2021 Color Trends: Sour Apple

2021 Color Trends: Sour Apple

Posted by DecoArt on May 4th 2021

May is here and we're looking forward to warmer months full of outdoor get-togethers and front porch decorating. After a year of being indoors, we anticipate people will be looking for bright and happy shades to liven up their outdoor spaces. That's why our color of the month for May is one of our most popular shades of green, sour apple!

This green is brightened up with lots of yellow and brings to mind the refreshing and crisp shade of a granny smith apple. 

A bowl of bright and perfect fresh green apples.
Photo from Roman Kraft on Unsplash.

Fresh and vivacious, you can see this shade of green throughout nature. Whether it's on the wings of a bird, the underside of leaves, or the sun-dappled trees of your favorite hiking trail.

A bright apple green underside of a fern leaf.
A bright apple green and yellow bird perched on a branch.
A photo of a creek flowing over a rock face to create a small waterfall surrounded by bright green scenery
Photos from Amal Cm, Dalton Touchberry, and Aliya Solomon on Unsplash.

Green in Art

This shade of green can be used to capture the beauty of natural spaces. Use it in paintings as an accent color for fields, forests, and other greenery. The high amount of yellow in the green helps capture the look of sunlight on vegetation.

A painting of green wheat fields by Vincent Van Gogh
A painting of green fields of grass along a river bank by Gliboki Miriko
Paintings from Vincent Van Gogh and Mirko Virius

Green Color Theory

On the color wheel green, blue, and violet are considered cool colors. They are called this due to their blue undertones. By contrast reds, yellows, and oranges are warm colors due to their firey red undertones.

A color wheel that labels all of the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.

While a regular green would be considered a secondary color, sour apple is closer to a yellow-green shade. This mix of a primary color (yellow) with a secondary color (green) makes sour apple a tertiary color

A color wheel that shows off the tertiary colors, which is a primary and secondary color mixed together.
Sour apple is a great balance between warm and cool, meaning you can create some interesting color palettes using this color. For home decor, sour apple makes a great accent color. When painting, try using it as a highlight against darker greens or pair it with a reddish violet to create contrast.

Apple Green Color Schemes

There are so many ways to incorporate this fresh green shade into your life. Below we've gathered a few of our favorite color palettes featuring this apple green to help inspire you!

Warm Color Schemes

If you're feeling adventurous you can't go wrong with sour apple, hot pink, and sunshine yellow. This color palette is so bright and bubbly! Add in a crisp white to keep these colors from becoming too overwhelming. We love how this looks on these wooden utensils, how perfect would they be for an outdoor BBQ?

A color palette made using apple green, pink, yellow, and white
Embrace the warmer side of sour apple by pairing it with a dreamy orange and tomato red. A light beige pulls this palette together for a more natural look. 

A color palette with apple green, orange, red, and a warm soft brown.
Cool Color Schemes


Add warmth to cool color palettes with sour apple. Here we have it paired with sky blue, dark blue, and a lovely shade of peach. These colors play off each other so well, we love how they work together in this DIY abstract art piece from our project gallery.

A color palette with apple green, light blue, dark blue, and a soft peach
Sour apple's complementary color is red-violet, meaning they are opposites on the color wheel. These colors enhance each other due to their high contrast. Here we have sour apple and violet alongside a deep blue and teal shade for a gorgeous peacock feather pattern. This flashy palette is attention-grabbing and fun. 

A color scheme with apple green, purple, and navy blue


Product Inspiration:

A line-up of various DecoArt acrylic paints in the same shade of apple green.


DecoArt Products:

Americana® Acrylics in Sour Apple
Patio Paint™ in Apple Green
Crafter's Acrylics™ in Grasshopper Green
DecoArt® Multi-Surface Satin™ in Apple Green
DecoArt®  SoSoft™ in Green Apple
Glamour Dust in Neon Green
Americana® Premium™ in Yellow Green Light
DecoArt® Curb Appeal™ in Urban Green

Apple Green Projects

We've gathered up some of our favorite  DecoArt® projects inspired by sour apple. If you're looking for more color inspiration, be sure to follow us on FacebookInstagram, and Pinterest. Every week we post new and creative ways to use our color of the month as well as exciting craft and DIY projects. Happy making!