Green living room ideas: 21 ways to decorate with green

For a living room that feels fresh, light and airy, pops of green on a crisp white base are a safe bet. Aside from the fabulous green velvet sofa, the key components that make this living room work are the black and white accents, blonde wood and hints of brass – a combination that can be replicated in any room in your home with great success.

Pictured: House Beautiful Emerald Darcy Sofa at DFS

There's an abundance of botanical references in this light and airy living room. The crisp apple green makes the perfect companion to accents of fuchsia and the pale browns of jute and rattan. Indeed, if you are going to live with botanical influences so closely, it is best to offset with as much wood as you can get away with.

Pictured: Banoffee Sofa at Loaf

Painting your ceilings is a good trick for large living rooms that feel a bit cavernous and uninviting. Where light colours expand, dark colours recede, so using a dark colour will create the impression of a lower ceiling, making a large living room feel more intimate and cosy.

Pictured: Ceiling painted in Novara Green at Victory Colours

If you're a confident decorator, hints of green might not have the impact you want. Here, an all-over green (spot the painted ceiling) makes a great backdrop for lighter colours to stand out. Note the abundance of natural light in this room which helps to lift the dark walls.

Pictured: Ercol Novara Sofa and Footstool at Furniture Village

Reddish browns, forest greens and warm pinks and terracottas are part and parcel of a new wave of 70s design references. Heavy, floor-to-ceiling curtains are a great way to highlight high ceilings and frame an interesting view of the outdoors.

Pictured: Fascination Juniper Curtains and Astro Voiles, both at Hillarys

If you're going for a retro or Art Deco theme, dusty pink and vibrant green are a classic combination. This pairing works particularly well with darker and red-toned woods (imagine a pale wood here, and the effect loses its retro references).

Pictured: Rozalia Sophia Green Wallpaper at Divine Savages

We're big fans of a gallery wall in a living room, and this zesty green and yellow example works beautifully against a sage background. A gallery wall is a great place to introduce complementary colours – if you use green and yellow, a warming terracotta would make a great additional accent.

Pictured: Fresh Lemon Gallery Wall at Desenio

The architectural details in this living room lend themselves to a two-tone scheme – if you have similar panelling or coving, it's an easy one to replicate. We would always recommend using the darker of the two colours on your walls as a contrast to highlight the more interesting details.

Pictured: Country Living Dakota Carpet at Carpetright

Designers and stylists will always expound the decorative benefits of using different heights when styling a sideboard or shelf – the artwork has been arranged in a bit of a mismatch of placements, whilst candle holders and vases have been chosen and arranged in groups of alternating sizes.

Pictured: Elements 02 Print at Formworks

We are totally taken with this little reading corner that goes big on colour in a small space. Awkward pockets like these are perfect for experimenting with intense shades. Farrow & Ball suggests using this rich olive green paint if you're low on natural light – so it's perfect for awkward alcoves or any space under your stairs.

Pictured: Olive No.13 Paint at Farrow & Ball

If you're unsure of how to pair your greens, a black and white scheme is a safe bet. Just be sure to add a warming element – in this Habitat living room it's the red-toned wood, but pops of orange or yellow would do the job too.

Pictured: Julien 3 Seater Fabric Sofa at Habitat

Green is on the cooler side of the colour wheel, so using green undertones can offset saturated colours like an intense yellow, orange, or pink. It's a clever design trick used in this neat living room/home office corner to balance the intensity of the walls.

Pictured: Desk, chair, and accessories at Habitat

What green living room would be complete without houseplants? What we really love here is the unexpected placements – displayed on open shelving in front of the window, and those fabulous trailing plants hanging from the ceiling.

Pictured: Costello Sofa at Sofa.com

If you like Bloomsbury-style florals, you can't beat a William Morris wallpaper. This green living room embraces a lively design scheme with clashing patterns jostling for attention – it's a nice way to make a room feel fun and energetic.

Our Back to Nature paint collection at Homebase captures the myriad tones of the outdoors including a pale sage, the yellow-toned green of new shoots, and a sophisticated forest green.

'Our desire to connect to the outdoors is still so strong – these serene shades of sage, citrine and moss help bring this feeling into your home,' says Sarah Keady, House Beautiful's Style and Interiors Director. 'Use alongside plants and natural wood for maximum effect.'

Pictured: House Beautiful Back to Nature paint at Homebase

Another living room full of plants in all shapes and sizes. This design scheme uses the black, white and brass formula we mentioned earlier, but forgoes the blonde wood to create a slightly more luxe feel overall.

Pictured: Islington 2 Seater Sofa at Sofology

Bohemian decorating can quickly become cluttered and mismatched, but this light and airy living room executes it perfectly. To replicate the look in your own home, keep your larger pieces of furniture neutral, and use heavy pattern (a paisley or ikat would work,) in your soft furnishings. Any type of wood can work here, and finish with an abundance of greenery.

Pictured: Furniture, lighting and accessories, all Dunelm

Mid and dark greens are frequently matched with clean whites, light pinks or ochres, but green and blue are neighbours on the colour wheel, making them perfect partners. Both are cool colours, which can make them refreshing, just make sure to pick similar shades – an apple green with a vivid cerulean for instance – or as we see here, two soft and earthy tones.

Pictured: Ercol Aldbury Armchair

Layered rugs, Moroccan-inspired patterns and a chalky green limewashed wall creates something a bit dreamy and fantastical here. A limewash effect is a really nice way to soften colours and add a natural and pigmented effect.

Pictured: French Connection Hoxton Three-Seater Sofa at DFS

Green isn't just for bohemian or botanical living rooms, a sophisticated forest green can work wonders in a mid-century home too. This particular shade from Mylands is a great choice if the rest of your room is neutral, and note the use of black lighting and accessories – you don't have to use lighter colours against a dark background.

Pictured: Pleasure Gardens Green at Mylands

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