The Beauty of Blue In Your Home & How To Use It

Blue skies are heralded this bank holiday weekend and with this in mind, I thought we’d take a look at how blue can add its own sunshine to our homes. And with over half of the population in the world embracing blue as their favourite colour, I thought it’s about time I wrote about it.

The Beauty of Blue In Your Home & How To Use It

Haze In Petrol By Barry Spence – Woodchip and Magnolia

Having been distracted by the kitchen makeover which has led to my getting carried away with styling and accessory buying,  I’m back to planning our bedroom redesign. And for the first time, I’m actually introducing blue into the home. You might say, I’m the other half of the population, as blue has never really appealed to me before. But it’s time to change things up in the I.E. household so I’m experimenting with new colours as well as adding more pattern (hence the botanical wall in our kitchen!).   Although, we’re opting for the darker end of the spectrum with navy blue for a grown-up feel to our sleeping experience.

Ready for some inspiration and some tips to embrace the beauty of blue?…….

Alternative To Black

Image – Dunelm

Navy being the darkest blue, provides you with an alternative to black in your homes. It has the same dramatic effect as black especially when applied to your walls. Add touches of metallics and pattern to lift it and create an elegant feel and to stop a room from feeling oppressive.

As with black, navy blue requires texture and light to make it come alive in your homes. Ensure you add reflective surfaces such as metallics, and diversify and play around with textures from flooring, textiles and throw in some pattern. Remember darker colours absorb light whereas lighter colours reflect. To prevent them from looking like a dark black hole,  layers of lighting, at different levels will help draw the eye around the room.

Remember to consider the visual weight of objects through colour, texture, size, and shape. When planning your spaces, it is also good to remember that darker, larger, complex and highly textured elements appear visually heavier within a design scheme. Balance and How It Works – The Interior Editor

Formal Settings

Condo Baroque Carpet In Blue – Carpetright

Blue especially Navy blue conveys a feeling of trust and authority which makes it perfect for formal settings such as home studies/offices. It’s also a calming colour which helps with the stress levels if you’re up against it with work! Monochromatic rooms that use one colour are all about texture and adding interest to them. Break it up with pattern like this rather fabulous carpet and you’ll create interest and stop it from looking bland.

Timeless

Obsydian Blue Pure Cotton Flat Bed Sheet – OOSTOR.com

Needless to say that blue and white combination offers a crisp and orderly feeling to a room whether it be a bedroom space like the one above or just about anywhere in your home. It’s a colour scheme that’s been well used in nautical styled spaces but it can also look modern and fresh when paired down with the right use of accessories and textures like these Obsydian cotton bedding. It’s a winning combination that has never gone out of fashion. Not that we need to follow trends because we should always embrace what makes our hearts sing and colour is one such element that affects the senses more than any other element.

The Perfect Backdrop

Audrey King Size Upholstered Bed in Canary Cotton Matt Velvet – Sofa

Mid and darker shades of blue present themselves as the perfect backdrop for adding vibrant splashes of colour to a room. Combined with velvety textures you’ll create a rich and luxurious feel to a room.

Yellow is blue’s complementary colour on the colour wheel as is orange. Utilising them together can create an invigorating and revitalising colourscheme. Or try using orange for a more medieterrean vibe.

Fresh & Clean

MB7 2 Panel Hinged Bath Screen – Merlyn Showering

Our association with blue and water makes bathrooms the perfect room to introduce this blue to. Keep things simple with white sanitaryware and tiles to compliment a solid blue backdrop for a minimal look.

Pattern

Skyros Blue And White Patterned Tiles – Tile Mountain

Or add more interest with patterned tiles to your floors and to highlight the bath or shower area. Remember to keep things in perspective by using contrasting neutral tiles or paint to ensure a happy medium when using pattern. These actually remind me of Delft tiles with their soft blue and white patterns.

Kitchens

Winchester Elements Panorama Cove With Odyssey Primo Ottoman – Original Style

Using kitchens tiles are a great way to introduce colour and pattern together and they’re practical. Solid blue tiles compliment the patterned here and will inevitably help break up the expanse of cupboards that most kitchens have.

The Victorians used blue to decorate their kitchens to keep flies away sanitary reasons pre-refrigeration.

