Skip to main content

4 gorgeous colors that go with teal for home design that isn’t tacky

There are plenty of fantastic color combos to pair with this hue

blue and turquoise room decor with metal details
Followtheflow / Shutterstock

Teal is a quirky color. As an unconventional hue to introduce to your palette, teal offers charm and personality to liven up a drab space. However, teal can be a tricky color to execute effectively in home design. A common challenge is finding the right hues to pair with teal to create a color palette that isn’t tacky.

Thankfully, there are plenty of wonderful colors that go with teal if you know what to look for.

blue and tan color palette in midcentury modern kitchen with geometric tile backsplash
archideaphoto / Shutterstock

Pick the right kind of teal

Before you begin searching for the best color combos, make sure you have chosen the right kind of teal. Let’s face it: Some colors go in and out of style, and teal is one of them. Bright, bold, and youthful shades of teal have lost much of their popularity since the early 2000s. Today, classic teal shades like Teal We Meet Again from PPG remind us of teenage bedrooms and bright hot pink two-tone walls.

Recommended Videos

While this particular tone of teal isn’t as trendy as it once was, teal is a thriving color that works wonders in many home designs if used appropriately.

Dark teal

Dark teal hues have gained much popularity in the last couple of years, with styles like Victorian, gothic, whimsigothic, and maximalism emerging in the home. Interior design has seen a resurgence of dark jewel tones that provide depth and intimacy to a space.

Dark teal tones like Behr’s Teal Motif and Magnolia Home’s Under the Stars are trendy choices in today’s home design. If you’re looking for teal, dark versions of the color with deep blue or black undertones offers a vintage and moody aesthetic.

Muted teal

Alternatively, muted teal is another favorable choice. Today’s interior design favors dark, rich hues like the ones mentioned above or muted tones, which offer more subtlety.

Sherwin-Williams’ Azure Tide or Grand Canal and Glidden’s Totally Teal are good examples of the muted teal tones that are currently trending. These teal tones are soft, often including light beige or white undertones. They are subtle and perfect for adding teal throughout the entire room without overwhelming or weighing down the space.

modern regencycore aesthetic with blue walls and ornate mirror
4595886 / Adobe Stock

Try these colors that go with teal

If you’re wondering what colors go with teal, these are some of the best combos.

Warm cream

Warm cream, beige, white, off-white, and tan are great compliments to teal. When choosing a neutral hue to pair with teal, we recommend using warm undertones with cool-toned teal and cool undertones with warm-toned teal. Additionally, darker beige shades look stunning with muted teal tones, while lighter greige colors pair beautifully with dark teal backdrops.

Dusty rose or mauve pink

Pink hues have always been a compliment to teal shades. However, today, the pink hues that look best in teal home designs tend to be more muted than those of the 2000s. For example, this pin from Pinterest shows how a dusty pink sofa looks sophisticated and bright when paired with dark teal walls. The dark teal creates a luxe and moody atmosphere while the light pink shade lifts the space.

Burnt orange

Burnt orange is another trendy hue to pair with teal. While this color combo may appear bolder and more demanding, some homeowners find the color pairing to be striking and attention-grabbing. This pin from Pinterest shows how you can combine bright and dark teal hues with vivid burnt orange to create an eccentric yet jaw-dropping look.

Emerald green

Teal and emerald green work wonders together. When paired in a color palette, teal and emerald green offer a sense of biophilia without making the home feel too “outdoorsy.” Muted and dark teal hues look stunning alongside emerald green, and both can provide an eclectic aesthetic for the home.

Teal tones come and go from home design, often arriving slightly different from how we left them. But that is the beauty of this eclectic and unconventional shade. Teal is unique and quirky and comes in various hues, fit for nearly any space if we are bold enough to welcome it.

Editors' Recommendations

Amelia Wilson
Amelia Wilson (author pen name Amelia J. Wilson) is a content writer in Greenwood, IN. She often enjoys topics on…
2024 home design: 9 gorgeous living room decor ideas the experts swear by
Living room design ideas to consider for the new year
Modern living room design with warm taupe paint colors

As we look forward to the new year, many homeowners are itching to uncover the living room decor trends that we can expect to dominate our spaces. From biophilic designs to artisanal pieces, 2024 home decor is all about curating a space that feels “lived-in,” eclectic, and reflects each homeowner’s individual taste and style.

We spoke to the experts to get an idea of the trends entering our living room designs as the year progresses. Here’s what we learned.

Read more
How to put together a black and gray bedroom that isn’t depressing
Ways to incorporate these tones into your palette
Gray and black bedroom

A bedroom should always be the place in your home where you feel the most comfortable. As with the other spaces, you want the colors in it to reflect your design aesthetic. What happens when that leans into shades of gray and black? Is it possible to use them in a bedroom without it feeling like a cave? The short answer is yes, but there are a few keys to getting it right. Here, we outline how to design the black and gray bedroom of your dreams.

Find the right gray for your bedroom
Gray is a popular choice for walls because it is versatile and works with many styles. Lighter grays read as neutral and can be used to give a room an open feeling. They impart an airiness into the design. When used on walls, a light gray also offers the flexibility of bringing in either bright pops or dark, rich colors.

Read more
What color light helps you sleep? Here’s why you should invest in some red lights for your bedroom
How to choose the right color lighting for the best night's sleep
Red light in bedroom

Color psychology tells us many things about how we're influenced by what we see. Culture aside, most colors trigger similar psychological reactions in people. Some colors agitate or excite while others calm and pacify, putting you in a relaxed mindset. So, what color helps you sleep?

You can use light colors in several ways, from helping you design a room or aesthetic to altering the ambiance in the space, depending on your mood. For example, even if you don't choose a specific light color, certain bulbs like incandescents or fluorescents have their own warm or cold light. These dramatically change the way a room feels.

Read more