Colours (Green)

Today is time for a very pretty colour: green. Apparently lately I've been in a 'nature' blogging mood - so it's only fitting to talk about green... which is representing, you guessed it, nature!

One of the most abundant colour in nature - green is a symbol of life, growth, freshness. When you say green you think of the grass growing, maybe of that cute little jumping frog you found in the backyard, of the leaves of all flowers. The first breath of life in the spring comes through the leaves - and that's our first sign of nature coming back to us: green in an amazing number of shades.

As the combination of a cold (blue) and warm (yellow) colours - green is a very balanced hue. It is a very restful one too - and a safe one, on the opposite side of red.

Using grass / leaf green in your design you will send a message of hope, growth, natural, freshness. Darker hues are associated with ambition, power, even jealousy (not sure if it's because dark green is associated with money, at least in North-American culture; or money became green because the hue symbolizes power... the egg / chicken question). The yellow-green shades show sickness and discord, be careful with the colour. On the other hand, the dark-olive colour has been a symbol of peace since Noah's times - maybe instead of that yellow-green scarf you wanted to give to your MIL you could get a dark-olive one, or, even better, a teal / aqua scarf, as teal (a combination of green and blue) is said to have healing powers.

As for design combinations - green is a perfect colour to decorate (being restful and peaceful), not too cold, not too warm, not over-stimulating... just perfect. Accent it with its complement, red or try to re-create a garden: imagine a forest green couch with lots of colourful pillows - that's an image sure to bring a smile when you see it!

Other colours to combine with? Use the complementary schema - with red accents for a powerful result. Use the triad schema (with orange and violet) for a playful result, using bright, pastel hues. The analogous schema (with teal, and yellow-green) is very hard to pull right, mainly because the complex combination of cold and warm colours. When in doubt - try to find ideas in nature: green is everywhere and you can easily recreate your favourite spot from a garden in a room decor, even in a fashion look.

What is your relationship with green? Have you ever found it impossible to match?