Dreamy Blues – Sleep

Image – Norsu Interiors

Combined with soft pinks, soft pastel blues add a dreamy gentle approach to a good nights sleep.

Benji Bed – Loaf

If you’re looking to create a sanctuary and a quiet place to end your busy day with, lighter shades of blue evokes the feeling of calm and tranquillity. These softer shades of blue also add a feminine touch to a room when applied with other soft neutrals.

Create A Focal Point

The Sandridge Bed In Mallard – Willow & Hall

Blue inevitably stands proud when paired with neutral colour schemes which works particularly well with brighter more vivid shades of blue like electric, ultramarine and turquoise.

Within a bedroom, beds are usually the only source of providing your bedrooms with a focal point. Choosing a stand out blue such as this gorgeous one from Willow and Hall is further reinforced with matching lampshades either side which adds symmetry which adds a sense of balance to the room.

Isla Three Seat Corner Sofa In Oxford Blue Brushed Linen Cotton, Club Storage Bench In Oxblood – Sofa.com

If you’re going to use blue with its complementary colours such as yellow and orange try and think about the proportion in which you use them. Too much and it’ll appear garish and create an unsettled feel to a room. One way to help balance out more vibrant colour schemes is to make sure you add some neutral colours to help calm the overall look and feel. The above living space does this by adding two different soft rose colours from the storage bench in Oxblood to the paler pink cushion as well as whitewashed floorboards.

Be Creative

Hall | Floor Lamp – DelightFULL

Of course, we won’t all have a staircase as amazing as this one above, but the point in question is the use of colour and as we’re talking all things blue, how it’s been applied to create a visual pathway. As we associate blue with the sky, the use of blue and white here creates a sense of climbing upwards to the heavens. If we’re not of the same thought process in terms of imagery, you can use colour to help guide you and others through your home.

Grounding

Louis De Poortere Fading World Rug – Blue Night – Modish Living

Blue has been used here to add some much-needed grounding to an all-white kitchen dining space. It adds depth whilst helping to define the dining area.

Lighting Tips

Tom Dixon Copper Blue Family – Rume

I’m not sure how I feel about these new Tom Dixon lights, but they’re one of his latest designs to hit the high street and I’ve included them here for all you lovers of blue and metallics.

Talking of how blue reacts with lighting in general, you need to be aware that it can come across as being a rather cool colour so you really need to asses the amount of natural light your rooms receive before entering into a decisive conclusion as to which, if any blue is to be used from your decor to your accessories to lights like these. The general rule is if light levels are low opt for more saturated deeper shades that offer a more moody feel. Bright and airy rooms (think southerly or westerly) work well with cooler tones of blue and will help enhance the sense of space.

Helps Visually Minimalise

Isla 2 Seater Sofa – Sofa.com

Choosing darker shades of blue for the upholstery of your seating will help visually minimise the bulk of larger furniture pieces as well as being practical if you have pets or little ones.

Stylishly Versatile

Country Living- Monmouth Twist – Carpetright

Blue is not definitive of any particular era and has been in play for centuries so whatever your decorative style, blue has a place in your homes. It suits all styles from the traditional through to modern contemporary. Or why not mix them up and create a unique space. Afterall, it’s your home.

Styling It Up

Toucan Money Box £59.95. Pastel Lustre Occasional Table £185. Imperial Glass Bottle Vase £39.95. – AUDENZA

Blue is such a versatile colour it will work with any other colour on the colour wheel. Although you might want to implement the use of lighter colours in the form of accessories and reflective surfaces to help lift darker blues to stop a room from feeling oppressive.

A Match Made In Heaven

Cristin Pendant and Fianco Table Lamp – dar lighting group

Blue and gold has been around for centuries and forms a natural combination offering a harmonious scheme that combines stability and a feeling of luxury.

Contemporary Bluey Greys

VFT Blue Large Hexagon 6638V – Original Style

If you’re looking for the right shade of grey, you might want to opt for a greyish blue which can be more interesting than the pure greys that have been around for ages now. They also work well to create a contemporary setting, especially when paired with black.

Are you are a lover of blue? If not, have I managed to convert you to try it out in your homes?

Thanks as always for stopping by! Until next time……

Maria x

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram here, where you’ll see more of my design stories as they happen.

Please follow and like us: