This week’s colour is that of trust, clarity, and statistically the favourite colour of the most people in the world. Today, we are focusing on the colour blue, and specifically, for the month that is upon us, the September birthstone of Sapphire.

Sapphire & The Blue Family

Blue is psychologically a colour that can mean many different things. As the opposite of red and not commonly seen within foods, this hue lends itself to be unappetizing. However, it is also commonly associated with trust and it is the colour of a magnitude of different corporations and many country’s flags. Emotions and mental implications aside, blue can be a colour perfectly executed within interior design, whether it be in paint or furniture.

Tips

Blue can be calm, or bold, or sophisticated. It is all about how it is played off within a space. Here are some tips on how to incorporate sapphire and blue into your own design endeavors!

• for a more sophisticated look within a space, pair navy blues with woodsy, rich brown shades. This creates a similar royalty vibe to more purple tones, without becoming overpowering and retaining the peacefulness of its cooler nature.
• Blues pair amazingly with other cool tones, specifically cool grays. Try balancing the two together for a modern take on blue.
• Blues tend to work best when balanced with other colours of a similar brightness. If using bright blues, try using bright yellow and white to give the room a fun colourful look. Pair deeper blues with more aged tones, such as burnt ambers and mustards. Pair grey-blues with other muted hues, such as muted red.

Paint Options

At KLD we use Fleetwood Paints for a majority of our work. Here is a selection of our favourite sapphire-blue inspired shades!

We’ve got a major case of the blues in KLD offices this week. We have been taking inspiration from all things blue, pastels to aqua tones, rich royals to vibrant cobalts and dark and moody navy’s, and we love them all!

The colour blue reduces stress providing a calm environment to be in, it is naturally occurring in nature with bright blue skies and the rich tones of the ocean. When bringing blue into your interior think rich upholstery, pops of colour in artwork and cushions or introduce it in your joinery.

Read our psychology of colour blog for more on the colour blue!

Follow Roisin Lafferty’s board Blues on Pinterest.

The colour blue is the colour of trust and responsibility. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn’t like to make a fuss or draw attention. From a colour psychology perspective, blue is reliable and responsible. This colour exhibits an inner security and confidence. This is a colour that seeks peace and tranquillity above everything else, promoting both physical and mental relaxation. It reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation and order, we certainly feel a sense of calm if we lie on our backs and look into a bright blue cloudless sky. The paler the blue the more freedom we feel. Blue is the colour of the spirit and devotion.

Our favourite Blue DULUX range:

Dulux Amazon Beat 3 (10BB30/203), Dulux Royal Regatta 6 (10BB50/177), Dulux Venetian Crystal 1 (10BB07/150)

Blue is conservative and the most universally liked colour of all,  it is non-threatening and that’s the reason why it has such a wide range of use. Variations of the colour blue can be used for different purposes.

Pale blue as Dulux Royal Regatta 6 inspires creativity and the freedom. Dulux Amazon Beat 3 is one of the calmest colours that inspires selfless love and fidelity. We would recommend using paler blues as wall colours or wall cladding due it their calming characteristics and more vibrant shades on joinery, home décor or on a statement piece of furniture. Dark blue similar to Dulux Venetian Crystal 1 or Royal Regatta 1 is a serious masculine colour representing knowledge, power, and integrity, and is used quite often in the corporate world. In a home environment we would recommend using it as upholstery for your sofa especially when aiming for more luxurious look, on your carpet or any sort of soft furnishings in the house.