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12 of the Best Olive Green Paint Colours for Every Interior
Olive green is having a real moment. This warm, earthy shade has a timeless quality that feels just as classic as it does current. I think it’s here to stay, rather than a passing trend. Whether you’re searching for olive green paint colours (or — for my American friends — olive green paint colors), you’ll find everything you need here.
I’ve rounded up twelve of the best olive green paints, along with the key shades to know and the colours that pair beautifully with them.
Sitting somewhere between green and brown, with a soft golden undertone, olive green brings a grounded, natural calm to a room. It works beautifully on kitchen cabinets. In a cosy bedroom. On a hallway wall or even a front door — and it flatters almost every other colour you put beside it.
I thought I’d share a list of my favourites, in case anyone out there is on the same hunt for the perfect olive green paint.
What Colour is Olive Green?
Olive green is a dark, yellowish-green colour, named, unsurprisingly, after the colour of olives. Whether it’s the fresher green of an unripe olive. Or the muddier, yellower tones of the ripe fruit. What makes this palette of colours so easy to live with is that it’s a muted or “dirty” green — meaning it has brown and grey mixed in, rather than being a clean, bright green. That earthy quality is exactly why it feels so sophisticated and grown-up.
One approximate hex code for olive green is around #708238, though — much like sage — “olive” covers a whole family of shades rather than one single colour (or color). It can lean golden and warm, or deep and almost military, depending on how much brown, grey or yellow is in the mix.
The Different Shades of Olive Green
Olive green isn’t one single shade. Depending on its undertone and the light in the room, it tends to lean in one of these directions:
- Classic olive (approx. #708238) — the balanced, true olive: green with a clear golden-brown warmth.
- Soft / light olive (approx. #9A9A6B) — paler and dustier, edging towards sage; lovely in smaller or darker rooms.
- Golden olive (approx. #8B8B3C) — warmer and more yellow, rich and sunny without being bright.
- Deep / dark olive (approx. #4B5320) — the dramatic, “olive drab” end; gorgeous and moody on cabinetry and panelling.
- Grey olive / khaki (approx. #7C7A5B) — the most muted and neutral, almost a warm greige-green.
Because olive shifts so much with the light, always test a sample on your own walls. A colour that looks fresh and golden in a bright room can read deep and grey in a north-facing one.
12 of the Best Olive Green Paint Colours
Whether you prefer a more yellow-based green or a blue-toned shade, I can guarantee there are so many olive green paint colours on the market today. You’ll be spoilt for choice.
Here’s a rundown of the best olive green paint colours (in my humble opinion) to suit every interior.
1. Baby Olive by Claybrook Studios
I love a paint name with a story behind it, and Baby Olive is a sweet one — it’s named in honour of a brand new arrival at Claybrook HQ, which is such a nice way to christen a colour. It’s a deep, characterful olive that Claybrook reckon works brilliantly in sitting rooms and hallways, or for giving a bit of drama to wooden shelving and storage.
I’m a fan of how considered their whole palette is — vegan-friendly, very low VOC, and available in both emulsion and eggshell, so you can run the same green from walls to woodwork without a hitch. That said, I love the contrast here with their Barney Bear paint.
2. Olive No.13 by Farrow & Ball
You can’t really do an olive green round-up without Farrow & Ball, and their Olive (No.13) is a proper heritage shade — originally used in panelled rooms, and it still feels right at home there.
F&B say it’s ‘best suited to darker spaces,’ where it can really come into its own, and that it looks loveliest paired with a green-based neutral like Off-White or Old White. I think of it as a slightly more muted, earthy cousin of their Bancha — same calm, serene quality, but it works particularly well in smaller rooms.
3. Olive by Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley brought out Olive as part of a new collection for 2026: four deep, nature-inspired tones (Chestnut, Heritage Chambray, Dark Hedgerow and this one) designed to bring a bit more depth to what’s traditionally quite a soft, pastel-leaning palette.
It’s been developed to sit happily alongside their wallpaper ranges, which makes it a great starting point if you love a patterned scheme. It’s water-based, low-VOC, and — like all their paint — made right here in England.
4. Light Olive Green by Edward Bulmer
Edward Bulmer always gives you a proper bit of history with his colours, and Light Olive Green is no exception. He explains that early recipes for olive green were actually a browny hue, and it wasn’t until the 19th century — with the addition of Prussian blue — that it became a true green, closer to a ripe Mediterranean olive.
The brand have deliberately kept this one to a strong mid-tone, since anything darker tends to read as black in shadow, which makes it brilliant for woodwork and robust enough for outside too. As with all their paints, it’s made from natural plant oils and mineral pigments — I love a company that’s transparent about what’s in the tin.
5. Light Olive 38 by M&L
M&L might not be the first brand that comes to mind for olive green, but Light Olive 38 deserves its place on this list.
The name comes from Olea Europaea — the Mediterranean olive tree — and this shade is their softer, pared-back take on Olive, closer to the colour of the unripened fruit. M&L describe it as a dark yellow base with a touch of black worked in to get that olive tone, giving it real depth while still feeling calm. They suggest pairing it with a yellow-undertone cream like Ivory or Downland Stone, which sounds gorgeous.
