A favorite among designers, sage green has an instantly calming appeal. It's also versatile and easily paired with a variety of secondary tones. With its strong reference to nature, sage green can add a fresh touch to a space without overwhelming it, making it a great choice for a bedroom. Sage green bedroom ideas can help create a restful vibe to promote relaxation and sleep.
There are also many ways to incorporate this green bedroom idea — beyond sage green wall paint, consider using the color on furniture, accessories, lighting pieces, or even bedding and curtains. Thanks to its natural undertones, it pairs beautifully with materials such as brick, wood, or stone. For a more modern look, consider combining it with metallic elements such as brass, gold, or silver.
If you're ready to embrace sage green within your bedroom color ideas, here are some inspiring examples from top designers to help you craft a peaceful and inviting space.
1. Contrast sage green paint with metallic accessories
For a modern bedroom that has an eye-catching appeal, consider a cool contrast for the scheme. A sage green wall will ensure that the room feels soft and relaxing, while the introduction of metallic accessories (artwork, sculpture, or lighting pieces) will add a dash of eclecticism to the room.
“My client has a deep love for the color green, so we thoughtfully incorporated various shades throughout the home,” shares Sally Taylor, founder of s.t.udio Sally Taylor. “In the bedroom, we chose a green by Porter’s Paints which has a gentle subtle tone – perfect for rest. This shade is offset with deep hues of blue and green in the wallpaper chosen for the wardrobe doors and rose and coral pinks in the ensuite, and the wall art.”
2. Or with other bright colors
Many colors go with sage green, and pairing the hue with pink is a cheerful color combination that can make a bedroom feel like spring. There are several shades of both tones to choose from, so you can create a combo that feels soothing and not too stark. Perhaps choose a soft, minty-sage green. Using the two tones together is a great bedroom idea for a design that won’t look dated for a long time.
“The soft muted hue of sage green has gained popularity for its calming and earthy qualities,” says Paula Taylor, head stylist & trend specialist at Graham & Brown. “Its popularity has risen with the trend toward wellness, minimalism, and biophilic design, making it ideal for creating tranquil living spaces.”
When looking for the right shade of green, “think of the soft, muted tones like sage green or pastel mint. You could try Graham & Brown’s Palm House, or Viridis as these shades are calming and can create a serene atmosphere, promoting relaxation and restful sleep.”
3. Design a sage green bedroom with natural materials
Sage green is a color of the outdoors — seen on leaves, trees, and old grass. Pair this color with its partners like wood to create a lovely earth-tone bedroom. Sage green walls with honey woods (on the ceiling, headboard, or bookshelf) will create a grounded bedroom and make you feel closer to nature.
"My client wanted to be welcomed into their primary bedroom with a sense of calm,” shares Michelle Boudreau, founder of Michelle Boudreau Design. “I continued the serene vibe of the soft greens pulled from the outdoor landscape and neutral palette to transition seamlessly, and layered in natural textures with grasscloth wallpapers and organic found objects and the owner's own special vintage pieces.”
Sage green pairs beautifully with a range of colors, “including crisp whites (White Heron OC-57) that add brightness; warm creams (Feather Down OC-6) that create a comforting feel; soft blues (Santorini Blue 1634) that evoke tranquility; and rich browns (Branchport Brown HC-72) that feel grounded,” says Hannah Yeo of Benjamin Moore. “It harmonizes effortlessly with natural materials, such as wood and slate, enhancing the tranquil ambiance of the room. Whether used as an accent or a dominant color, sage green brings a sense of balance and serenity across various design styles.”
4. Add a pop of red to a sage green bedroom
Among the colors that go with red is the charming, flexible green. Use this pairing to create a bedroom that’s filled with personality. For the perfect balance, perhaps go for sage green bedroom paint, and add a pop of red with lamps, pillows, or a rug.
“Think about layering sage green with off-whites which have a nuance of green through them,” advises Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador at Farrow & Ball. “This will avoid any tonal fighting and instead create a soft-shaded scheme. For something a little bolder, try adding notes of red, especially at the browner end of the palette, such as oxblood red. These are complementary colors on the color wheel, so work in harmony and contrast effortlessly.”
5. Color drench the room in sage gray-green
A great way to make a color feel neutral, and blend into the background, is by color drenching it in a space. A room that is completely bathed in sage green can conjure outdoor vibes and create a retreat-like look. Take this example, where the paint color across walls, ceiling, and even doors gives the room a cocooning vibe. The only “color” that really emerges is the soft pink on the bedding.
If you are worried that a room in complete sage green might feel too one-dimensional, you could use the magic of texture. Consider limewash paints or a tadelakt plaster that has an inherent tactile quality and can give a room depth.
6. Choose a dark shade of sage
This is a great shade to use in a small bedroom or one with an awkward layout. A dark sage green, or one with gray, black, or silver undertones will give a room a cozier feel, and will also contrast wonderfully with white trim. To enhance the wall paint, consider hanging a small pendant light on the side of the bed or above it. A dark bedroom will generally aid in sleeping better too.
