Designers' Favorite Sage Green Spaces + Their Exact Paint Shades

The Paint: Quietude, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams

The design landscape has gone decidedly green in recent years, and verdant palettes of all kinds — from energetic shades that evoke the first bright shoots of spring to moodier hues recalling shade-dappled ferns and fog-shrouded groves — are growing more and more popular. Interior experts have developed a particular taste for sage, a gently muted green with silvery-gray undertones, and it’s easy to see why.

“The softness of sage green helps reduce stress and induce relaxation. Homes serve as sanctuaries to counter outside stressors, and consumers and interior designers are looking to infuse interiors with textures and colors that inspire calm and peace,” explains Ashley Banbury, color marketing manager at HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams. “Sage green offers a chance to style our homes to cultivate a feeling and a sense of longevity. Softened colors that provide subtle contrast, like sage green, can be seamlessly incorporated into a variety of existing home aesthetics for years to come.” (Paired here with rich green accents and toasty organic decor, the serene sage on this bedroom’s paneled walls is Quietude, the brand’s Color of the Year for 2025.) We’ve got designer-approved, sage-forward recipes for every room. Come on in and find one that suits your taste.

The Paint: Quietude, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams

Take a second look at Quietude and consider how beautifully it contrasts with terra cotta tile, stacked stone and creamy trim. “Sage green provides the perfect backdrop for a variety of home settings or can serve as the star of any space when contrasting with brighter neutrals,” Banbury says. A sage green front door cultivates curb appeal paired with warm, off-white siding — and it’ll stand the test of time. “Quietude embraces both traditional and modern elements, equipping the hue with true staying power,” she adds.

The Paint: Green Onyx, Sherwin-Williams

Looking to bring an old-school green to a classic bungalow like this one? Draw inspiration from Atlanta designer Micaela Quinton, who chose a tawny sage that would have felt right at home in the same space a century ago. “For my clients’ 1920s home, I had in mind a color that felt historic and modern,” she told HGTV Magazine. “This green delivers! Popular in that era, it looks like copper patina, yet next to the dark hood and brass accents, it’s fresh and spring-y.”

The Paint: Highland, Portola Paints

In her own contemporary kitchen, Los Angeles designer Laurie March paired pale herringbone floors, crisp black hardware and deliciously textural soapstone countertops with dimensional sage lower cabinets. Skipping upper cabinets on this wall and letting a generous view of her garden take center stage, she acted on the same instincts floral designers have when working with sage. “When designing floral arrangements, we like to pair sage leaves with pastel colors and dusty whites,” says Eka Dara, founder of Edelweiss Floral Atelier in Brooklyn, New York. “The soft, velvety texture of the leaves brings softness and warmth to pale, icy tones. Sage leaves also give great dimension and texture to darker, moody arrangements, creating contrast.”