant color that represents harmony, growth, freshness, and balance. The color has a natural affinity towards all things natural, which makes it easy to create a décor theme that brings in plant life. Depending on what atmosphere you are trying to create, you can easily pair green with a variety of color shades. For example, you can use stronger pink colors with more pastel shades of green or make a bold statement with a richer more vibrant emerald green and gold.

There are many shades of green to experiment with, so you should not have trouble finding a color scheme that fits your lifestyle. To get the best out of a green color palette, try using variations of green. For example, you can consider colors that go well with olive green or find out what colors go well with sage green. Since your green complementary color is a shade of red, you may also consider violet and purple shades as accents with green. Pink can be a fun color you might have not even considered.

Green is an earthy tone, so pairing it with other earth colors is a natural choice. Consider your browns, beiges, white, gray, and yellow. Blue and green are both cool colors and neighbors on the color wheel, and are a perfect combination, offering a refreshing and calming effect. When deciding on your shade of green, make sure to check the undertone before you make your choice. Green tends to be a cool color; however, it can also lean more towards brown, yellow, which are warmer colors. If you are painting, check the paint first to help you identify the undertones and this should help you create a more harmonious color palette.

When using green as an accent color, there are many ways you can incorporate the color, making it a beautiful focal point in a room. You can go with expensive items, however, there are many budget-friendly options also available. Consider adding accessories like cushions, photo frames, vases, blankets or throws, bowls, candles, door handles, and light fixtures.

As mentioned, live plants are perfect for bringing in the color green and something more organic into a living area. You also do not have to stick to paint, why not try something like textured wallpaper. Below are a few more ideas about using colors that go well with green.

What Color Goes With Dark Green?

Dark green is a color that provides a sense of security and is a wonderful color for interior design. Fern green is a good example and can even work in a small space. Since this choice of green has a yellowish undertone, combine it with lighter shades of orange as well as gray, which helps create a relaxing space. Dark green also works nicely with hardwood flooring and white, and why not include indigo into the mix. Try adding some textures and patterns to the look for more variety.

What Color Goes With Light Green?

If you are worried the green will be too much, opt for lighter shades of green and create an accent wall instead of painting an entire room. Lighter shades of green are said to be more calming and can help to make a room appear larger than it is. Softer shades of green go well with natural colors like your white, beige, gray colors.

Let us take pale green and tan as an example, which should create a wonderfully peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.

How seafoam and white for balance in a room, the soft greens and blues can be added as accents throughout the room. Adding stronger blues or lighter shades of blue with the green creates a more beachy or nautical theme that can create a relaxing, yet refreshing atmosphere. You could also go for more analogous colors and mix this up with shades of blue. For example, emerald green and pale green, combined with sky blue.

Other colors that can help to provide accents to light green include some of the following lavender, violet, fuchsia, grape, and magenta. You will need to experiment a little to get the correct balance of colors, especially if you choose an extensive color palette. It might be best to keep things simple at two to three colors if you are unsure how to incorporate more colors.

What Colors Go Well With Sage Green?

If you are fond of neutral colors, but still want to add a little color, then green and gray are great choices. Gray easily combines with any number of shades of green, however, sage green seems to be quite popular. Sage is more of an earthy green, which seems more balanced than your more vibrant green colors. Since sage leans towards a more natural color, it is safe to pair it with other natural colors like white, cream, or beige.

Natural wood elements can also bring some natural texture, which is perfect in the kitchen or bathroom setting.

Colors That Go Well With Olive Green?

Like sage green, olive green has a more natural appeal and can work with neutral colors. The olive color also tends to have a yellowish undertone, which means you can pair it with mustard yellow. Add in the yellow as accents of color, for example, for the bathroom, you can use yellow towels or patterned rugs to add bold eye-catching color.

Coral is a beautiful, warm color, and since olive has a warm undertone, it should pair well with the more vibrant coral color. The coral color helps to provide a nice pop of color next to the otherwise drab olive color.

Green is an exciting color for your next interior design project, and there are many shades of green to choose from. You can take it even further by discovering what colors go with green, to create a more balanced and well-designed room. After all, you are going to be spending a lot of time in each room, you need it to be welcoming, comforting, and it needs to fit your personality.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Green Complementary Colors?

The color that complements green is red. On the color wheel, these two colors will be positioned on opposite sides of each other. Of course, there are also many shades, tints, and hues of both your green and red colors.

What Color Goes With Dark Green?

White is a great color to pair with dark green and creates a beautiful and fresh contrast. You might also think about using lighter shades of yellow to bring in more warmth. On the opposite spectrum, what color goes with light green? For colors that complement light green, you can go for softer shades of lavender, purple, and violet

Do Green and Blue Work Well Together?

These colors can be found close to each other when looking at the color wheel, so both can be seen as cooler colors. They will work well with each other and add a fresh look to any room. For an even more clean and fresh look, you can also pair these colors with white.

Do Gray and Green Work Well Together?

Yes, gray is the perfect color to go with green. A vibrant green can add a nice splash of color to a gray color scheme. Whatever shade of gray you use, green will always help to make a room feel more fresh and welcoming.