Oval Room Blue by Farrow & Ball in our hallway.

Blue is one of those colours that sits on the edge of fashion. It’s always there as a staple easy stylish tone, and yet it never really takes centre ground.

In the six years since I’ve been blogging, I’ve heard blues name being called a few times as the next big trend, it’s made various forecasters colour of the year during this time, and yet it’s never become a mega trend like millennial pink, greige, or the current vogue for green. But it also never really goes away, we are comfortable with it, from elegant light blues and calm aquamarines to bright azures and deep inky night sky navy, there is something very timelessly chic about blue.

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Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball in our bathroom.

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As one of the primary colours, blue feels very pure, and muted blues more than a little serene too, it’s also the colour choice I’m going for in Teds upcoming bedroom makeover. So, despite the lack of a specific blue zeitgeist I’m dedicating my second colour focus to the sturdy staple, older brother of the colour family, step up blue.

What is your first memory of blue in interiors? Mine was during my halcyon student days listening to History lectures in Bloomsbury buildings where the decor of many of the Georgian rooms I studied in were painted that barely-there whispered light blue. Blue makes me think of elegance and comfort. But on the subject of Bloomsbury (sort of) richer, almost peacock, blue’s are also a tone that I associate with the Bloomsbury set of the early twentieth century and this shade looks wonderful in modern bohemian homes. 

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Prussian Blue by Zoffany in our old cocktail room

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I have used blue several times in our current home, it’s a great shade in interiors. We have the deep jewel like Hague Blue in our bathroom, and in our hallway Oval Room Blue which is both undoubtedly blue but also owes a debt of gratitude to both grey and green. The cocktail room was once Prussian blue, a great shade that created subtle tones, and as I have mentioned,  I am set to use blue again imminently. Blue is a perfect shade for when you want to dip your toe into using colour without going too bold (though there are definitely bold blues too, which we will come to in a bit).

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Blue Blood by Paint & Paper Library.

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Blue is known as the colour of the mind, and of enhancing creativity, strong blues aiding focussed thought and light blues calming the mind, it is advised against in kitchen and dining rooms as it can suppress the appetite. It is also a colour of wonder, in European culture blue has symbolised both the exotic and the fascinating since the Middle Ages with the discovery of the precious blue stone the lapis lazuli first brought to Europe from Afghanistan. Blue can be decadent, luxurious, escapist and bold. I like to use blue in it’s more subdued form, as a classic accent (usually with a little twist) but it is certainly one of the more versatile shades. The bold blues favoured by confident decorators in the naturally maximalist homes can make an incredible statement, step forward Yves Klein Blue, you were made for the daring interior.

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Pale Blue by Farrow & Ball.

Maritime by Mylands.

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Blue is one of the two colours uniquely able to lend walls an opalescent feel depending on light at particular times of day, which makes it a beautiful colour to work with in the home. I associate blue with a calm ethereal beauty, conjuring images of the sea, clement weather skies. I wonder if blue’s calmness stems from the circadian rhythms? Does the association of blue with the night sky make us naturally think about unwinding? One of the new shades released by scandinavian paint brand Jotun for 2020 is called Serene Blue, twentieth century painter Jean miro describes one blue as the colour of his dreams(!). Blue definitely is a dreamy shade, a palette for relaxation and day dreaming.

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Statement Blue by Jotun Lady.

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Blue works so well as an accent colour too, it can bring just the right hint of vibrancy to a white space and heighten energy. I personally love the juxtaposition of light greens with navy blues, or paler blues with forest greens, they hint at turquoise and emphasise the hinterland between blue and green, this colour combination looks  particularly well in spaces with a vintage feel. Do you use blue in your home? If so, what’s your favourite shade? Let me know in the comments below.

Blue Interiors Pieces