Lime Green

See this colour in the real world

Colours in photographs vary with lighting, material, camera processing and screen calibration — the named colours below are visual approximations, not exact measurements.

Colour stories

Why eyewear can become the strongest colour near the face

Eyewear frames a small, high-attention area directly around the eyes — one of the first places the eye is drawn on another person's face — so even a modestly saturated frame colour can end up reading as the single most prominent colour choice in an entire outfit.

In practice: Choose a bold frame colour deliberately rather than as an afterthought, since it will likely carry more visual weight than its physical size suggests.

See lime greenImage credit

Uses & contexts

Using lime green in a real space

Worked out from this colour’s own measurements — its lightness, saturation and undertone — rather than written for it. That is why the guidance differs from one colour to the next even when the two look similar.

What role it can play

This is a small-scale colour. At chroma 91 it holds attention easily, which is a strength on a cushion or a door and a liability across four walls.

• Walls and large surfaces

  difficult

  At chroma 91 this is far above the level walls and large surfaces usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Secondary surfaces

  difficult

  At chroma 91 this is far above the level secondary surfaces usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Furniture

  difficult

  At chroma 91 this is far above the level furniture usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Rugs, curtains and bedding

  difficult

  At chroma 91 this is far above the level rugs, curtains and bedding usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Trim and joinery

  workable

  Chroma 91 is above the usual comfort level for trim and joinery, so expect it to take charge. That is a legitimate choice in a room that wants a subject. Trim is a small area but a long edge, so it reads more than its square metreage suggests.

• Accents and small objects

  strong

  Chroma 91 is exactly what an accent is for. The saturation that makes this difficult across a wall is the reason it works on a cushion, a door or a single chair.

How it behaves under different lightresilient

Under warm bulbs

Warm bulbs emit little short-wavelength energy, so there is less for a green to reflect. There is enough chroma here to survive it, though it will read warmer and slightly duller.

Under cool bulbs

Cool light flatters this — it will hold its identity and may read slightly more saturated than in warm light.

In daylight

A mid-tone reads most consistently across the day, which is why so much upholstery sits in this band.

In a dim room

Enough lightness and chroma to stay recognisable in a dim room, though it will lose some saturation.

Compared with the sample card

Pale colours almost always read darker in place than on a card, because a card is seen against white and a wall is seen against itself. Expect a step down.

What colour temperature actually means · Why two bulbs at the same rating can differ

With wood

• Oak

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Oak without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Walnut

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Walnut, and separated enough in depth that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Pine

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Pine without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Plywood

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Plywood without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Light wood (ash, birch, beech)

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Light wood (ash, birch, beech) without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Dark wood

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Dark wood, and separated enough in depth that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

• Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak)

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak), and separated enough in depth that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room's dominant colour.

With metal fittings

• Brass

  needs care

  Shares Brass's cool bias, but at chroma 91 against a material that already carries colour of its own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Gold-tone

  needs care

  Shares Gold-tone's cool bias, but at chroma 91 against a material that already carries colour of its own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Chrome

  works well

  Shares Chrome's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. They sit close in depth, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Stainless steel

  works well

  Shares Stainless steel's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. They sit close in depth, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Black metal

  works well

  Shares Black metal's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. There is also 65 points of lightness between them, which keeps the two readable as separate elements. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Copper

  needs care

  Shares Copper's cool bias, but at chroma 91 against a material that already carries colour of its own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

Where it can go wrong

• May overwhelm at any size above an accent. At chroma 91 this holds attention involuntarily, so a room containing much of it will be about this colour whether or not that was intended. It also makes every other colour in the room look more muted by comparison.

Lighter, darker & directional variants

Calculated directional adjustments. Some directions converge on the same result from this starting colour — shown as one merged card with an explanation, not repeated duplicates. Generated shades link to a curated profile only when one is close enough.

In nature