Blue is Back Baby!!

Paint above: Benjamin Moore
Welcome to the new age of design. As the new generation starts to move into their new homes, condos, apartments and swanky lofts, they long for something different than what they grew up with. They want to spread their fashion wings, and let their individuality shine. We spent most of the 80s and 90s saturating homes in greens and burgundies. One of my first jobs, as a designer, was to help a client who spent a fortune on a turquoise leather sofa in the late 80s. Yes, you just read that.
The millennium arrived, and as my amazing faux finisher/decorative painter Suzanne Pratt of Venetian Studios rants, “boring, blah, beige, took over!” So here we are. Most of us, are sickened at the thought of hunter green and deep wine, and bored with white and beige. So, in efforts to help us out, the world of design is giving us BLUE! And, just in time for summer!
Blue, as a “staple” colour, is a leap for most people. A blue sofa? A blue dresser? A blue rug? Really? It’s not just an accent colour? NO! If you are one of those people who has been afraid to dive into some colour saturation, let loose! This is the first colour to take the design world by storm in decades!

Let’s consider this fabulous room put together for the High Point Market this spring, by Century Furniture (above). The navy’s, cobalt’s and grey-blue’s mix and match so well. Blue is one of the most difficult shades to ‘match’. Even if you run around trying to match all your navy blues, they will always be slightly different. So look at this as an exercise in multiple hues of the wonderfully soothing colour. Here, you have a fantastic tufted leather sofa in their ‘Moonlight Monet’, along with a lacquered bookshelf in a more royal version of the colour. It looks sophisticated, inviting and sexy!
Great new lacquered furniture is hitting the market, in many shades of this new favourite. Think of it this way….if the people making the furniture are willing to invest in this new trend, the likelihood of it sticking around for a while is pretty good.


Bungalow5 has launched some stunning cobalt blue storage pieces (above). No longer are they just statement pieces, they are now a part of the complete design. These two dressers can be used in a front entrance, or as night stands in your bedroom. Anywhere you need some storage can be filled with a well crafted item like these. And take a look at the gold accents in the buffet! Gold is taking over the design world….see our next blog for that discussion.
And once you’ve chosen your main shade, why not paint it up? Use a lacquered paint for a bookshelf as in the photo below. Toss white outside, where it piled up for moths this winter and let the colours shine!!
There’s lots out there this season, and, I suspect, for quite a few seasons to come. Blue refrigerators, dining chairs, vases, pillows and more. See the pics below for some more inspiration.
1. Bedding: Codarus 2. Eames molded fiberglass chairs: EQ3 3&4. Dining chair and Rug swatch: Restoration Hardware 5&6. Pillow and Vase: Crate & Barell 7. Refrigerator: Smeg
Now go out there! Paint the town blue!!
Have a terrific day!
XR