Beguiling Blue: Blue Paint Inspiration

Beguiling Blue: Blue Paint Interiors

Calm and contemplative, deep and mysterious – blue provides a timeless backdrop that we feel comfortable with in the home. Delve into dark blue paint tones for sophisticated schemes with endless possibilities, or delight in more delicate blue hues to create an air of refreshing tranquillity. Traditionally the reserve of royalty and religious characters in Old Master paintings, blue paint colours add a sense of splendour to homes whether they are used throughout, or as an accent in a single room.

Back Wall: Mazarine

Floor: Marine Blue

Curved stool: Air Force Blue

Vase: Ultra Blue

In the Navy: Navy Blue Room Inspiration

There can be nothing more resplendent than painting great swathes of dark blue paint across all four walls of a room. Beguiling and seemingly endless, the depth of colour draws you in and creates an illusion of limitless space. To further amplify sumptuous blues, like ‘Mazarine,’ ‘Royal Navy’ or ‘Hicks‘ Blue,’ use blue and white together. Add furniture pieces in crisp white, white bedding, or even contemporary ceramics with splashes of black. Ideal for rooms designed for contemplation or conversation, dark blue paint colours give the room a sense of gravitas.

Walls and cabinets: Hicks‘ Blue

Stool: Green Verditer

Blue and Natural Materials: Furniture & Accessories Alongside Blue Paint Schemes

Natural finishes and materials such as copper, raw wood, stone and slate are the perfect companion to blue walls. The contrast between the time-worn warmth of the natural materials and the freshness of mid-blue hues is visually intriguing and beautifully unites contemporary living with the features of your period home.

Paint the largest of your walls in ‘Grey Stone’ for an airy blue bathroom scheme combined with the contrasting ‘Light Peachblossom’. Add family heirlooms and antique treasures for an accomplished look. For a further contemporary flourish, add in ‘Scree’ skirting boards, or pay homage to historical home style by painting hallway panelling in ‘Juniper Ash’ and combine it with ‘Mono’ on the other walls.

Walls: Mono

Panelling: Juniper Ash

Woodwork: Wood Ash

An Element of Calm: Light Blue Paint Ideas

Synonymous with coastal colours, blue exudes the beauty of our natural environment. This look is organic in feel, relaxed in atmosphere and sophisticated in approach. In rooms with low ceilings, gently contrast the alcove paint colour ‘Pale Wedgwood,’ with the rest of the room painted in ‘Arquerite’. This combination of blue paints will add vertical blocks of colour, making the ceiling feel less low. Or paint a large expanse of wall in ‘Blue Verditer’ with accents in ‘Atomic Red’ for a fresh take on classic coastal colours. Complement the scheme with linens, natural wood and plenty of daylight.

Alcove: Pale Wedgwood

Chimney Breast: Arquerite

Geo Tray: Delicate Blue

Painting Units: Innovative Blue Paint Ideas for Furniture

Blue is the colour of calm and order, so what better place to paint blue than in the busiest areas of the home. In an office, painting the backboard of a dresser is an ideal way to introduce blue paint in an understated way but with dramatic effect. Displaying neutral coloured accessories in front of ‘Marine Blue’ will give each piece definition and a sense of order. Combine this blue with ‘Hammock’ and ‘Great Ormond St – Parchment’ wallpaper to incorporate texture into the scheme.

Similarly, refresh kitchen cupboards by painting them in the extremely hard-wearing Intelligent Satin finish in ‘Air Force Blue,’ and framing windows in the darker ‘Royal Navy’ to seamlessly blend kitchens into open plan living spaces. For stand-alone kitchens, create a vibrant space with cupboards painted in ‘Woad,’ tiles in joyful ‘Sunlight’ and walls in ‘Stock.’

Wallpaper: Great Ormond St – Parchment

Dresser: Hammock and Marine Blue

Tonal Partners: Clashing with Blue Paint Colours

Layer tonal paint colours together in the same space to create a sublime colour clash. Use a vibrant shade of blue like ‘Pale Lupin’ as your starting point and highlight woodwork, or adjacent walls in colours that gently add a frisson of excitement to the colour scheme. A jubilant green that works extremely well with ‘Pale Lupin’ is ‘Green Verditer’, which helps to enliven and add interest to an underused small space.

To emphasise interesting corners or alcoves in your room, use darker blues in shaded areas of the room and lighter hues where natural light bounces off the wall. To recreate the look here, use ‘Woad’ and ‘Grey Stone’ for the walls and ‘Sunlight’ for the woodwork.

Wall: Stock

Tiles: Sunlight

Units: Woad

Stool: Heat

Consider the Ceiling: Blue Painting Ideas Beyond the Walls

Think of your ceiling as the fifth wall of your room. If you strive for a cosy space within a high-ceilinged room, consider painting the ceiling dark blue. It will give a feeling of intimacy to large rooms and draw the ceiling closer. In bathrooms and bedrooms, bold blues will provide blissful moments - and in more modest rooms with skylights, a blue ceiling will enhance the feeling of being outside. To make this statement work, be bold with your colour choice and try ‘Deep Space Blue’ or ‘Hicks’ Blue’ for an all-around navy blue room. Create contrast with the walls by using either the fresh neutral ‘Flint’, or a striking wallpaper design, such as ‘Lavaliers-Low Wave.’

Main Wall: Lavaliers – Low Wave

Walls: Hicks‘ Blue

Skirting: French Grey

Accentuate with Paint: Using Blue Paint with Wallpaper

Using blue as an accent alongside wallpaper is a great way to create a harmonious, coordinated scheme. It creates a visual full stop to an interior and demonstrates design confidence. Select a blue colour that matches the darkest blue within the wallpaper design and paint the skirting boards and picture rails in the same colour. In this alluring dark blue bedroom scheme, ‘Smalt’ is teamed with ‘Camellia’ wallpaper in the same colour.

Alternatively, paint panelling in a hallway, with wallpaper on the ascending wall to make a distinction between the levels of your home. For a scheme that flows from room to room, use wallpaper and accented woodwork in one room and follow through with dark blue paint on the furthest wall to create a sense of continuity through the home. When painting woodwork in any shade of blue, opt for the Intelligent Satin finish which is both hard wearing and low sheen.

Walls: Camellia – Smalt

Walls & Woodwork: Smalt