Green Rooms

For someone who saves magazines but doesn't want clutter, hanging boxes are a chic, contemporary, and calming solution. These were custom-made from medium-density fiberboard and painted sage green. A backing on each box, painted to match the walls, blends in but allows for sturdy hanging hardware.

Get the look with Martha Stewart Living Paint Color in Timothy Hay at the Home Depot. 

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A two-color palette feels fresh and fashionable when bold greens meet pale blues. Against the snowy tablecloth, chairs, and cushions, sculptural pottery vessels concentrate the vivid colors down the center of the table. Minimal arrangements of white mini carnations, hydrangea, agapanthis, chrysanthemums, liseanthus, and tulips fill some vases; others are left empty.

It's easier than you think to conjure a refreshingly imaginative bedroom. By selecting hues that not only make you smile but also enhance the mood and setting of the rest of your house, you can design a bedroom that is tranquil yet still has plenty of panache.

In theory, we all know how to paint a room. Dip a brush or roller in a color and spread it over the wall. But painting neatly and efficiently is a skill most of us could brush up on. We have a basic guide to the essential tips and techniques to get the job done.

The easiest way to vary the colors in a bedroom is to change the sheets. Contemporary Swedish-style chairs hold a variety of bedding suitable for a sage and blue bedroom, including coverlets, sheets in coordinating solids, and decorative pillowcases and pillows. Patterns can be mixed when a palette is this restrained.

A woven linenlike texture on this green tabletop accentuates the piece's clean lines, while distressed legs add character.

1. Highlight a chandelier's fanciful lines by painting simple paper shades a coordinating color and finishing with contrasting grosgrain ribbon. 2. Richly colored two-tone framing mats bring vibrancy without the need to repaint an entire wall. 3. Cover the table with a coordinating mat that protects the table and entices the eye. 4. Embellish a sisal rug with a painted border to tie the room together and reinforce the color scheme with little effort or expenditure. 5. Add slipcovers to chair cushions, affording a chance to add pattern without going to excess -- not to mention they can be easily changed.

A pair of English Regency chairs sits beneath two early-nineteenth-century depictions of Vesuvius erupting at night, part of a collection of about 20.

A king-size bed nook framed by ornate molding dominates this master bedroom. It reminds the homeowner, who fell in love with the over-the-top design detail and highlighted it with white paint, of a hotel in Miami in the '40s. 

This baroque Swedish desk in a guest bedroom has idiosyncratic hardware and slightly crude joinery and carving. The small side cabinet is rococo, and the lamp is Danish.

Deborah and Robert Cox bought the wicker furniture as newlyweds three decades ago. She refreshes the pieces every other year with a coat of white paint. Bright throw pillows pick up on the surfboard's vibrant hues.

Unabashedly feminine details, such as ruffles, ribbons, bows, upbeat hues, and cheerful prints -- including plaids and florals -- add country charm to this green room.

Araucana Sage makes a stylish understatement on living-room walls; the ceiling is Araucana Blue.

Martha's Westport, Connecticut, dining room employs rare color to showcase well-chosen treasures, such as a gilt mirror, which in turn accent the room color. The Porcelain Green walls and Coral Blue Guinea ceiling were inspired by an antique bowl and a length of silk ribbon.

In this guest bath, a collection of opaline green glass shimmers against the black-painted wood.

Embellished edges and small streaks of contrasting color give a room weight when the palette is soft shades of ivy, sage, and grass green.

When decorating, use textiles to enliven a room. This cotton sateen shade provides a simple yet sophisticated design solution.

Green can be as captivating indoors as it is in the garden. In this sleek, contemporary setting, vibrant linen slipcovers on a tuxedo sofa and throw pillow are used as an assertive accent. The color appears even more prominent against gray walls and neutral furniture; a pair of leather boxes is the only reiteration of the bright green.

In a traditional setting, green is part of a palette that also includes yellow (in the warm golden tones of the rug and window shades, and in the brass accents) and blue (in the robin's-egg base of the rug, and the turquoise chair and pillow coverings). These two primaries combine to make green, which is why the three colors are so compatible, and the results so restful. The curtains pair a plaid with a toile; the shade of green on each is strong, but it's used like linework on a cream ground, softening the effect. A pale mint coats the walls, and a darker hue appears on the tole lampshade and hollyhocks on the coffee table. Among these greens, the pillows and chair stand out like blossoms against leaves, and the golds glow. Bamboo shades and the botanical prints subtly extend the room's natural inspiration.

A great unifier, green can be used to bring together different decorative elements. In this family room, all of the details are painted the same shamrock green. Green molding wraps around the room like a bright ribbon; the same color emphasizes the lines of the table and chairs. A graphic check fabric plus paint in matte and glossy finishes keep the overall look from becoming monotonous. A felt table mat in a deeper olive provides the final punctuation.

The intense green of these platters and seat cushions would overpower most other colors. But the rich brown of this furniture more than holds its own. Together, the two hues enhance each other, evoking the beauty of a forest. A bowl overflowing with ferns is a fitting woodland touch.