New Ways With Blue

Color Lab

The classic color combination of blue and white will never go out of style, but the modern way to use blue is a confident mix of related colors: turquoise, aqua, cobalt, and robin’s egg all layered for an easy, fresh look.

This beach house proves you don’t have to be overly concerned with getting just the right color to match, as long as you stay within the same family of colors. “It’s a bit of island, a hint of bohemia, and a touch of tradition all at once,” says designer Suzanne Brown of Gordon Alvarado.

White Noise

White walls and furnishings make the blue fabrics pop in the dining room. Accents of leaf green create an unexpectedly pleasant contrast in blue schemes. The turquoise floors initially sold the owners on the house and also inspired the overall design scheme.

Color Cue

In the kitchen, a tile backsplash reflects the varied hues used in the house, and serving dishes pick up the cue. Shutters used as paneling bring a touch of the outdoors in, and open windows blur the line between indoors and out.

Bottom Line

Black accents ground the blue-and-white scheme in this living room in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Designers Jim and Phoebe Howard adorned the sofa and windows in an exuberant print by Charlotte Moss and underscored the range of blues at work with an antique dhurrie rug. The adjacent dining room, swathed in robin’s egg blue, introduces another temperature of blue.

Blue Mood

The dining room reflects a sophisticated mix of robin’s egg blue walls, Delft-blue murals, and lavender accents. A Venetian glass chandelier hangs over the wood-topped dining table. Polished wood finishes lend authority to the room.

Suite Dreams

A bold dhurrie rug sets a youthful note in a girl’s bedroom. Here, a vivid turquoise mixes well with navy blue in the pillow and chair fabric by Quadrille.

A bold blue lamp asserts itself on the side table. A plain white bedspread provides a visual contrast to the mix of patterns.

Bathing Beauty

The bathroom adjacent to the bedroom (previous slide) features a custom mosaic floor and a hand-painted mural, continuing the ode in blue and white.

A mural in a bathroom can be more practical than wallpaper, since it doesn’t peel in a humid environment.