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.
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.
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.
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.
