Chartreuse: The Boldest Colour Trend of the Year

Each year there are countless colour predictions on what will be the shade to watch out for in the months ahead. The boldest prediction we spotted this year was Chartreuse. The notoriously tricky shade is anything but delicate so can be a hard colour to work into the home, but if you’re looking for a more eye-catching interior this year it could be the choice for you. We take a look at the history of the colour and how you can add it to your home…

The colour is always closely linked to the spirit of the same name and it was actually the drink that came first. Created in 1605 by Carthusian monks in France, the liqueur was known for its naturally vibrant hue and secret blend of 130 herbs. This herbal concoction led to it being sold as a health elixir, as many a historic alcoholic beverage has been marketed in the past. Even to this day there’s stories of it aiding digestion, sleep, headaches and even helping the drinker to live well into their nineties.

It took a few centuries but chartreuse slowly became known as a colour in its own right. First used in art before making its way into fashion and the home, it’s a love it or hate it colour that has had many resurgences in popularity over the years. Perhaps most recently in the ‘90s and early ‘00s when acid neon hues were used by the likes of the Spice Girls to literally explode onto the pop culture scene.

You could argue both sides of this shade but we believe chartreuse falls mainly under the green spectrum but with close links to yellow. Sitting somewhere between fresh apple green and the darker olive, chartreuse is often used interchangeably with lime, neon and acid greens depending on how vivid the particular object is.

Adding chartreuse to the home comes down to how daring you want to be. For those that love to be bold in the home, large chartreuse pieces from curtains to furniture (chartreuse velvet sofa anyone?) are the way to go. You can go all out and make it the main colour of the room or stick to a few statement pieces, but either way you’ll be showing this colour trend off loud and proud.

For those that want to add a dash of the juicy hue but aren’t ready to take a big leap, stick to more subtle pops of the shade. As with adding any new colour to the home, using just a few hints here and there lets you dip your toe first to see if it’s a colour you want to commit to, or if it’s just a flight of fancy to edit out again next season. From cushions to vases, decorative accessories are the way to go to try this colour on for size.