What Colors Go With Green Couches?

On a couch or sofa, green is a versatile neutral that will coordinate with many other colors to form a pleasing living space. The color green is a secondary color, formed by combining the two primary colors blue and yellow. Green can range from a pale, misty sea-foam to a deep, inky black. Green also stretches from yellowy chartreuses to blue-green teals, and the vividness or intensity of the color is still another variable. Adding tiny amounts of a color's complement, which is the color directly opposite from it on the color wheel, lowers the brightness of a hue to produce drabber tones such as sage or olive.

To choose companion colors for a green couch, first identify the tone of green on the couch: light or dark, bright or subdued, yellowy green, bluish green or true green. Next, decide on a color scheme based on that tone of green.

A monochromatic color scheme is the simplest of the color schemes, because it is based on a single basic hue, in this case, green. The monochromatic color scheme includes a variety of tints and shades of a single color. Tints of the color on the couch will be paler versions of the color and shades will be deeper versions of the color. When the couch color is green, the walls, other upholstered pieces, the floor covering and any decorative throw pillows or accessories will all be various tints and shades of pale green and deep green, derived from the couch color. The monochromatic color scheme is a soothing and refined.

The analogous color scheme is based on colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. For example, green is flanked by blue-green and yellow-green. The more yellow tones of green included in the color scheme, the warmer and brighter it will seem to be, and the more blue tones of green included, the cooler it will seem. Designers assess the natural light and consider the proposed use of the space before assigning colors. Yellow tones of green are lively; blue tones of green are more serene. An analogous color scheme draws its strength from the combination of three or more adjacent colors on the color wheel with a sparkling and spirited result.

The complementary color scheme combines two colors that are across from each other on the color wheel. The complement of green is red, so a complementary color scheme in a room featuring a green sofa will include tones of red and green. When a tiny amount of green is added to red, the red tone becomes less intense and vice versa. Equal parts of a color and its complement form a tone of gray, so the complementary color scheme can become a palette of subtle, less intense colors with brighter accent tones for pillows and accessories. A red-and-green color scheme is always harmonious to the eye and offers a wide range of color choices.

A triad color scheme includes three colors that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel, as in green, orange and violet. Depending on the tone of green, it may also be yellow-green, red-orange and blue-violet or blue green, yellow-orange and red-violet. Triad color schemes are more complex to work with, but they produce exciting results and enliven a space with beautiful color. All of the color intensities may be adjusted, and tinted to pastels or deepened to shade tones, so that there are many choices in a triad color scheme. The result is a sophisticated and energized color palette.