Colors that go with Sage Green for walls
Sage Green · #9CAF88
Sage Green (#9CAF88) — a soft, grey-tinged green — pairs best with slate & blue, teal, muted red, and ochre & gold. On walls, use slate & blue, drawn from 8 historically-grounded combinations below.
Wall color has to live with a room all day, so the partners that work are the ones with enough contrast to frame furniture without fighting the light.
About sage green
Sage Green is a soft, grey-tinged green — a nearly neutral, balanced colour that reads as mid-toned. As a balanced tone it looks most resolved next to both warmer and cooler neighbours, and it needs both lighter and deeper shades nearby for the value contrast the eye reads as finished. That balance is what makes it feel serene in walls.
- HEX
- #9CAF88
- RGB
- 156, 175, 136
- HSL
- 89°, 20%, 61%
- CMYK
- 11, 0, 22, 31
Accessibility: put light text on sage green for below AA (decorative use) legibility (contrast 2.3:1 against off-white).
Why sage green pairs with slate & blue, teal, muted red, and ochre & gold
Across the 8 historical combinations below, sage green sits most often beside slate & blue, teal, muted red, and ochre & gold. That tracks with colour theory: a balanced, mid-toned tone like this one wants both warmer and cooler neighbours so the scheme feels intentional rather than flat, and both lighter and deeper partners supply the light-to-dark range the eye needs. Wall color has to live with a room all day, so the partners that work are the ones with enough contrast to frame furniture without fighting the light.
- slate & blue
- teal
- muted red
- ochre & gold
Using sage green in walls
On walls, use slate & blue and teal. Because sage green is mid-toned, it can cover larger surfaces, with ochre & gold added for depth.
8 combinations with sage green, from the 1933 Dictionary
Cherry Blossom & Young Bamboo
The softest pink of cherry blossoms set beside young bamboo green — spring, captured.
#A3C293 #F9D5E0 #F8F4E9 #4C5D3F
Rainette Green & Salvia Blue +1
Plate 188 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Rainette Green, Salvia Blue, Cobalt Green.
#8fa071 #97acc8 #96d1aa
Celadon & Unbleached
Celadon pottery green beside the unbleached warmth of raw silk.
#8DB6A5 #F3EBDA #6E7B6A
Blue & Lilac +1
Plate 143 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Blue, Lilac, Warm Gray.
#a1a39a #006eb8 #b984af
Lemon Yellow & Green Blue +2
Plate 259 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Lemon Yellow, Green Blue, Helvetia Blue, Warm Gray.
#a1a39a #f8ed43 #099197 #005b8d
Olive Buff & Nile Blue +2
Plate 330 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Olive Buff, Nile Blue, Salvia Blue, Green Blue.
#c1c494 #bce4e5 #97acc8 #099197
Corinthian Pink & Pale Lemon Yellow +1
Plate 169 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Corinthian Pink, Pale Lemon Yellow, Warm Gray.
#a1a39a #f8b6ba #ffefae
Red & Pale Lemon Yellow +2
Plate 261 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Red, Pale Lemon Yellow, Calamine BLue, Warm Gray.
#a1a39a #a72144 #ffefae #78cdd0
Sage Green in other settings
Other colors
From the archive
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Go deeper on colour
The colour-theory books behind pairings like Sage Green — history, reference and the science of what works together.
Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
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