“With its silvery gray undertone, sage green embodies a soothing and sophisticated vibe that instantly elevates a space,” adds Hannah. “This versatile hue captures the calming essence of nature, creating an atmosphere that feels both fresh and serene without being overpowering.”
7. Consider a color block
Sage green is a soft, natural, and neutral shade, so you'll find that it pairs with lots of tones well — especially any other colors inspired by nature. Yet, while this might give you an easy, relaxing color scheme, there are some colors you can pair with the shade that will bring a fresh dynamic to a bedroom.
Sage green bedding or wall paints make an interesting pairing with rusty reds or deep salmons. Both smokier, subtler versions of their primary shades, they balance out as warm and cool so when used in the right proportions you can retain the calmness of sage, without creating a bedroom that feels cold.
This room, designed by French design studio Humbert & Poyet for a wine estate in Provence is a masterclass in how to balance sage with other tones.
8. Use this soft green with strong black accents
Another surprising pairing for a sage green bedroom is black. You wouldn't necessarily associate sage as a color that goes with black — sage is delicate, while black can be intense — but that's exactly why it's a pairing that can elevate sage green from its rustic, cozy origins into something more modern and invigorating.
In this bedroom, designed by Canadian interior designer Sabrina Albanese, black furniture in contemporary, curved forms plays off against the near-pastel sage green walls and curtains. Once again, it's a question of balance.
"Sage brings a sort of elegance and airiness to the grounded, moody feel of the black furniture," says Sabrina.
9. Combine sage as a neutral with other green tones
Using sage green as a neutral in a bedroom, allows you to go all-in on other shades of green, as interior designer Jen Talbot did with this elegant, yet modern design.
"This green is more subtle, and has cool undertones," says Jen. "'A mix with gray, it's a tone that brings a color like green into the updated neutral zone. Ultimately this marriage creates a more neutral base and calming effects to the space it's applied to."
In this bedroom, decorative paint effects are used on the walls in a richer green hue, while the ceiling is painted a deep, dark forest green.
10. Paint millwork and trim all in sage
Sage green is a great choice for decorating a property with a little more history.
"We used sage green in this bedroom as the house is a Grade II Listed Georgian townhouse and we definitely wanted something of a heritage color," explains Stephen Nash, interior designer and founder of ALL & NXTHING. "As the huge windows overlook some rather beautiful trees out front and coupled with the nude plaster walls in the primary ensuite — as soon as we looked at this color it was very easy to see it was perfect for what we wanted."
Filled with beautiful period detailing, it's a space that could easily become fussy with the wrong paint. Stephen's approach of painting the built-in bedroom storage, the trim, and the door all in the same calm sage green helps to streamline the space, turning decorative details into more of a texture that helps the room feel less busy.
11. Experiment with different tones of sage green
Sage green is — probably more than any other shade of green — a catch-all color. Any soft green tone with a hint of gray can be considered sage green, so when it comes to picking the best green paint for your bedroom, you'll have a variety to consider.
In this bedroom, a deep sage green creates a restful backdrop as a headboard and for built-in storage. It's a shade that captures that smoky quality of sage green, but with blue undertones dialed up.
"A deep sage green is incredibly versatile and can provide the perfect backdrop to an array of colors and finishes," say interior designers Jen & Mar, the founders of Interior Fox, who designed the scheme.
12. Use sage for modern bedroom built-ins
By simply changing up the style of your space, sage green can really take on a whole new personality. In this bedroom design, sleek handleless millwork makes this shade of sage green feel fresh and contemporary.
"We wanted to create a calming and restful feeling to this primary bedroom without compromising on color and personality," explains interior designer Amanda Lyon of ALL Design Studio.
"We designed the full height joinery to maximize the bedroom storage along this one wall, and kept the design purposing minimalist in appearance to not overpower the room," she adds. "The routed handles detail to the tall door fronts offer a clean and contemporary feel to the joinery. Wrapped inside and out with Mylands smoky green ‘Museum’ in a matte finish, it provides a soft warmth and soothing echo to this inviting bedroom."
Is sage green a good bedroom color?
Yes — while many designers and color psychologists suggest green as a great color for the bedroom, sage green bedrooms are particularly preferred. That's because not only does this shade have a soothing, nature-inspired quality, but it can also look equally stylish, modern, and crisp if that's the vibe you're going for. Plus, sage green goes with so many different colors, allowing you to create an array of interesting schemes.
What color bedding goes with sage green walls?
Sage green is a popular color for bed linen, but if you're opting for walls in this relaxing shade, you might want to find a contrast when you consider how to style a bed.
"For a calming effect opt for lighter colors," suggest Jen & Mar, "or for a more sumptuous scheme choose much darker earthy shades."
Finding the best white bedding set is a failsafe option for sheets, duvets, and comforters, but consider adding complementary colors through throws and cushions. Warm browns, toned-down shades of terracotta, and light pinks all work well with sage green to balance out your color palette.