6. Normandy Grey by Little Greene Paint
This one’s a bit of a curve-ball, but bear with me…
Little Greene say that Normandy Grey is a ‘timeless grey stone,’ but look closely and the undertone is properly yellow-green. That’s exactly why I think it earns its place on an olive list rather than a true grey one.
It’s wonderfully easy to live with, useful (outside as well as in), and Little Greene’s own pairings put it alongside Sage Green and Green Verditer for a lovely tonal green scheme. If you want your olive a little quieter and more neutral, this is the one to sample.
7. Spanish Olive by Zoffany
Zoffany describe Spanish Olive as ‘an intense, dark olive hue to instil a cool aura in south-facing rooms’ — useful to know if you’ve got a sunny, south-facing spot and want to take the edge off the warmth.
It’s drawn from the colour of Mediterranean olive groves, and Zoffany recommend pairing it with their softer Quarter Paris Grey. I’d happily use this in a dining room or a snug, somewhere you want proper depth of colour rather than something fresh and zingy.
8. Sorrel Green by Mylands
Mylands named this one after the perennial herb sorrel, building the colour from warm yellow and umber pigments with just a touch of white worked through.
It’s part of the Mylands Archive Collection — twelve shades chosen to celebrate the brand’s long colour history — and it’s bold enough to hold its own against statement artwork or a busy, eclectic print. Look at how it pops on the roll top bath in the pic above! It’s gorgeous.
If you want an olive with a bit more botanical energy rather than something muted and quiet, I’d put this one on your sample list.
9. Sencha Green by Paint & Paper Library
Sencha takes its name from the Japanese green tea, and it’s a rich, subdued green with enough depth to make a room feel properly wrapped up and cocooned — whether you stick to the walls or take it onto the woodwork too.
Paint & Paper Library suggests it’s particularly lovely in a bedroom, and in one of their own schemes, they’ve paired it with Pollen II on the ceiling for a warm, layered look. I love olive greens that feel enveloping rather than punchy, and this is a really good example.
10. Rewilding by Fenwick & Tilbrook
Fenwick & Tilbrook is a smaller, family-run paint company, and one I always want to champion. They’re based in Norfolk, the paints are made to order, and built around muted, earthy tones inspired by the British landscape.
Rewilding (No.268) comes from their countryside-inspired collection. It sits alongside other nature-led names like Natterjack and Bear Cub, and it’s got that same lived-in, gently undone character.
Fenwick and Tilbrook say it’s a ‘rich, mossy green with a deep olive undertone that carries a sense of lushness and life. And is inspired by the rewilding project at Wicken Fen – a place that evokes memories of marshy trails and childhood visits with grandparents. It’s a green that feels both vibrant and quietly comforting’
And whilst that may all be true, it reminds me of Queen Nocellara Olives, hence it making this line up!
11. Overtly Olive by Dulux
Dulux describes Overtly Olive as a soft, muted olive that brings the warm, leafy tones of nature indoors, and their Creative Director Marianne Shillingford has called it ‘undeniably magical,’ pointing to an earthy depth that feels both familiar and fresh.
It’s not what I would describe as ‘olive green’ but hey! Given Overtly Olive has almost cult status, as it’s the one olive green you’ll find in pretty much every DIY shop in the country, who am I to argue?!
12. Oundle Olive by Sophie Allport
Last, and by no means least, I have selected a collaboration between Sophie Allport and Coat Paints, who have teamed up to create Oundle Olive especially for their small, beautifully curated paint collection.
It’s a warm olive with a soft red undercurrent running through it, which gives it more depth than a flatter, single-note green, and they suggest it for kitchens, living rooms or as an accent wall if you’re after a cosy, lived-in feel. It pairs naturally with their botanical prints too, like Garden Vegetables or Acorn & Oak Leaves, if you fancy building out a fuller scheme.
What Colours Go With Olive Green?
Olive is wonderfully sociable! Here’s whatgets along with it the best:
Warm Neutrals
Cream, stone, oatmeal and off-white let olive breathe and feel fresh.
Earth Shades
Tan & terracotta — earthy partners that lean into olive’s natural, organic side.
Pink
Particularly blush or dusky pink, which gives a soft, unexpected contrast that feels modern and pretty. Alternatively, a deep raspberry shade works beautifully.in
Inky Blue
Paired with olive green, navy and deep blues give a richer, more dramatic, slightly old-money scheme.
Golden Tones
Mustard & ochre echo olive’s warmth, and give a cosy, autumnal feel.
Black
Black accents — used sparingly (handles, frames, lighting) — perfect for a crisp, contemporary edge.
Where to Use Olive Green in Your Home
Kitchens — olive cabinetry is one of the biggest looks right now; warm, earthy and far easier to live with than a bright green. I love how they’ve colour-drenched the ceiling and walls to match the cabinets here.
Bedrooms — deeply restful in the paler olive green paints, cocooning in the darker shades.
Living rooms — grounding and cosy. I love how feminine and fresh it looks here, paired with shades of pink.
Hallways — a brilliant way to add character to a space you only pass through.
Pin & Save These 12 Olive Green Paint Colors For Later
Some More Paint Colour Posts You May Like
Loved these? You might also like my guides to sage green paint colours, dark green paint colours and dark blue paint colours.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
