Dark blue walls....... What's not to love!
Dark blue walls? yes please! I think using blue on the walls of our homes had a bad rep for far too long, and now thankfully they've returned in the last five years or so, but in much deeper, richer colours. If I'm honest very light blue walls are not my thing I prefer greys with blue tones if I want a lighter colour in my home. Many people feel that using these cool colours can lead to a cold, clinical feeling home, and I guess in a starkly furnished north facing house this could be the case, but combine those blues with natural textures and warm metals such as gold and copper and you're on to a winner!
I'm going to take you through some of the blues in my home as well as showing you some of my favourite inspirational blue rooms of the Interior Instagram accounts I love to follow.......
Farrow & Ball 'Railings' feature wall in my kitchen extenion
When I was researching colours for the Kitchen extension I fell in love with Farrow and Ball 'Railings' Its a very dark blue that in dim light looks almost black, but ohhh when that early morning sunshine comes through our bifold doors you see how blue it really is! We have painted the wall where the brick fireplace is at the other end of the room Railings too and it makes for a fabulous feature at the other end of the room to the kitchen units. The dark blue against the warmth of the reclaimed bricks really is beautiful, I think on my Instagram account the most questions I've had are about the colour of the kitchen units.
It was another six months before I decided on colours for the walls of some of the other renovated rooms downstairs, but I knew that it was going to involve other beautiful blues. I'm currently half way through painting the skirting 'Black Blue' which are looking great so far- they look so much better dark blue!
Kitchen cupboards painted in www.farrowandball.com 'Railings' Looking very blue due to the amount of natural light in our kitchen
Farrow & ball Railings used for the kitchen units look beautiful next to the exposed brick wall
Below are two gorgeous rooms that have also been painted in 'Black Blue' and 'Railings'.......
These beautiful hand built larder cupboards in Michaela's Home are painted in Farrow and Ball 'Black Blue' Don't they look fabulous standing on that polished concrete floor! @theoldpiggery_
Farrow and Ball Black Blue used on these kitchen larder cupboards
Shelley who owns the fabulous homewares shop 'Hilary & Flo' has just changed the walls in her snug area to 'Railings' It looks totally different too mine here, but no less beautiful, and you can see how dark it can be if the natural light in your room doesn't pick out the blue hues....... @hilaryandflo
These walls painted in railings look so dramatic
Our Sitting Room is painted in 'Hague Blue'....... I remember telling my husband whilst he was sitting watching Topgear (I thought it was best to do it whilst he was imersed in also dreaming of being a middle aged man driving around in a Supercar and acting like a 21 year old.....) that we would be painting the Sitting Room dark blue....... Now, he loves blue, all his clothes are blue, if I dare to mention whilst shopping that perhaps he should buy an item of clothing which is not blue he looks at me as if I'm mad, however, I just knew that he wouldn't want dark blue walls! At this point of course I should make it clear that my husband has very little, if any, input into the interior decisions in our home but as it would mean at least two if not three coats of paint I wanted him onboard to help! (It was three coats in case you're interested.) So, I waved the Farrow and Ball paint card at him and in his mid life crisis dream like state I got a 'Yes that sounds fantastic darling' response which is what I was planning on!
Farrow and Balls 'Hague Blue' My favourite Blue paint.
When he came home from work a few days later and saw a large tester patch of said Hague Blue on the wall his response was somewhat different..... It went along the lines of a few words I won't mention and 'bat cave'.
My sitting room painted in Hague Blue is such a cosy space which somehow makes me love those bricks even more when i look past the blue walls to them.......
......... And thats the thing isn't it, if you haven't painted a room a dark colour before its a scary thing, you assume that it will feel gloomy, and if its a blue, cold, but honestly in my experience it couldn't be further from the truth! We are lucky that we have two large windows in our Sitting Room which let a lot of light in, if I'm honest Id like to remove one of them as its a 3.2metre long window that is south facing situated high on the wall from when our house was a garage with only a view of next doors house, and I don't particularly like it taking up a whole wall space either but at the moment it has to stay........ Anyway, sorry I digress, the room is always light during the day and when the sun is shining on that Hague Blue it is a thing of beauty, but in the evening, especially in the winter with the log burner lit it is a cosy haven and the favourite room in the house for the whole family, I can honestly say painting it dark blue was the best thing I could have done!
