The Best Nature-Inspired Paint Picks

Given our 2024 Idea House’s idyllic location in the waterfront community of Kiawah River on Johns Island, South Carolina, it just made sense for designer Allison Elebash to pull the palette from the surroundings. “Often, my natural instinct for a color palette is brighter greens and blues. But there was something about this house, where it sits facing the water and the marsh. Here, the marsh grass changes hues through the seasons. In the summer, it’s a soft green, and it’s a golden brown in the fall. In the winter, it turns aubergine. Those are the shades that we drew from for the color palette,” says Allison. From the scullery’s rich purple cabinets to the primary bedroom’s welcoming sage paneling, here are eight nature-inspired paint colors Elebash used to coax the outdoors in. 

Bateau Brown (SW 6033)

The hand-painted camellias (by local artist Rebecca Atwood) are the powder bath’s standout decorative element, but their color—and that of the wainscot paneling—is one Elebash pulled from the marsh grasses out back, which turn this rich reddish brown as fall gives way to winter. 

Greek Villa (SW 7551) 

For the main floor’s open living spaces, Elebash washed the walls in this warm white that calls to mind Lowcountry oyster beds—and serves as a clean backdrop for an assortment of artwork. 

Carnelian (SW 7580)

Hidden by a paneled door in the bright and airy kitchen, the tucked-away scullery offers an unexpected surprise compliments of its purpley-red cabinetry—another reference to the backyard’s marsh grasses in wintertime. 

Eventide (SW 9643) 

In the laundry room, a splash of this saltwater blue on the cabinetry and trim gave the utilitarian corner a welcome dose of jewel-box charm. 

Soft Sage (SW 9647)

The primary bedroom’s Rebecca Atwood’s Marble Fern wallpaper covers the ceiling to evoke the feeling of the tree canopy visible through the windows; it’s color-matched to the paneling, which is painted this botanical hue. Elebash repeated this color in the adjoining closet, as well as in the upstairs office, as it shares a similar view.

Sand Trap (SW 6066)

This warm earthy tone envelops the upstairs den, fostering a cozy place to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea—or to kick back with a cocktail and spin some records. 

Rain Cloud (SW 9639)

A pair of twin beds dipped in this moody blue pull their hue from the Abbapoola Creek, the tributary of the Kiawah River that’s visible from this guest-friendly space. 

Mushroom (SW 9587)

This sandy tone suited the striped walls of the carriage house, the above-garage guest suite where the designer took a more playful and beachy approach to distinguish it from the main house. Though its application is more whimsical, this pretty neutral serves as a cohesive thread between the two. (It’s also used throughout the main house, including on the dining room trim.)