Steel Teal: One Colour, Four Ways to Use It

Category: Features

Steel Teal:
One Colour, Four Ways to Use It

Jen Devaney

Colour Consultant

Back to Experts Blog

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Choosing a Colour of the Year isn’t just about trend. It’s about selecting a colour that can adapt emotionally and practically across different homes, styles and ways of living.

Steel Teal is a colour of quiet confidence. Sitting between blue and green, it brings depth without darkness, calm without retreat, and strength without harshness. Used boldly, it creates architectural presence. Used subtly, it adds refinement and balance. As an accent, it brings clarity and intention.

The four palettes below show how Steel Teal can shift character depending on how it’s used as a primary colour, a supporting structure, or a refined accent.

Palette 1: Soft & Grounded

In this palette, Steel Teal acts as a refined accent, grounding a gentle, nurturing scheme without disrupting its calm.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Sweetcheeks
A soft, chalky blush-neutral with warmth and subtle depth. Sweetcheeks works beautifully on walls, creating a light, comforting backdrop that feels relaxed rather than decorative.

Secondary colour – Swayed
A warm, sandy putty neutral with a natural clay softness. Swayed sits between stone and plaster, making it ideal for doors, built-ins, or cabinetry where you want quiet structure without cooling the space.

Accent colour – Steel Teal
A deep, confident blue-green used sparingly to add focus and grounding. Steel Teal works well on small furniture, shelving niches, headboards, or architectural details.

Steel Teal says: This is a calm home with quiet strength. Perfect for bedrooms, calm living spaces, or anywhere softness needs a confident anchor.

Palette 2: Heritage & Decorative

Here, Steel Teal plays a supporting but confident role, bringing contrast and refinement to a richer, more traditional palette.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Steaming Green
A deep, muted heritage green with smoky, olive undertones, Steaming Green works beautifully on walls, panelling, or large cabinetry, adding weight and historic character.

Secondary colour – Steel Teal
Used on cabinetry, feature furniture, or architectural elements, Steel Teal introduces structure and contrast, preventing the scheme from feeling heavy or overly traditional.

Accent colour – Riad Red
A rich, earthy red with historic depth. Riad Red is best used sparingly on smaller furniture pieces, interior details, or decorative accents to add warmth and narrative.

Steel Teal says: This home values craftsmanship, history, and considered detail. Ideal for period properties, rooms with woodwork or fireplaces, and spaces where architecture takes the lead.

Palette 2: Heritage & Decorative

Here, Steel Teal plays a supporting but confident role, bringing contrast and refinement to a richer, more traditional palette.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Steaming Green
A deep, muted heritage green with smoky, olive undertones, Steaming Green works beautifully on walls, panelling, or large cabinetry, adding weight and historic character.

Secondary colour – Steel Teal
Used on cabinetry, feature furniture, or architectural elements, Steel Teal introduces structure and contrast, preventing the scheme from feeling heavy or overly traditional.

Accent colour – Riad Red
A rich, earthy red with historic depth. Riad Red is best used sparingly on smaller furniture pieces, interior details, or decorative accents to add warmth and narrative.

Steel Teal says: This home values craftsmanship, history, and considered detail. Ideal for period properties, rooms with woodwork or fireplaces, and spaces where architecture takes the lead.

Palette 3: Modern & Contemporary

In this palette, Steel Teal takes centre stage as the primary colour, used confidently across larger surfaces.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Steel Teal
When used generously on walls Steel Teal is a strong architectural blue-green, which creates a modern, design-led statement that feels intentional and confident.

Secondary colour – Cool Beans
A pale mineral neutral with gentle warmth. Cool Beans balances the depth of Steel Teal and works well on adjacent walls, ceilings, or secondary surfaces to keep the space light and contemporary.

Accent colour – Bandido
A near-black charcoal with subtle undertones, Bandido adds definition and graphic contrast on door frames, baseboards, or detailing.

Steel Teal says: This space is confident, contemporary, and thoughtfully designed. Perfect for open-plan homes, apartments, and modern interiors where colour is part of the architecture.

Palette 4: Expressive & Playful

In the final palette, Steel Teal becomes a creative anchor, allowing warmer, more expressive colours to shine while maintaining cohesion.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Steel Teal
Used on walls or built-in units, Steel Teal provides depth and confidence, holding the palette together.

Secondary colour – McFee
A warm, earthy tone with richness and character, McFee works well on cabinetry or feature areas, adding personality without tipping into novelty

Accent colour – Apple Barn
A warm, rustic green that softens and grounds the palette, Apple Barn is ideal for shelving, frames, or smaller details to bring balance and ease.

Steel Teal says: This home has personality, warmth, and confidence to play. Ideal for creative spaces, eclectic interiors, and homes that embrace colour with intention.

Palette 4: Expressive & Playful

In the final palette, Steel Teal becomes a creative anchor, allowing warmer, more expressive colours to shine while maintaining cohesion.

Colours and how to use them:

Primary colour – Steel Teal
Used on walls or built-in units, Steel Teal provides depth and confidence, holding the palette together.

Secondary colour – McFee
A warm, earthy tone with richness and character, McFee works well on cabinetry or feature areas, adding personality without tipping into novelty

Accent colour – Apple Barn
A warm, rustic green that softens and grounds the palette, Apple Barn is ideal for shelving, frames, or smaller details to bring balance and ease.

Steel Teal says: This home has personality, warmth, and confidence to play. Ideal for creative spaces, eclectic interiors, and homes that embrace colour with intention.

Shop the palettes

In a variety of palettes, Steel Teal proves that a Colour of the Year doesn’t need to be limiting. As a primary colour, it creates depth and architectural presence. As a secondary colour, it brings structure and balance. As an accent, it grounds and sharpens a scheme.

Across these four palettes, Steel Teal adapts, not by changing who it is, but by responding to the mood, style, and rhythm of the space around it.

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