Here are some other fabulous rooms featuring Hague Blue walls. I love all of these rooms, each has a different style with those dark blue walls being the perfect back drop to them all ...........
The Hague Blue walls in the beautiful Sitting Room of @my_london_home look fabulous with the gold and pink touches, dark blue and gold what a combo!
In Lucindas beautiful Sitting Room she has used copper and natural materials to add warmth and texture @nest_twenty_eight
Ruthies Bathroom really is a thing of beauty, she has used Hague Blue against those fabulous brass fittings and metro tiles to great effect- i love that she has painted the towel rail too to blend in with the dark walls @design_soda_ruthie
Laura has used Hague Blue on her Kitchen walls as a backdrop to her rustic shelves...... The combination of wood, plants, copper and greys against the blue works beautifully here @the_indigo_house
Amy's sitting room is proof that you can also use Silver and chrome against Blue walls without the room feeling cold, she has bare wood floors in here which add warmth and has added lots of texture and warm colours which make the room feel so welcoming...... I can just see myself at that Bar mixing a cocktail Can't you? @thisstyle_rocks
Keeley's Hague Blue walls work brilliantly as a back drop to her fabulous art, that pop of yellow is great next to the blue and really makes it stand out @keeleytara
The next room I decided to paint a shade of blue was my office, I had used lots of testers and just couldn't decide, then Farrow & Ball brought out a new blue 'Inchyra Blue' I was smitten........ This rooms light source comes from a skylight above my desk rather than traditional windows to the outside as it is in the centre of the house. The blue-grey of Inchyra Blue works so well in here, I find it a really calming colour to be surrounded by whilst Im working, in fact, I have been thinking of painting the kitchen in it recently, however, as with many of their colours it looks so different in different light and Im not yet sure it will work as well for me in that very light room....... I know a lot of people who have tested it in their homes and found it too 'green' or 'turquoise' in colour- This one really does change a lot depending on its light source and is worth testing on a larger area than you normally would.
Farrow & Ball Inchyra Blue walls
These next two rooms also have Inchyra Blue walls and make me want to get the paint brush out again straight away!
Kristines fabulous home has already been featured on my blog ..... Read it here Her Inchyra Blue sitting room is so beautiful, the texture, the hints of gold and the plants just set it off to perfection @restoringlansdowne
Charlotte has used Inchyra Blue on her Kitchen walls and has also used it on the frames of those gorgeous wood cabinets- what a great combination! ...... This room definitely makes me want to repaint my kitchen! @charlotte_thrower
So, you may have noticed I'm a lover of www.farrowandball.com paints...... I love the richness and tone of their colours but of course there are many other fabulous blues out there from the likes of Little Greene, Dulux, Jotun, Valspar and many, many more....... Here are some of my absolute favourites using the afore mentioned companies, so much blue inspiration in these gorgeous homes.......
Ruth has used 'Oslo' by Jotun here in her home, an absolutely beautiful blue next to those dark wood floors and textures...... I love the long mirror on the wall, which not only looks super stylish but helps to bounce the light from the door opposite back into the room @norwegianboheme
I have had the pleasure of sitting on that green sofa in Helen's amazing Sitting Room, and let me tell you its even better in the flesh! The walls are painted in 'Pebble Drift' by Dulux @thenewsaintly
The home of Greg @manwithahammer is a masterclass in how to renovate and turn a former dentist surgery into a super stylish family home..... He used Little Greene 'Dock Blue' in his sitting room, which looks fabulous against all the plants and pattern here......
This Bedroom is in the home of the fabulous @patirobins, her design style is fabulous and she is an absolutely brilliant DIYer........ She made this headboard in her daughters Bedroom and mixed this blue paint up herself which looks so good next to all the natural wood, however, I have been reliably informed by Pati that it is a very similar colour to Dulux 'Breton Blue'
I love this gallery wall in the home of @skullandcactus ...... Amy has used Valspar 'Thundering Clouds' for the dark blue backdrop to her wonderful gallery, I too have a brown leather sofa against dark blue walls. Doesn't it look great!
So there we have it.......
I hope I've given you some help if you were looking at going dark blue in your home and perhaps given you some inspiration if you'd never considered it!