CP

Fern & Cream Color Scheme

A leafy green grounded by soft creams that feels like a garden brought indoors. Calm, fresh, and easy to live with, all matched to real paint you can buy.

By David Chen · Formulation Lead & Resident Chemist

Start with Bright Fern, a clear leafy green that brings the garden inside. It is fresh and alive without tipping into neon, the kind of green that feels happy on a sunny morning and still calm at night. As the dominant color it sets a relaxed, growing-things mood, the sort of backdrop that makes a room feel rested and a little hopeful.

To keep it from feeling like one big block of green, lean on Buttercream for the trim and woodwork. Its soft, buttery warmth softens the fern’s edges and adds a gentle vintage glow. Then let Soft White come in as the accent on ceilings, shelves, or a piece of furniture, opening everything up and giving your eye a place to breathe. This trio is easygoing enough to flow through a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, or even the whole home, so use it wherever you want that fresh garden calm.

View palette in
Bright Fern
walls
Behr Ecological · S380-6
#708D56
LRV 23
Buttercream
trim
Diamond Vogel Sphere · 0013
#F0E7CD
LRV 80
Soft White
accent
Valspar Ivory Keys · 8007-4A
#F7F4EB
LRV 91

Buy These Colors

Each color matched to the closest real paint in every brand, by ΔE2000. Tap a swatch for its full guide or + to save it — take any SKU to the store, they mix on demand.

Bright Fern
#6A8B54 · LRV 22 · walls
Sherwin-Williams · SW 6438 · ΔE 3.8
Behr · S380-6 · ΔE 1.36
Benjamin Moore · 566 · ΔE 4.66
Valspar · 8002-30F · ΔE 2.84
PPG / Glidden · PPG1131-6 · ΔE 4.31
Glidden · PPG1131-6 · ΔE 4.31
Dutch Boy · 229-6DB · ΔE 7.23
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 2273 · ΔE 5.8
Dunn-Edwards · DE5608 · ΔE 2.16
Magnolia Home · JG-08 · ΔE 6.78
Farrow & Ball · NO. 199 · ΔE 7.77
Diamond Vogel · 0760 · ΔE 2.32
Hirshfield's · 0788 · ΔE 8.17
Rodda · R058 · ΔE 6.85
C2 Paint · C2-663 · ΔE 12.4
Clare · PNT100-DP-61 · ΔE 10.07
Portola Paints · BOND STREET · ΔE 16.82
Annie Sloan · ANTIBES GREEN · ΔE 7.65
Backdrop · BD-OS · ΔE 11.69
Rust-Oleum · 285141 · ΔE 16.62
Kompozit · 0788 · ΔE 8.17
Buttercream
#F1E8CF · LRV 81 · trim
Sherwin-Williams · SW 6672 · ΔE 2.04
Behr · ECC-20-2 · ΔE 1.57
Benjamin Moore · 915 · ΔE 1.12
Valspar · 7003-12 · ΔE 1.59
PPG / Glidden · PPG1091-2 · ΔE 0.66
Glidden · PPG12-09 · ΔE 0.49
Dutch Boy · 009W · ΔE 1.82
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 4037 · ΔE 2.09
Dunn-Edwards · DET651 · ΔE 0.94
Magnolia Home · JG-16 · ΔE 2.45
Farrow & Ball · NO. 59 · ΔE 0.81
Diamond Vogel · 0013 · ΔE 0.42
Hirshfield's · 0383 · ΔE 0.46
Rodda · CA006 · ΔE 2.48
C2 Paint · C2-564 · ΔE 2.45
Clare · PNT100-LT-62 · ΔE 3.15
Portola Paints · CASA FORMA · ΔE 3.09
Annie Sloan · OLD OCHRE · ΔE 8.52
Backdrop · BD-DS · ΔE 0.63
Rust-Oleum · 329598 · ΔE 3.38
Kompozit · 0383 · ΔE 0.46
Soft White
#F7F4EC · LRV 91 · accent
Sherwin-Williams · SW 9541 · ΔE 1.16
Behr · PWN-10 · ΔE 0.5
Benjamin Moore · 2148-70 · ΔE 1.16
Valspar · 8007-4A · ΔE 0.46
PPG / Glidden · PPG1001-1 · ΔE 2.47
Glidden · 61YY 89/040 · ΔE 1.13
Dutch Boy · 002W · ΔE 1.53
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 4002 · ΔE 0.63
Dunn-Edwards · DEW381 · ΔE 1.37
Magnolia Home · JG-21 · ΔE 2.13
Farrow & Ball · NO. 2005 · ΔE 2.11
Diamond Vogel · 0011 · ΔE 1.15
Hirshfield's · 0011 · ΔE 0.84
Rodda · R007 · ΔE 2.35
C2 Paint · C2-612 · ΔE 1.01
Clare · PNT100-LT-04 · ΔE 1
Portola Paints · ORIGAMI · ΔE 1.87
Annie Sloan · OLD OCHRE · ΔE 13.6
Backdrop · BD-TR · ΔE 1.64
Rust-Oleum · 285140 · ΔE 5.02
Kompozit · 0011 · ΔE 0.84

Questions

What colors go with bright fern green?

Warm creams and soft off-whites are its best friends. They keep the green feeling fresh instead of heavy, and let it read like new garden growth rather than a deep forest tone.

Is fern green too bold for a whole space?

Not when you pair it with cream the way this scheme does. The creamy trim and soft white break up the green and give your eye somewhere to rest, so it stays cheerful instead of overwhelming.

What undertones should I watch with this combo?

Keep your cream and white on the warm, buttery side. A cool or gray-leaning white can make the fern look dull, while warm neutrals make it glow.

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