Blue Rooms: Classic Beauty No Matter What Style

 Ah, the many shades and hues of blue.  They are all beautiful, and blue rooms are true classics. If you have white walls or grey walls and you are looking for a change, consider the humble color blue. It is instantly calming, can be vibrant or soft and subtle, and suits all furniture and design styles whether lush Old World or spare minimalism modern.
 Not sure what to use with it? Try doing a monochromatic blue and let natural accessories to the room such as books add extra color.  Look at the wonderful library below! Do you really need more colors? And molding painted blue is gorgeous!

 Use blue with crisp white or with cream, 2 classic combinations.
 The hall below is perfect.

 Artwork is beautiful on a blue background.   Below, the blue and gold combination is an oft-used scheme in traditional homes.

 Above, crisp white with a darker blue, very clean and classic.
 Below, a robin's egg shade of blue is appetizing for a dining room.

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    Bathrooms in blue and white look clean and fresh.

   Calming blue is perfect for the bedroom.

Notice the ginger jar below, an easy way to add blue and white to any room.

I love the bedroom, below, with the ceiling painting blue and stenciled.

Classic toile belongs in the bedroom, and is especially good for guest bedrooms.

A blue and cream/white kitchen is pleasant to work in: not overly bright, not too dark. 

Love the kitchen below; perfect if your kitchen has plenty of light.

The Best Rooms Have Art!

I have several home decorating blogs that I read regularly so that I can keep up with decorating trends, (and also so that I can criticize those that I don't like!). I've noticed a distressing trend lately.  People don't seem to be hanging art on their walls.  

Now I know that many young people just starting out in life think that they cannot afford art, and sometimes they really can't.  But I've even noticed that people who are established in their jobs and their lives seem to have rooms that are distinctly lacking in art, especially paintings.  Look at the room below.  I love it! The room that is.  And the furniture.  The chandelier, the curtains, the mirror over the fireplace and the rug. 

But just imagine how much more beautiful this room would be with a painting next to the fireplace (over the bench) or a print or two on the wall to the left. For those going for the no color look, art still has a place in this room. Wonderful drawings, black and white prints, subtle paintings would all work here.

.The same goes with the dining room below.  Now, I do hate the chairs and love the mirror, but this dining room is screaming for art on its walls.

Look at this wonderful room below.  It has color, which I applaud, but this wouldn't be the same room without that wonderful painting over the fireplace.

Below, a very subtly colored room, but it would look like an empty rental without those wonderful paintings on the wall.

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There is no excuse for not having art.  Here the watercolors are hung on the shelves, very English country.

A fantastic wall of art. If that wall were blank, all the personality would be sucked from the room.

In a Parisian room, art runs up the walls and even over the doorways.

I love having gallery walls over sofas.  It's also a perfect focal point when a room does not have a view or a fireplace.

Below, just one painting would make a beautiful difference in this dining room. 

Corners can be used for art, too.  The space does not have to be huge.

The three framed drawings below are quite fitting in this formal room.

The all-grey room below needs a painting between the windows.

Another gallery wall of great interest.

This formal room has formal portraits to match.

I really don't understand the lack of art when there are so many artists out there dying to sell their wares.  You can even find original paintings in thrift stores. Watercolors and drawings are usually much less expensive than oil or acrylic paintings and can look just as good on the wall.  Even museum posters framed would be good for those who have a limited income.

But please, hang some pictures!!!!

Dreaming of Bathrooms

  As the weather finally turns toward Spring, finally, I find myself wanting to change the townhouse somehow, but I find myself especially wanting to change colors and/or paint something - anything! The trouble is that I am drawn to the same colors over and over.  When I started looking at bathrooms today, I found that I am drawn to 2 colors: blue and peach/coral.  The only other bathrooms that don't fit in that category tend to be those that are made entirely of marble or stone.
Above, I am in love with this bathroom with its combination of gold and silver with blue, not to mention the touches of marble with bluish veining. The sconces are wonderful!
Below, this powder room is gorgeous because of that fantastic mirror!

Above, how wonderful these Portuguese tiles are!  In Brazil and in Portugal, one of the most wonderful aspects of buildings and rooms are these Portuguese tiles. When my son lived in Lisbon, the three bathrooms were delightful because of the tiles (which also lined the balconies that were in front and in the back of their apartment). 
Below, the mirror is perfect, the color, the style, and the blue is rich and unexpected.

Some people call the color above coral; I call it peach, and I love it.

Above and below, I think the peachy coral colors in these two bathrooms are beautiful and so cheerful!

Above, more of those delicious tiles! Blue and white is best. And I have got to get one of the extending lighted make-up mirrors for my own bath.
And below, the perfect bathroom because you really don't have to make many color decisions at all. The marble takes over and solves that decorating dilemma. The sconces are excellent.

The bathroom vignette, below, is gorgeous because of the silver and the aged mirror tiles.

The main thing about the bath is that it must be cheerful!

The Special Beauty of Blue and White

 I adore blue and white in decorating schemes.  It's fresh, classic, and usually very easy for the non-decorator to pull off!  Blue and white is especially soothing for bedrooms, and probably one of the most classic uses of blue and white is with toile.  The bedroom above is a wonderful oasis of calm in a busy world.
I am a die-hard fan of peach and coral.  Blue and a creamy white with peach or coral is beautiful!  And if you are using blue and white porcelain, it really pops against a peach or coral background.

Another great thing about decorating with blue and white is that apartment dwellers who cannot change the color of those white or cream walls can still have what looks like a planned and cohesive design. All you have to do is paint some furniture a dark grey-blue or white (or mix both!) and buy ready-made curtains and bedspreads.  For the living room, solid white or blue slipcovers will work although printed blue and white ones look really special.
All shades and tones of blue look good with white, cream, off-white or ivory.  Look how crisp the room below is!

I love the curtain treatment below with the inner lining blue and pretty white fringe trim.

Below is another example of what could be done if you are living in an apartment and cannot paint the cream walls.  Use blue and white material to cover chairs, sofa, and window, and no one will know that you didn't plan to have cream walls all along!

I adore blue and white porcelain grouped together. Even the lamps are blue and white.  And blue and white porcelain works so seamlessly with your decor that you can still add a gallery wall.

What a peaceful sitting room!

Decorating with blue and white can be cost effective, too.  Blue and white porcelain jars and plates can be found in Chinatown and sometimes even at dollar stores. Simple muslin curtains in a creamy white or blue can be found for a few dollars a yard.

Above, blue and white porcelain looks wonderful against almost any color.  Here it's lovely against a warm grey.

Blue and white is marvelous for a kitchen!

Above, yellow is amazing as a background for blue and white. Below, note that there is no solid blue in the room; even the curtains are striped. but the overall effect sends a blue message.