About the colour BLUE
Blue regularly tops popularity charts thanks to its perceived calming, peaceful qualities, and its appeal goes back centuries - in the Renaissance, for example, the deep blue pigment derived from the mineral lapis lazuli was so prizes that it was used to piant the sacred robes of the Madonna.
You can create a relaxed, beachy feel with pale aquamarines (perfect set against sandy beiges); contrast blocks of brilliant cobalt with white walls or go for a jewel-box feel by saturating a space in teal, petrol and turquoise shades.
Not all blues are restful: the brighter the tone, the more invigorating the effect.
"To me, blue is the colour of distance and expansion, and makes me think of the sea and the sky - immediately happy thoughts. In an interior it has the effect of increasing the sense of spaciousness, but it really needs to be used in areaswhere the natural light is good, otherwise it can be rather clinical."
- Sir Terence Conran, designer -
"Blue is found in hte natural world, so anytime you put a colour against it, it's complementary."
