Ideas and Inspiration to Refresh Your Home: Green with Envy

At long last, it’s beginning to feel like we are shrugging off the winter. Lighter evenings are on their way and temperatures are beginning to rise.

With the prospect of Spring and Summer now within reach, we can look forward to coming out of hibernation and take a fresh look at our homes and consider an update where things are looking a bit tired. We all want our homes to be admired and by using the most up-to-date looks, you will wow your visitors to the extent that you look into their eyes and see a shade of green that could be called envy…

As we all know, we don’t always get the weather that we would like in the milder months and bringing the outside into your home can brighten your days when you’re stuck in. 2017 will see nature inspired treats for the home and we would team this with one of the hottest colours of this year; you guess it – green!

Greens vary hugely in colour and density, from bottle greens to the palest of sage greens so you are sure to find a shade that you love.

The colour green represents harmony, balance and growth. A mix of blue and yellow, it takes positivity and clarity from the yellow and emotional calmness and hope from the blue.

It also resonates with safety and wealth– all good things to have around as an influence for your family and your home. William Shakespeare himself, wrote of green being an envious colour which enhanced this concept. In Othello, he referred to ‘the green-eyed monster’, in Anthony and Cleopatra he wrote of ‘green sickness’ (referring to jealousy), and in Merchant of Venice, he used the phrase ‘green-eyed jealousy’.

Pantone® have tipped the biggest colour of 2017 as being ‘Greenery’. Below, we have explored the many shades of green and provided inspiration of how you can inject it in to your home.

Choose your greens:

Muted and blue-greens will evoke a feeling of calm and restfulness so this is an ideal colour to choose for a relaxing room, such as a living room or bedroom. We loved this cooler shade of green mixed with whites and silvers to add a contemporary chic look to the mix.

Brighter lime and yellow-greens will energise a space and add vibrancy so these tones work well in busy rooms throughout the home, such as kitchens and home offices. These work really well teamed with wood or blacks – best to avoid too much other colour!

GAUCHO CEILING PENDANT: A contemporary design ceiling pendant with a matt black and wooden curved shade with a copper inner, the light is suspended on a decorative braided black flex and can be shortened at the point of installation. This would be ideal for lighting over kitchen islands and dining room tables. It is double insulated for use without need of an earth wire and can be used with a dimmer switch.

To evoke a natural springtime feel, you can add two or three different shades of green together. This works extremely well teamed with leaf and grass patterns. Texture will also add a depth to the design, just try and keep the theme consistent.

Adding yellow accents to your green room adds a summertime vibe. Be careful not to over-accent though, a few well-placed bright yellows against a pale green work wonders, but could overpower! These colours evoke a fun vibe, so you could add some quirky elements to the décor.

WYSE CEILING PENDANT: A ceiling pendant reminiscent of traditional factory lighting. This is an aluminium light finished in a powder coated yellow with a white inside to ensure maximum illumination. This looks great to add a splash of colour in vintage and industrial settings – perfect in a kitchen.

HEX WALL LIGHT: A great wall light based on a traditional factory wall light. Shown here in a powder coated yellow, this is a versatile light that will suit modern, traditional, vintage, industrial and rustic settings.

Teaming natural browns and taupe with greens is a triumph. Reminiscent of trees, this is a colour combination that will always work well. Brown adds a serious air to the design and will certainly evoke the luxurious wealth when teamed together well. Keeping the greens a muted sage or olive, you can also introduce texture in the browns, with suedes and leathers adding charm. Traditional colours, this looks great in vintage and retro settings.

COAST CEILING PENDANT: A ceiling pendant in a woven rope finish in an elegant shape, complete with clear cable suspension. This is great to add some texture and interest to any space. The pale shade inner ensures a bright and far reaching illumination from your bulb.

RIMINI FLOOR LAMP: Modern Floor Lamp in a satin chrome finish teamed complete with a green silk lampshade. A great option for guest hotel bedrooms or to create a luxury hotel feel in your own home. This is great in any modern or contemporary setting.

