Sage advice: This earthy green hue is good for the soul – and fast becoming the shade of the year
The desire for serenity by bringing the outside indoors is why sage green is becoming the go-to colour in our homes.
Indeed, when it comes to what’s known as biophilic design — a connection to the environment in every aspect of a home — sage green leads the field.
No surprise, then, that Hollywood stars have cottoned on to this fashionable hue. When the sage green kitchen in the LA home of actress Dakota Johnson featured in Architectural Digest magazine, lame jokes were made about the Fifty Shades Of Grey star’s choice of palette.
Serene green: Sage cabinets in the LA kitchen of actress Dakota Johnson featured in Architectural Digest magazine
But the mid-century style kitchen, with glass-fronted cabinets, is both smart and wholesome.
Swoon, the design-led furniture brand, is among those reporting a surge in searches for sage green paints and sofas. And it’s even being called the ‘new neutral’, as it goes with grey, beige, black and just about everything else.
Eager to let sage green work its power on your home? Here’s a guide to its use.
Country kitchens
Sage green can be used alone in a kitchen or mixed with natural woods. Its matt organic look gives a rural touch to a city pad.
Tom Howley, of Tom Howley Kitchens, says the shade is popular among customers who like the idea of the Cotswolds, but would not move there.
‘Even those who don’t want to give up the buzz of city life are redefining their homes with a country-style narrative and sage green is perfect for this,’ he says.
His range includes a Shaker-style sage green kitchen.
Howdens also offers the Fairford, another Shaker-style kitchen available in sage green.
If a kitchen makeover seems anything but relaxing, a single piece, such as a £299 farmhouse table with sage green legs from the Cotswolds Company, brings you closer to fields and meadows.
Warm bathrooms
The colour brings a certain warmth that grey and beige cannot deliver, especially when teamed with these neutrals.
Quorn Stone’s smoked green porcelain floor and wall tiles could turn a chilly white bathroom into a chill-out zone.
Another route would be to paint the walls with Dulux’s Heritage range sage green in bathroom finish.
Just a few items in sage green will bring the outdoors inside, such as Habitat’s £80 Freja cabinet, or Homescapes Turkish towels (from 99p).
Luscious living rooms
The ascent of sage green could rob emerald green of its crown as the most fashionable shade for sofas.
The Habitat Hendricks three-seater sofa is made of a hard-wearing linen-look fabric (£1,200). Sage green armchairs are almost as sought-after. The Anboise Fortingall velvet armchair is £1,500.
High demand: The Anboise Fortingall velvet armchair is £1,500
And Swoon’s Munich oversized armchair is £999.
Accessories add the sage green laid-back vibe. The Range has a £64.99 wool throw while Not On The High Street has a £24.99 spider plant in a sage green pot.
Dunelm’s Arts & Crafts line includes the £25 Havisham cushion in blue, cream and sage green.
Calming bedrooms
Bedding represents the ideal way to enjoy the calm-inducing qualities of sage green for less.
The Made.com Alexia kingsize cotton duvet cover costs £59 and the Graham & Green sumptuous velvet super-kingsize quilt is £260.
The simplest way to bring sage green into any room is to pick up a paintbrush.
The options include shades such as Detox and Home Green from Coat, a sustainable brand, Farrow & Ball Sap Green and Little Greene’s Sage Green.
And Dakota Johnson’s sage green paint selection is somewhat unnervingly called Alligator Alley.
What your home really needs is a… noticeboard
What’s the price of a well-organised household? The answer could be just £4.36, which is the cost of a cork noticeboard from B&M (£2.49), plus a packet of 30 push pins (£1.87) from WHSmith.
The payback from this low-tech solution can be huge, which is why your home needs one.
Wayfair ‘s mesh wall-mounted bulletin board (£65.99) offers plenty of space to peg lists and cards
Not only can you attach the obvious stuff such as a rota for domestic chores and children’s drawings, but it can also serve as a place to display pictures of interiors you would like to copy.
Argos offers a cork and white-board for £19.
But Wayfair has fancier options, such as the £70.99 slate magnetic board or the mesh wall-mounted bulletin board (£65.99) onto which you peg lists and cards.
A noticeboard can also help you plan future holidays. From Butler & Hill, you can buy a £39.99 board with a world map background.
