Clear or lightly tinted glass, common in splashbacks, doors and shelving.
Undertone: Ordinary clear glass is faintly green, from traces of iron, and the tint deepens with thickness — it is plain along a cut edge. Low-iron glass is much closer to colourless.
Real-world variation: A thin pane looks clear and a thick shelf or balustrade looks green, though both are the same glass. Tinted, frosted and reeded glass each change both colour and how much is seen through it.
Finish: Polished glass is nearly all reflection and transmission; etched or sandblasted glass scatters light, turns milky and hides what is behind it.
Lighting: Glass shows what is behind it and what is in front of it at once, and the balance depends on which side is brighter — a window is a mirror at night and transparent by day.
Safe directions: Colours seen through or behind glass shift slightly green, so blues, greens and greys are affected least.
Bolder directions: A strongly coloured painted splashback behind glass gives a deep, glossy block of colour that paint alone cannot.
Caution: White or cream painted behind ordinary glass comes out greenish. For pale back-painted colours, ask for low-iron glass and judge a sample made in the real glass.
Commonly paired with
Similar lightness for a subtle, tone-on-tone pairing with minimal contrast.
Commonly paired with
Similar lightness for a subtle, tone-on-tone pairing with minimal contrast.
Commonly paired with
Similar lightness for a subtle, tone-on-tone pairing with minimal contrast.
Commonly paired with
Similar lightness for a subtle, tone-on-tone pairing with minimal contrast.
Commonly paired with
Enough lightness contrast to read as two distinct colours without feeling harsh.
Commonly paired with
Enough lightness contrast to read as two distinct colours without feeling harsh.
Commonly paired with
Enough lightness contrast to read as two distinct colours without feeling harsh.
Commonly paired with
Enough lightness contrast to read as two distinct colours without feeling harsh.
Commonly paired with
Strong lightness contrast and saturation for a bold, graphic pairing.
Commonly paired with
Strong lightness contrast and saturation for a bold, graphic pairing.
Commonly paired with
Strong lightness contrast and saturation for a bold, graphic pairing.
Commonly paired with
Strong lightness contrast and saturation for a bold, graphic pairing.
Commonly paired with
A low-chroma neutral lets the original colour stay the visual focus.
Commonly paired with
A low-chroma neutral lets the original colour stay the visual focus.
Commonly paired with
A low-chroma neutral lets the original colour stay the visual focus.
Commonly paired with
A low-chroma neutral lets the original colour stay the visual focus.
Commonly paired with
A saturated accent from a different hue family for a deliberate pop of contrast.
Commonly paired with
A saturated accent from a different hue family for a deliberate pop of contrast.
Commonly paired with
A saturated accent from a different hue family for a deliberate pop of contrast.
Commonly paired with
A saturated accent from a different hue family for a deliberate pop of contrast.
Undertone caution: check a suggested colour against this material’s actual undertone in your own space, not just its broad colour family — real materials vary more than one representative swatch can show.
Lighting and finish both change how these pairings actually look — see the lighting guide and finish guide.
Always view a physical sample against the real material before committing to a large surface.
Mostly transmitted light: iron impurities give ordinary glass a green-blue tint, added metal oxides give body tints, and thin coatings reflect and transmit different colours.
What you see is mostly what is behind or reflected in it; coated glass looks different from inside and outside and changes with the angle of view.