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8 spring paint colour schemes

Spring in paint means light, fresh colours with a warm hint — tender greens, pale pinks, lilacs, primrose yellows — paired two by two, a dominant and an accent, on an off-white that keeps the light. Eight palettes, from the softest to the liveliest, each with its room: bedrooms and bathrooms for the softest, kitchens and halls for the boldest.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France colour team

Bedroom with tender sage-green matt walls, green-white woodwork and ceiling, white linen bed, cherry blossom branches in a vase, morning light — Hurlingham No.181: the green of young leaves, and a vase of cherry blossom

Understanding

What a spring colour is

Spring is the season when the light returns before the warmth: it is clear, still a little cool, and the colours that carry it are light, fresh, but warmed with a hint of yellow — the green of young leaves rather than the fir's, the pink of cherry blossom rather than the peony's, the yellow of the primrose rather than the sunflower's. They are colours of low saturation and high value: they pair easily with each other and keep a room's light.

They are worn in pairs: a green and a pink, a lilac and a grey-green, a yellow and a white, always a dominant and an accent. Our page Shades of spring days makes seven shades into a season; this one makes eight palettes, one per room.

Eight palettes

Spring, room by room

1. Tender green and pink: the bedroom

A light sage green on the walls, a pale pink on a piece of furniture or the ceiling, green-white woodwork: the cherry branch. The safest spring palette.

Walls · Hurlingham No.181 Ceiling · Kensington Rose No.22 Woodwork · Acanthus Leaf No.12

2. Lilac and grey-green: the bathroom

A greyed lilac on the walls, a grey-green on the woodwork and the basin unit, rosy white ceiling: wisteria and its leaf. Fresh in the morning, soft in the evening.

Walls · Early Lavender No.260 Unit & woodwork · Beaufort Gardens No.212 Ceiling · Osterley No.25

3. Pale yellow and white: the kitchen

A very pale yellow on the walls, warm white units, a larder door in a clearer yellow: the primrose. A north-facing kitchen gains a sun.

Walls · Lemon Salts No.43 Units · Holland Park No.5 Door · Verdure Yellow No.148

4. Sky blue and yellow: the child's room

A pale sky blue on the walls, a primrose yellow on a piece of furniture or the risers of a loft bed, bluish-white ceiling: an April sky. Cheerful without being loud.

Walls · Walpole No.42 Furniture · Verdure Yellow No.148 Ceiling · Greenwich Time No.8

5. Almond green everywhere: the corridor

A single almond green on walls, doors and ceiling, drenched: the dark corridor becomes a garden path. See Colour drenching.

Everywhere · French Green No.187

6. Pink and light ochre: the sitting room

A powder pink on the walls, a very light ochre on the woodwork and ceiling: the apricot tree in blossom. The pink stays grown-up thanks to the ochre.

Walls · Palmerston Pink No.243 Woodwork & ceiling · Cavendish Cream No.120

7. Green-white and deep green: the hall

Walls in a white with a hint of green, a door and skirting in a deep green: the contrast of leaf and shadow. Spring with some backbone.

Walls · Syon Park No.13 Door & skirting · Brompton Road No.205

8. Peach and verdigris: the dining room

A soft peach on the walls, a verdigris on the chairs or a sideboard, warm white on the ceiling: late spring, already warm. The most appetising spring palette.

Walls · Peach Flesh Pink No.268 Chairs · Copper Green No.36 Ceiling · Whitehall No.9

Kitchen with very pale yellow matt walls, warm white units, a primrose-yellow larder door, wooden table, daffodils in a jug — Lemon Salts No.43, Holland Park No.5 and a Verdure Yellow No.148 door: the primrose

Reference

The Mylands spring shades, by family

Family	Light	Mid	The accent
Tender greens	Syon Park No.13, Acanthus Leaf No.12	Hurlingham No.181, French Green No.187	New Lime No.149
Pale pinks	Kensington Rose No.22, Osterley No.25	Palmerston Pink No.243, Floris No.27	French Rose FTT-005
Lilacs	Early Lavender No.260	Lavender Garden No.30	Ultra Violet FTT-019
Pale yellows	Lemon Salts No.43, Floral Street No.147	Verdure Yellow No.148	Circle Line No.45
Sky blues	Walpole No.42, Greenwich Time No.8	Morning Blue No.32	Boathouse No.33

The vivid accents (FTT) are kept for a door, a piece of furniture, a stool. The white in all these palettes is a warm or green off-white, never pure.

To avoid

What turns into sugared almonds

Pink and sky blue together. The layette; prefer pink and green, blue and yellow.
Pure white woodwork. It turns a tender green into mint and a pale pink into a sweet.
Three pastels from different families. The confectioner's colour card; two, with an off-white.
A bright yellow on four walls. It shouts in April and blinds in July; pale yellow on the walls, the bold one on a door.
Satin. Satin pastels read as plastic; matt reads as petal.

Corridor painted in a single almond green on walls, doors and ceiling, pale oak floor, light at the end of the corridor — French Green No.187 drenched: the corridor becomes a garden path

Frequently asked questions

Your questions, our answers

Does a spring palette hold up in winter?

The greens and pinks, yes, if they have a warm hint and heavier textiles for company; the sky blues and lilacs can go grey under a January sky. See A colour palette for every season.

Which white with pastels?

An off-white from the same family: green-white with a green, rosy white with a pink, bluish white with a blue. Pure white hardens every pastel.

Do pastels suit a south-facing room?

Yes, provided you take the step below: southern light washes out, and a pastel looks almost white there. A light-to-mid green or pink keeps its colour at noon.

How many coats for a pastel?

Two, as always: one coat shows the base and the pastel looks washed out. Over a dark wall, a white primer first — see How to paint a dark wall white.