In Living Color: 5 Modern Ways to Decorate Your Home With Blue

Having the blues isn’t always a bad thing. Just look at these awesome interiors. From Picasso’s Blue Period and Yves Klein’s invention of International Klein Blue to the modern-day fascination with indigo-dyed shibori fabrics and a revived appreciation for Chinese ginger jars, blue has proven to be a classic color that will never go out of style. Here are 21 fresh ways to use varying shades of blue in your own home, whether you decide to use it in the furnishings, walls, fabrics or accessories. (Did I mention the floors? Really! Read on.)

Above: Interiors stylist and blogger Vicki Sleet counts color, print and pattern play as major inspirations for her home. And you can see that especially in her bedroom, from the peacock blue corduroy headboard and coordinating bedside tables that were repainted in a Caribbean Sea blue, to the navy Graham & Brown damask wallpaper and the chair that was recovered in a Suzani textile from Lula Fabrics.

This is a room I want to hang out in. It’s the London apartment of interiors blogger Katy Orme, and it just looks so incredibly comfy, like I could plop down on either sofa and take a dream-filled nap. That’s partly because the sofas look soft and plush and worn-in, but it’s also because the palette itself is dreamy. Even though the velvet love seat grabs your attention with its pop of teal, the fact that it’s a dusty velvet keeps it soft like the rest of the room. And the light blue chair and navy stripe are quiet complements.

The blue on blue tones in this colorful and contemporary London flat make everything blend seamlessly together. The moody blue hue lets smaller accent pieces and books stand out.

An eye-catching sofa in blue can make a big statement, like in this Charleston home. Then, tie the palette together by choosing art and decor pieces in similar shades.

Give your kitchen cabinetry a splash of color, like in this New Orleans cottage. The homeowners used simple wood knobs and painted them the color of their kitchen cabinetry. It’s an easy way to save money on hardware without sacrificing style.