Color Guide: How to Work With Chartreuse
It's a vivid, electric color. Happy, even. It's the inside of a perfect avocado, a bed of Scotch moss or the belly of a lovebird. Chartreuse is halfway between green and yellow — a yellowish green, a greenish yellow. But the spectrum within this color ranges from bright lime to light sulphur.
In its lighter, softer form chartreuse makes a great wall color for earthy, nature-inspired rooms. In its boldest, brightest form it is as eye catching as neon.
Chartreuse can be both earthy and electric. It looks wonderful with reds, oranges and blues, especially turquoise and cobalt. Bright chartreuse is a perfect foil for charcoal gray (think lichen on stone) and in modern design is often used as a pop against muted neutrals. It looks crisp and spring-y with bright white and vivid with purple.
It's very popular in modern design, but chartreuse can span the eras and does not need to be used sparingly. Go ahead and put it all over; it can take it. Do you want a baroque entryway with chartreuse walls and crystal chandeliers? Go for it.
As these photos show, chartreuse may be bold — flashy, even — but it is not limiting. In fact, it's an all-around great decorating color.
Chartreuse on the Walls
A bright green chartreuse makes these built-ins glow (notice how I didn't say "pop"). It's a traditional farmhouse on happy juice.
See more of this colorful house
In a sleek, modern entryway a chartreuse door draws the eye.
Tour this updated Victorian in San Francisco
A splash of chartreuse breaks up the neutrals in this room but goes perfectly with the muted earth tones.
Chartreuse on a wall in a very traditional dining room. It's not outrageous, but it certainly isn't stuffy, either. And see how beautiful it looks with the blues and purples here?
A lighter, more muted chartreuse works like a neutral but with more pizazz. And the warm, light wood just glows next to it.
See more of this renovated ranch house
I love this intricately patterned chartreuse wallpaper. It's elegant and glamorous, and it makes a huge splash in this small space.
A bright yellow chartreuse electrifies these adjoining rooms without much natural light. The greige on the separating wall is the perfect warm neutral here.
A very light yellow chartreuse fits in perfectly with this very traditional living room and looks great with the bright white trim.
A chartreuse ceiling gives this modern all-white room a yellow glow.
A chartreuse floor adds a mossy, outdoorsy feeling to this neutral kitchen.
Decorating With Chartreuse
This Togo sofa by Ligne Roset blends in so well with the browns, grays and whites in this room. It's bright, but it's not jarring.
Chartreuse makes such a nice accent color. And it's gorgeous with teal and white.
Imagine this room without the chartreuse rug and chair. A little boring, right?
Bam! Bright and modern in a wild but traditional black, white and gray dining room. Nothing earthy here.
This chartreuse chaise is the perfect piece for a modern vintage room like this — both classic and unexpected.
Chartreuse and purple. Lovely.
A bit of wow in a small, neutral bathroom.
More glamorous chartreuse wallpaper. It's '60s go-go meets Hollywood Regency.
Hot magenta even loves chartreuse. Who'da thunk?
A single chartreuse stool is a little ray of sunshine in this industrial kitchen. Modern but warm.
A modern icon in chartreuse paired with dove gray and bright white. Fresh and clean looking, like spring.
A chartreuse tile backsplash in a crisp, white kitchen.
Chartreuse armchairs help warm up this traditional living room.
A chartreuse sofa with charcoal piping. This is worthy of having an entire room designed around it.
Chartreuse Outside
Most chartreuse outdoors comes from the landscape. This foliage seems to glow.
Sempervivum with red tips.
These chartreuse plants were specifically chosen for their design chops. They shine against the muted colors in this backyard.
A yellow-chartreuse wall on a rooftop patio defines the space against the skyline.
Just a splash of chartreuse around the windows in this updated modern cottage in Texas. I absolutely love this bold exception to the gray and white rule.
This chartreuse exterior wall looks wonderful with the natural wood, and helps define the space so that it becomes another room rather than just an open space.
Chartreuse helping to define architecture.
An unexpected bright chartreuse door on a brick building.
Everyone will be able to find your house if you paint your front door this color.
This pool and hot tub are vividly defined by a chartreuse outline in an otherwise neutral palette.
Chartreuse looks beautiful with almost all the colors of the outdoors.
Lime Green 2026-10 PaintBright, bright yellowish green. Warning: This is not a neutral.
Limeade CSP-865 PaintStill bright but with more yellow.
Nervy Hue SW6917 PaintBright, bright greenish yellow.
Granny Smith CSP-860 PaintA little lighter but still a bright greenish yellow.
Martini Olive CSP-890 PaintA darker, grayer yellow-chartreuse.
Mélange Green SW6710 PaintMore leafy and springy — heading greener.
Serena & Lily Low-VOC Paint, Grass - $45Less vivid and much greener. This could almost be a neutral wall color.
Parakeet SW6711 PaintA light avocado.
Pale Avocado 2146-40 PaintMore golden but still a greenish golden. This would be a great wall color for a traditional room with bright white trim.
Whales Green 2028-50 PaintA perfect light chartreuse.
Colorhouse SPROUT .05A littler yellower.
