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Home & Garden

This season’s colour is dark green — but do not paint the whole room

Interior designers suggest one wall and a few wooden details, and nothing more.

By Priya Raghavan ·
This season’s colour is dark green — but do not paint the whole room

Dark green is the shade every showroom is pushing this season. The warning from interior designers is blunt: paint all four walls in it and six months later the room feels small and dim.

The recommended use is a single wall, or the joinery. Against wood the tone stays warm; against white frames it turns hard.

What looks right in the showroom looks like something else at home under different light. Taking a sample away always pays.

Where it works

In the costings the materials are usually the small line. The real spend is labour and waiting time.

In a small room every centimetre gained has a price: the space you win in one place comes out of another.

Where it does not

When reading reviews, skip the ones from the first month and look at the ones written after the second year.

What really decides it is how many hours of daylight the room gets. Dark green in a north-facing sitting room is not the same colour as dark green in the same room facing south.

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