Olive with a twist!

My daughter's friend Anna, asked me what wall paint color and accents she could use for her college apartment, with her existing pieces. The living room is the room she's wanting to paint right now and here are the dictating pieces:
1) olive slipcovered sofa &
2) white accent tables, with a white desk.


Here's what I say to this request:
"Olive with a twist please...olive it"
(pronounced " i loooove it" with a funky Texas accent)

Granted there are varying colors of olive and I haven't seen Anna's olive slipcover. I'd assume it's similar to the sofa in the first image above. However, the following images should inspire Anna to come up with creative ideas to mix in color to any varying shade of greens.

I say we capitalize on the olive as a strong overall color scheme with accenting fabrics,rug & accessories. Brighten the walls with a nice simple white , then paint one accent wall in one of these colors: a soft lemony yellow, blues, pinks or even lilac! Then add some great pillows and/or a great rug in the coordinating paint colors to make the room pop.
I'm showcasing some fave pics to give Anna the inspiration below.

Bluesy Olives:
A great paint color for this color combo would be Benjamin Moore Palladium Blue with a crisp white trim paint.
Here's a room, below, with blue walls & olive sofa. This room was created by Mike and Maddie, winners in the Small Cool Contest from Apartment Therapy.

Or keep the room bright with a white paint, such as Benjamin Moore Silver Satin or Simply White, then just paint the accent wall blue. By doing so, you allow the small spaces to feel larger. On the color accent wall, it's fun to use white shelves to make the color look crisp. Of course I always like a bright white trim paint next to the accent color!

For other rooms in the blue and olive scheme, you could possibly use a great indoor /outdoor rug from Dash and Albert :


Add in a splash of great color with fun pillows from Pine Cone Hill:Personalized pillow with monogram, from Serena and Lily:

A large wool rug would be comfy on the toes & add visual interest, from Company C.


...I always love a good bargain from Target. Check out the cute chair from Target ....could be very stylish with an olive sofa!

Softy for Pinks with Olive!

I could so easily see soft pink walls mixed with an olive sofa....Or paint all the walls white, then paint the accent wall pink.

Olive with lilacs and yellows, fun!

( images above via Blu Label Bungalow)


Green/grey/browns, very classic!A crewel embroidered lampshade (sorry, can't remember WHERE I found this lamp....help anyone??):
Add a great rug to this lamp choice from Layla Grace:

Simply White!

I absolutely love the glam and classic simplicity to this room. Notice the walls are just white , with white ceilings, black doors. Now notice the floors are white also. You could get the same effect by using a white carpet over dark floors, if pet hair isn't an issue! Crisp and very chic.

Olive with a Lemon Twist!
You can never go wrong mixing olive with yellow....
A great ceiling paint for a yellow/olive color scheme would be high gloss Benjamin Moore "Lemon Meringue"! (Lemon Meringue is also a good paint choice if you want an accent wall, but in a flat paint)



Turquoise and Olive, Pura Vida!

You know how much "olive" turquoise, right??!! You could paint the accent wall in a dreamy soft aqua color such as Valspar Aquatic Edge. Aqua looks great as a backdrop to olive and turquoise.



Another fun accent paint color is Benjamin Moore Jalapeno Pepper . (similar to the green paint below) However, I like to use white or bright colored accents when using a saturated green paint. (such as white shelving against the green paint with colorful accessories on the shelves) By doing so, you let the room stay fresh/active/bright feeling and not depressingly dark. Now notice below how the pillows add more colors & punch to the room. Anna could simply add some fun pillows to the sofa to bring in some color, to an otherwise bland solid covered sofa.
( image via Blu Label Bungalow)


Love the citrus touches to this room.....think how bland the sofa would be without the pillows.

Then if you want to continue the olive scheme into the bathroom, then add this "faux anthropologie " shower curtain from Designer Linens Outlet.



I hoped I've inspired you with some great choices for olive today. And if you'd like to share another olive twist idea with Anna, then please email your pics & I'll be happy to post them!

Have a great day with a twist!

xoxox,




images via:
Just Blue and Green, Layla Grace, HGTV, Pine Cone Hill, Blu Label Bungalow, Taylor Howes, mary mcdonald, Posh Tots, Apartment Therapy