Steep your home in moody blue hues for spring
Now my take on this is that in 2000BC to 1995AD, houses of every class in Ireland were all genuinely cold, and anything that added an aesthetic breeze of open air, dense ice or the crashing Atlantic in February, was deemed, (rightly), chill.
Languishing at 20°C-21°C today, place any blue room against a stark monochrome interior of sheer black and white and see whether you reach for the chenille throw or not?
The Georgians were wild about peacock-breast, eye-watering silky blue, and recent episodes of the BBCs 18th century romp ‘Taboo’ are immersed in interiors and costumes of little else.
I’m excited to discover how a variety of blues with different tonal notes sit together in even a small space, and quieter organic grey-based blues allow rich, showy greens, blue-greens and even otherwise thuggish purple colours to relax.
Setting blue-back in a natural environment, the colourist team at Crown Paint have turned their gaze upwards for a soul-stirring, tonal palette of cloud-chased horizons in a gorgeous, calming layering of water, air, mist and rock-formed skyscapes.
Translated from the promo-speak, it mixes up chalky blue (deep water, rain-pregnant cumulus) with paler shades (taken from a moody, silver flashed sky and seas of dawn and dusk) with natural wood furniture and white or dove grey trim and flooring —cooling and grounding the more intense colours.
If you’re tiring of grey, grey-based blues and want a comfortable, contemporary return to colour life— you can wander into more tropical blues if you prefer a more excitable green-based ingredient (Tropical Ocean).
Judy Smith of Crown, suggests adding an airy influence with a paint effect (experiment first, please): ‘Add subtle touches of shadow and cloudiness to the all-blue palette by using a feathered paint effect to separate two tones.”
The tools on these websites are not to be missed for the beginner or veteran decorator.
Take a look at Crown’s delicious Mood Film on Skyscapes including links to favourites for 2017 including Sherbert White, Blue Mosel, Pier View & Oxford Blue.
Dulux chose Denim Drift and its supporting palette as their Colour of the Year 2017, and it’s a seductive coax from pure grey to blue-grey — very subtle and presented as the best behaved colour in the room.
Keep in mind, a room is rarely about one colour set over acres of wall in isolation.
This is a very different suggested group of ten, with defining contrasts and friendly blue-on-blue harmonies sliding from pale grey to a purple blue, taken from fashion and architecture trends identified by design expert Heleen van Gent.
Schemes worked through by a paint house are a fantastic tool for the more uncertain home owner reaching for something they can carry on the phone, or in hard copy to the DIY centre, measure out in square metres and apply easily to any room.
Dulux offer several room sets with Denim Drift, and none are stark or worrisome. Natural blues and greys are thrown up against pigment-rich, urban dwellers like Tin Red.
The imaginings of colour designer Louise Tod in her vision ‘New Romanticism’, is young and modern, bouncing light and drawing comfort, with vivid horizontal or vertical slices of Denim Drift conversing with gorgeous botanic green and edgy amethyst minerals that wowed us last year.
My choice? Dulux Denim Drift with Story Teller (a deep heather) and Fortune Green (a rich teal).
As I mentioned, in the 18th century, the upper classes were not afraid of their blues, and Irish paint maker Colourtrend channels this fascination not only in their Historic paints, but in their wider choice of products.
Blue Roan and Petrol are ready-mixed colours that fit well with the chalky 2017 trends, but you can make up your blue dream from hundreds of other choices.
Before rushing to Farrow & Ball for a historic navy, take a look at its Priory Wall and Ox Vein. My choice for its depth and beauty in a pigment-dense matt, is Inkwell.
Superb with silvery whites such as Colortrend Subtle, it rings an Art Deco note, andthe style of the era is reappearing in the look-books and glossies this year.
If you’re afraid to go to black surfacing (sorry not a fan of this gimmicky fashion), determined blues with a red bias are fascinating in feature walls.
Little Greene has a presence here in Ireland and always surprises.
Their Deep Space Blue (#207) is a fabulous foundation colour even in a period setting. Littlegreene Dock Blue (#252) has a rocky solidity and would be my suggestion for a little rhapsody in living spaces and kitchens.
Pale Wedgewood (#249), taken from the tone of the Staffordshire jasper ware, is gentle and lovely in bathrooms and bedrooms.
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