This word now carries the weight of all matters eco-friendly on its shoulders. But those shoulders are broad enough, and this colour – so harmonious and restful, symbolic of new life and hope – is the perfect signature shade for the eco trend. Can’t imagine red or orange doing the job, can you?

Green also has obvious botanic alliances and allusions, whether they are realised in a bright floral fabric or elegantly stylised bamboo-motif wallpaper.

Every which way

Green is a versatile colour, too. Apart from the crossover sea shades hues greens comes in...

Cleaner, truer greens like Resene Conifer. Use these bold tones as a feature wall or when colour-blocking. Nice and strong, they suit boys’ bedrooms and Asian-inspired schemes. Truer greens go well with the primary colours of red and yellow, as well as crisp whites.

Resene Spirulina kitchen with walls in Resene Half Tea; designed by Heather Thorley of Colour Options.

Dollop in some more yellow and you come up with acid greens like Resene Karma. Tangy and edgy, they go well with charcoal and green-based creams, and perhaps even palest icy blue.

Pale and interesting greens, soft sages and apples, like Resene Pale Leaf. These restful colours are perfect in bedrooms and look amazing with a natural scheme of pale timbers: there’s no finer way to exude eco-chic.

Emeralds and jades, like Resene Deep Sea. These strong, rich colours have an edge of decadence and eastern mysticism.

Forest greens like Resene Homegrown. These deeper colours and other dark sludgy greens suit heritage decors that feature dark antiques, brocades and leather.

Green is often seen as a cool colour and in theory, if you added yellow to the green, it should warm it up. But yellow-greens are quite sharp and acidic. The best way to warm up a green is, perversely, to add either black to form a soft and smoky green, or blue to make it more of a seafoam tone.

Green-based neutrals

The future of green is growing, so to speak. When it comes to pale neutral colours, we’re moving away from those with yellow or brown undertones to those with a green base, like Resene Thorndon Cream and Resene Ash. These colours have a cool sophistication and are quite complex so go with many styles of interiors.

Left: Resene Poprock walls. Center: Resene Camarone bedroom. Right: Resene Karma wall.