VIBRANT CEILING PENDANT: A modern and chic ceiling pendant in a green finish. Made from aluminium with a shiny green finish to the outside and white to the inside to make the most of the illumination from your bulb. This stunning pendant works well in both modern and retro settings. It is so elegant, it instantly adds a vibrant and chic look to any room.

Adding orange is a great accent colour with green and any tone of green will benefit. Orange is thought to be a social colour, optimistic and uplifting so will also help to maintain the positivity in the room. It has also been associated with increasing the appetite, so it would be ideal used in a dining room.

LOME WALL LIGHT:

A delightfully simple wall light designed to showcase the bulb. An industrial light at heart, this is a modern, minimalist twist which creates a beautiful light for any setting. This solid brass wall light is finished in a powder coated orange and features a fully adjustable spring-loaded arm which pivots up and down, ensuring that you can angle the light in the best way for your requirements.

ARDLE CEILING PENDANT: This is a great and eye catching ceiling pendant. Featuring a factory theme with pleated embellishment, this versatile pendant light can enhance a retro or industrial themed room. They are a quality item – powder finish on aluminium and steel.

Another saying that we often hear when thinking of green, is ‘blue and green must never be seen’, yet when you think of a nature walk on a sunny day with trees, a river and blue sky, they are the predominant colours on display! Arguably, you will need to be careful which tones you choose as some can clash, yet when you get it right it can look as elegant as no other match. It’s best to keep other colours out of this scheme to avoid confusing the look, white walls and wood work well. Choose simple patterned fabrics which have both the colours in and match your accent pieces to these colours.

A strong green colour can be used to great effect, but may need the addition of some cool accents colours to lighten the look. We love this tone of green used with grey accents – they really enhance each other for a balanced and coherent interior.

EFFIE DESK LAMP: A compact and modern desk lamp finished in matte white with a pale grey shade. The head is adjustable ensuring that you can focus the light on the task in hand.

KAELAN CEILING PENDANT:  A pale grey ceiling pendant in a matte finish with matching ceiling rose. The shade inner is finished in white which reflects the illumination and teamed with the wide shape of this pendant, it offers a wide, bright and far reaching illumination. This is a great modern light to give an subtle focal interest to any room. We especially love this over breakfast bars, kitchen islands and dining tables.

Now if you like the idea of green, but don’t want to paint the walls or change your carpet, a quick and easy way of bringing the outside indoors is by adding plants and foliage. It’s your choice whether you want to go for a real or a realistic faux option, but these add a warmth and elegance to a room that it reminiscent of a relaxing day in the sunshine. If you team these with natural materials such as wicker and warm woods, you will soon create a relaxing yet interesting vibe for your home.

ROTAN CEILING PENDANT: This is a great looking large ceiling pendant made in a traditional basket weave pattern. In a simple dome shape, this light is further enhanced when illuminated as the light shines through the weave, showcasing the natural pattern.

Another trend that is continuing to grow, is another type of green – energy saving. We are all aware that we need to do our bit to conserve energy for the good of the world, but it is equally as good for our pocket. An easy change to make is the humble light bulb. When a bulb next blows, consider replacing it with an LED (light emitting diode) bulb and you could see savings of up to 88% on your electric bill. Not only this, but rather than lasting a mere year or two, these will last around ten times this amount! The average LED bulb left on constantly would last around 11 years. Using it for around 8 – 10 hours per day and this increases to around 22 years. Another benefit is that they very rarely stop working all together but over a very long time will become less bright, giving you plenty of time to replace them before you’re left in the dark!! Technology is evolving fast and we can now offer dimmable LED bulbs, so you can still create the perfect ambience. We offer a wide selection of LED bulbs – you can peruse the range here to get the perfect one.

If you are interested in adding green as your accent colour, you can take a look here for the best of the bunch… If you are still searching for your next perfect light fitting, please peruse the full range here.

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