Dark Green Walls for The Nursery

I chose Sherwin Williams Privilege Green as a dark green wall color for an ultra-cozy, sophisticated feel in the nursery!

This is our third baby but first time having a dedicated nursery set up before they're born! To say I was excited about decorating would be an understatement.

(You can see how we set up our bedroom to share with our first here and with our second here.)

So... I started brainstorming nursery ideas approximately .000009 seconds after finding out I was pregnant.

I knew I wanted something dark and cozy and sophisticated for paint color. I think I caught the dark paint bug last winter when I painted our dining room a dark teal and still am floored by how luxe it feels.

And I wanted something that could work for a girl's room or a boy's room. We didn't know the gender when I was picking out colors, but my goal was to just pick a color that would be THE nursery color and we could change out curtains/decor depending on gender.

Also, much like both other pregnancies, I was SO SURE we were having a girl. I had a myriad of floral curtains in various online shopping carts ready to go and was perusing girly quilt designs. But lo and behold: a boy! Clearly I am missing whatever form of mother's intuition where you're just supposed to know. I'm 0 for 3!

The obvious options for gender neutral wall colors to me seem to be yellow or green, and maybe just the right blue if you really want to dress it up with feminine decor. I am maybe just going through a green phase but green was all I considered!

Choosing the Right Green

Color is so subjective that I really don't think there's a right or wrong. What's most important is to see whatever you're considering actually in the room you're painting so you can see how it looks with trim, flooring, furniture, etc.

So, I trekked off to our Sherwin William's store (aka, had Josh pull in the parking lot and wait with the kids while I ran in and grabbed some swatches).

My method for choosing swatches is to go in with a general idea of what I want, and pick whatever I like from that color group... BUT not to pick too many. Being overwhelmed by options makes it so much harder to choose, and if you get home and realize nothing you chose is right, you can go back and start over!

So I picked four (Evergreen Fog, Green Onyx, Jade Dragon, and Privilege Green), taped them up on the wall next to the trim, and polled everyone who entered our house for the following three weeks.

I kind of loved them all and don't think any would have been bad, but I eventually decided Evergreen Fog and Jade Dragon were too grey, and Green Onyx was veering too close to an army green to be a solid gender neutral option. Privilege Green for the win!

What If It's Too Dark?

My fear before painting our dining room, and one that seems pretty common for anyone contemplating going dark! Especially if you're going from a light color on the walls, it's a big change! And what if it's too much?

One thing to remember is that wall color is just that: wall color. Don't forget that the colors of the ceiling and floors make a big difference. And that furnishings, window treatments, and decor can add a lot of brightness/contrast to the room as a whole.

Also, it's paint! If you take the plunge and hate it, you can paint over it and it will be like it never happened.

I think dark paint works really well in a nursery - I was a little apprehensive before it was all done because what if it didn't feel babyish?? But now it is babyish (okay, how can a nursery not be when it has a crib and is filled with baby stuff?), and so cozy!

This room will get filled out with wall decor and books and general lived-in stuff as we start using it more, but for now all the main players are in place and we just need to have a baby!