Sorry Sage Green, but This New Color Trend Is the 'Brighter, More Characterful' Choice for Painting Your Walls in 2026
This silky chiffon-inspired green is playful, but has a "cool, collected depth," too — here's how designers decorate with it
Livingetc's monthly 'Color Crush' always gives me something inspiring to look forward to. A fresh hit of color to reignite creativity as the new season blows in. And as May blooms into June, we're swapping last month's bold red for a soft, joyful blue-green we're calling Sea Green Chiffon. It's similar to a minty green, but with a little more life, and it'll awaken and refresh your home just in time for summer.
What exactly is Sea Green Chiffon? "Sea Green Chiffon has a subtle simmering fizz about it, summoning images of foamy, gurgling waves and shining sea glass treasures," explains Livingetc's color expert, Amy Moorea Wong. "It's radiant and playful, but with a cool, collected depth running beneath the surface." I'm going to just say it: it's a much-needed evolution of sage, "a calm, soft green for those of us done with herbs and ready to move on to (slightly) brighter, more characterful things," adds Amy.
While pastels and bold, bright colors can be outwardly intimidating, a softer hue like Sea Green chiffon is a fabulous way into decorating with color. Here's everything you need to know about this month's color crush.
What Is Sea Green Chiffon?
You can lean into either the blue undertones or the yellow undertones to transform Sea Green Chiffon across different spaces.
Sea Green Chiffon is — as you may expect — part of the green color family and sits on the cool side of the color wheel. In its makeup, you'll find blue, gray, a touch of yellow, and a smidge of white. These nuances are what make Sea Green chiffon stand out against other green color trends.
"It hints at eau de nil but is a little greener, with more freshness and luminosity to it; it winks at good old sage green but has considerably less gray and a lot more spark and vibrancy, and it floats around celadon but is less saturated, and more pushed back," explains Amy Moorea Wong.
Basically, it's a familiar color, but with enough pizazz in its undertones to make it slightly more interesting than a pale pastel.
Amy Moorea Wong is a color authority and contemporary interior design writer who has specialized in all things decorating for over a decade. Alongside being Livingetc’s Color Expert, she also contributes to an array of global publications and has a book, Kaleidoscope: Modern Homes in Every Colour. Amy is an ardent believer in the power of color in a home and how creative design should never be intimidating.
With the light coming in from the window and the other warm colors in the room, you can really see how warm Sea Green Chiffon can read.
I know what you're thinking: Is Sea Green Chiffon not just decorating with mint green? Well, it is, and it isn't. As Amy explains, "Compared to the classic minty green, it has less white and a dash of yellow, making it earthier and warmer."
The touch of gray brings that elegant, grown-up edge. Plus, it has slightly less blue than similar colors, making it warmer and more welcoming. Sea Green Chiffon is a joyful color, but it's one that you can easily live with and incorporate into larger schemes.
How to Use Sea Green Chiffon
These sorts of bright, pastel-adjacent greens get a bad reputation for being hard to use, but that's the magic of Sea Green Chiffon. "Sea Green Chiffon adds vitality but in a way that's honest, organic, and understated," says Amy. "It brings nature into the home in a way that casts the mind to early morning walks on the sea front, bringing in the feel of cool, salty spray in your face while maintaining meditatively tranquil."
The touches of yellow awaken the senses, while the cool blue base keeps a refreshing contrast. That said, Sea Green Chiffon is actually a color that can be used almost anywhere (like with most earthy color palettes), and in many different forms.
And if color trends have taught us anything, it's that going big will always lead to a more design-forward finished look. Especially with a shade as lively as Sea Green Chiffon.
"It works well in big, bold patches — walls, surfaces, rugs, large pieces of furniture — evoking a sense of openness and sprawling, serene seascapes," says Amy. And as a paint color in south-facing rooms, or rooms with lots of sunlight, it will provide even more unexpected warmth.
Want to drench color drench with Sea Green Chiffon? "It's restrained, gray-tinted liveliness will immerse without overwhelming, energizing at a livable level," says Amy. Or consider just an accent. "Look forward to moments of tempered invigoration that lift the space, punctuating the room like gentle surprises," Amy adds.
I can see this shade making a fabulous paint color for trim or dotted through the room in lampshades, side tables, or even as small decor moments. There are plenty of easy ways to incorporate Sea Green Chiffon, and when it comes to pairing it with other hues, just look to the colors that go with green.
Sea Green Chiffon is that little something calming to add to your interior that will still brighten your space and make it ready for warmer days. I can even see Sea Green Chiffon paired next to a splash of Pomegranate Pop...
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