Bring in Spring, Part 3: My top Spring Green picks for your home

There is no colour in the spectrum that speaks Spring to me more than green. Green is the most common colour in the natural world and represents new life, freshness, vitality and rebirth. Do you know what happens to your body in the presence of green? Sensationalcolour.com explains that being in the presence of the colour green stimulates your pituitary gland. Your muscles are more relaxed, and your blood histamine levels increase, which leads to a decrease in allergy symptoms and dilated blood vessels, aiding in smoother muscle contractions. In short, green is calming, stress-relieving, and – a bit paradoxically – invigorating.

And yet, the use of green in interior decor has traditionally been limited and restricted. In fact, as I was growing up the colour green in decor was really only used in two ways: Lime green bathroom walls and accents in the new uprising of Barratt home new builds, and drawing room green in old traditional properties with uncomfortable leather sofas. In both examples the use of green seems very limited to specific target markets and tastes, but I think that is changing.

Valspar’s chosen colour palette for 2018 features 12 different colours, and a quarter of them are shades of green, all of them very different to each other: one rich and emerald-like, one greyish and muted, and the third blue-green like the sea. Access the Valspar website here to see examples of how they can be used Valspar’s colours of the year 2018

Furthermore, the botanical trend has hit modern style in a big way in the last few seasons. From high street fashion to high end wallpaper, there is no sign of this theme going anywhere any time soon. And once again, quite obviously, green features in a big way in botanicals.

hm-botanical-interior-2016-style-my-home — HM Home Botanical Theme from Style at Home

I have been working on an idea for decorating our living room. It isn’t a massive priority because of the pending arrival of baby, however I have started to plank a little collection of items what are building up a more developed idea of what I would like the space to look and feel like. And, guess what, green is the theme. You might call me a tentative theme adopter though…I love dark walls but would probably only paint one rather than a whole room. I love plant life, but I would limit myself to only a handful of real plants and use faux for the rest. I love velvet furniture, but am more likely to get a pouffe or chair as opposed to a sofa. This is just the way I roll, and it’s the way I plan to roll with my green living room theme. I would much rather ensure that anything I might tire of in the future is inexpensive to redo and replace than requiring a complete recarpet and new furniture.

Here I have collated my top ten green themed items/ideas for your home that will bring in the spring season’s colour without requiring a complete redecoration of your entire house.

1. Amara Living Cushion