Decorating With Cobalt Blue
Monday, February 25th, 2008You love the look of individual cobalt glass pieces. You are in love with a cobalt vase. You want cobalt dishes for your kitchen. But how do you bring it all together in your interior design scheme?
We’re extremely fortunate in this modern and contemporary era not to be limited to specific colors.
Remember the 1970’s? Harvest gold, avocado, and poppy pop into mind. Remember the 1950’s (or saw enough in movies to have an idea)? Pink and turquoise should come to mind there. In the 80’s we had Williamsburg blue and raspberry sherbet, which flowed into southwestern decor.
Today, we’ve learned about the problems of putting pink ceramic tile lined with black into a bathroom. We shy away from appliances unless they are in a neutral color. We buy big ticket items in shades of brown and beige or safe colors like blue.
If we have to put today’s look in interiors a sweeping category, we would probably have to say that it is neutral: white, cream, taupe, and browns. What a perfect backdrop for our cobalt pieces!
Cobalt is a strong color that can be overwhelming if used in excess. Unless you are going for the bold statement, you’ll probably not be painting your walls cobalt (though mine are just a few shades lighter, I admit).
Here are my favorite color schemes with cobalt:
- White and cobalt - clean, refreshing color coupled with an uncluttered design is so refreshing - a great combination for bedrooms and kitchens.
- Light yellow and white, with cobalt - this is a similar combination, but the cobalt is reserved as an accent and not the main decorating color.
- Medium blue and white with pink and cobalt accents - okay, I admit that this was my bedroom for many years. This color combination lends itself to a charming countryside design with handmade white lace, fancy cobalt pieces, collectible glassware, and pink flowers.
- Neutrals with cobalt - lots of wood, black, brown, cream, and lots of cobalt accents - works well for dens, offices, living areas, and lofts.
You can easily see how my tastes run. But there are other worthy cobalt color schemes.
You can use a color scheme generator to get other combinations. The trouble with those is you usually have to know the code for cobalt blue to even get started.
Either the generator will require the red-green-blue code (try 29, 0, 176) or the hue-saturation-light code (try 176, 255, 88) or the html code or hex number (try #1D00B0).
Here are come scheme generators to try out:
You don’t have to change your whole decor to add a few cobalt pieces to your home. A decorative bowl on a table by the door can stand alone and be absolutely gorgeous. A cobalt vase can add depth to your display of glass. And your favorite glass coffee mug just might be made of cobalt glass!
Laurie
