Chartreuse is the colour of the season in fashion – here’s how I’d bring the trend into my home

Interior designer and content creator Rebecca Constable is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on demystifying the process of designing and decorating a home, and helping people work out where to spend and where to save.

The colour chartreuse seems to be appearing everywhere I look in the fashion world. It first started to make an appearance on the catwalks a few years ago and it has now firmly made its way onto the high street. Although its name is quite obscure (it’s not a colour we’re taught in primary school), the colour itself is a very distinct greeny/yellowy, vibrant yet rich, enabling it to work brilliantly in both the summer and winter. It’s a colour I am particularly drawn to when it comes to my wardrobe but lately I have been thinking about how I can use it around my home.

It has also led me to think more about the relationship between the fashion world and the interiors world. How much crossover is there when it comes to trends? Does one inevitably influence the other? And if so, is it always in one direction (I would assume the fashion world often leads the way).

And so as the colour chartreuse comes to take its place in my wardrobe I am trying to work out where it might work best in my home.

1. With paint

My first thought was to colour drench a space in it. Its rich vibrant tone would work brilliantly across the walls and ceiling of a small room, something like a downstairs loo, an office or even the inside of a pantry. I would use a high gloss paint, inevitably a little trickier to work with compared to its matt counterparts, but I think the effort would be very much rewarded by the end result. The light bouncing across glossy zesty walls would create an otherworldly, jewel-like space.

There are quite a few paint options, each with their own take on what chartreuse actually is. Dulux has a paint called Chartreuse Charm which strikes the perfect balance between yellow and green depending on the light. And Paint and Paper Library’s Euphorbia, which takes its name from the garden plant, perfectly captures the zingy (and poisonous) coloured flowers you find on it.

2. As furniture

Secondly I’d love to add an upholstered piece of furniture in chartreuse. I think the colour looks particularly great in a mohair or a velvet fabric. The texture and depth of colour that you get from these fabric compositions are perfect for capturing the multidimensional aspect of this shade, which is neither truly green nor yellow. I think a chartreuse velvet armchair would add an understated decadent feel to a room, the perfect balance between masculine and feminine.

Schumacher has a performance velvet in the colour chartreuse that would look brilliant on an armchair, ottoman or headboard. The performance element also means it’s robust enough to handle family life, unlike a lot of velvets. Dunelm have a tub armchair in a chenille they call olive, but the lustre of the fabric definitely gives it a yellow undertone straying towards chartreuse. And the Cotswold Company do a highback velvet armchair in a fabric that perfectly captures the colour. Finally I love Loaf’s Curvella footstool in honey pot yellow. There is a distinct green undertone to it that makes me place it in the chartreuse category.

3. With soft furnishings

Finally I’m thinking about how I can add it in smaller ways around the house through soft furnishings. It will be a slightly more cost effective way to introduce the colour to our home and is less likely to require the financial sign off from my husband. Cushions are such an easy update to a sofa or bed, I love this one from Anthropologie which lets the colour do all the talking. I’d add it to an occasional chair in the living room or even a child’s bed.

A rug like this from West Elm would instantly transform a space. The pattern adds a bit of fun but is also brilliant at disguising any spills or marks. I’d even go as far as to say that you could try it under a dining table. And finally I adore this lampshade from Pooky. It would be perfect for transforming one of our old lamps into something quite decadent and sophisticated due to the slubby silk.

For me it feels as though the colour chartreuse has truly crossed over into the interiors world. And I suppose it’s not surprising as aren’t we all influenced by what we see around us, whether that is on the catwalk, on our commute or as we scroll instagram.

I think there will always be an intrinsic link between the different aesthetic worlds and I love seeing how a trend in one sphere can be interpreted in another. And for me part of the fun of it is working out what you may want to take from that trend (as well as what you don’t) and how you make it your own.