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How to decorate with one of the most versatile colours in interior design
Blue is one of the most versatile colours to use in the living room, and lends itself to a multitude of design styles. It spans a cooling spectrum, from pale sky blues that pair wonderfully with crisp whites, to plush green-toned peacock blues that work with velvet and brass, to deep inky grey-blues that create moody and sophisticated design schemes.
In colour psychology, blue represents stability, harmony and peace. The ultimate shape-shifter, blues can be youthful and bright, they can conjure images of the Mediterranean, or provide a calming backdrop for moments of relaxation.
'Gone are the days when blues were seen as too cold to use,' says Sarah Keady, House Beautiful's style and interiors director. 'Dark, inky hues are now the go-to for communal areas like living rooms and kitchens – its cocooning but also wonderfully dramatic.'
A blue living room doesn't necessarily mean wall-to-wall colour. You can use clever paint techniques to colour skirting boards and window frames, create an eye-catching blue gallery wall, and introduce complementary shades of peachy pink or sunny yellow.
If you're considering a living room makeover in the near future, read on for 26 ways to decorate with every shade of blue...
To create a blue living room, you don't necessarily have to paint your walls. We love this clever trick of framing architectural features instead. Keep your walls white and paint your doors and architraves, window frames, built-in storage and crown mouldings. You can be as vivid as you like with your choice of blue without overwhelming your living room.
Pictured: Walpole™ No.42 paint at Mylands
An ombre wall is a really impactful idea if you're decorating with a tight colour palette. This living room wall mutates from a deep ocean blue through to a turquoise and finally a barely there white-blue. But no DIY here; an ombre-painted feature wall is very much one for the experts.
Pictured: House Beautiful Darcy Sofa Bed at DFS
A grey-toned blue can offset the fuss of floral patterns. This Brintons rug features a fabulous design from the V&A archives, and despite its grandeur, the cool tones prevent it all feeling overly opulent.
Pictured: Brintons V&A Calisia Talwin Floral Rug at Lands of Rugs
An inky blue-black used on panelled walls has something of a serious quality that is reminiscent of academic spaces like libraries or offices. It makes a nice choice for reading nooks, and as you can see here, can be coupled with black without looking too heavy or dark. This effect would work best where there is ample natural light.
We love the idea of using a single colour to create a cohesive gallery wall. To prevent it from looking too uniform, vary the size of your artwork as well as the thickness of the mounts. You could experiment with different woods on your frames too – deep blues work wonderfully with pale wood frames.
Pictured: Gallery Wall Selection at Desenio
If you go for wallpaper in the living room, remember that busy patterns and bright colours can be overstimulating in large quantities. Opt for a single feature wall or a panel of wallpaper for a striking effect that doesn't take over the whole room.
What were we saying about paring back a blue living room? It's not necessary. This is decorating at its most joyful, with an abundance of colour, plush materials, and over-the-top features. Note that this room benefits from a lot of natural light, which helps to lift the dramatic indigo blue on the walls.
Pictured: Stone Blue at Farrow & Ball
Colours that sit on opposite sides of the colour wheel, or complementary colours, have a high contrast between them that creates a bright and vibrant colour scheme. For blue, its complemented by warm reds, oranges, and yellows. As you can see here, the combination creates a sunny and cheerful living room.
Pictured: Accessories at Habitat
Deep blues can feel wonderfully opulent, which make them a great choice for an Art Deco-inspired drinks corner. These tones fall on the coolest side of the colour spectrum, so use accents of brass, burgundy or ochre to warm up your space.
For a retro look, team shades of blue with dusky oranges and pinks to tap into a Seventies style. Metallic accents and bright accessories stop this combination from looking dated.
Pictured: Ziggy Sofa at Sofology
It's not all green in the countryside. This bright and playful shade of blue finds a happy home in a traditional setting that has all the markers of a quintessential country pile – oversized ginger jars, mismatched artwork, sink-in squidgy sofas, and colourful ikat cushions.
Pictured: Lulworth Blue at Farrow & Ball
A dark blue-grey on your walls can be elegant, but it can also appear a bit flat, especially if you go for a matt finish. Metallics are your antidote here as they can add a bit of shine and bounce light around a room. We love this clever strip of gold paint that frames the skirting boards and fireplace.
Pictured: Knoxville Grey at Benjamin Moore
Dial up the intensity of a brightly coloured wall and embrace maximalism with framed artwork and photography in an assortment of colours. Pops of colour throughout this interior designer's living room in Nottingham ties the look together.
The bright and sunny colour palette used in this living room was surely inspired by the ample natural light streaming in from those fabulous windows. Blue makes a natural pairing with peachy pinks, and we love an unexpected pop of deep green.
Pictured: Country Living Charlbury Sofa at DFS
The colour of cloudless skies and sparkling seas, blue was made for Mediterranean interiors. If you want to create the look and feel of a Greek villa or Italian palazzo, pair your blue shades with warming accents of sunshine yellow and earthy ochre and pick up Mediterranean design features such as shutters, stone floors or terrazzo tiles, painted wood furniture, and plenty of plants.
Few colour combinations are as clean and fresh as blue and white. This deep Serge blue from Farrow & Ball is particularly effective because of the high contrast, and we love the idea of painting your shutters the same colour as your walls.
Pictured: Serge paint at Farrow & Ball, and Regency Tulip Fabric (on Sofa) at Liberty
Saturated colours are very effective at drawing the eye, so they're usually used on feature furniture or details you want to highlight. Here, an all-over saturated colour palette (the blue on the walls, lilac upholstery, and pop of deep green in the plant) creates an intense and rich living room – a perfect colour palette if you want to create a vintage feel.
Pictured: Ercol Favara Sofa, Marino Armchair, and Romana Highboard at Furniture Village
Blues and whites lend themselves to a living room full of sunny seaside references, but too heavy a hand when decorating thematically can look kitsch. These pleated blinds have a subtle wave pattern for just a touch of ocean influence.
This sophisticated living room is full of texture – the panelled walls, cool marble table, plush velvet sofas, low pile rug – and yet still appears understated thanks to a modest colour palette of just four colours.
Pictured: Cricket Sofa at Sofology
Colour has been proven to impact our mood, productivity, and even our quality of sleep. Pale blues are particularly effective at calming and soothing a busy mind, so go light in your living room if it's used for peaceful relaxation rather than entertaining. You can see how effectively stronger colours (like that fabulous peacock blue sofa) stand out against a uniform pale backdrop.
Pictured: Longacre™ No.102 at Mylands
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