Is Blue Your Favorite Color? How to Use it in Your Home's Decor

No wonder blue is the most perennially popular home decor color! If blue is your favorite color, you are in the majority. Blue is the most universally preferred of all colors, and not without good reason!

The color of sea and sky, blues can be tranquil and soothing or deep and cool, sophisticated or casual, peaceful or passionate. Across the planet, and in the vast majority of cultures, blue is the most popular color for home decorating. Transcending trends and styles, blue is wide-ranging, versatile, and timeless.

Rooms for Blues

Blue is frequently used in offices because it increases productivity. It is also said to decrease appetite and so it is not recommended for restaurants and dining rooms - unless you are dieting!

Lighter shades of blue and aqua are especially popular in home decor today as a sophisticated complement to rich chocolate and mocha browns.

Blue in all its guises has been a prized color in home decor for thousands of years, in part because of its rarity in nature (very few flowers and fruits are blue) and in part because of its chameleon-like versatility. Blues can be nautical or naughty, sophisticated (as in urban chic) or casual (as in shabby country chic), formal, cutting-edge contemporary, or exotic.

Psychologists Say You Have These Personality Traits

The color blue symbolizes loyalty and trustworthiness (as in "true blue") as well as superiority (as in "blue ribbon" and "blue blood"). Color psychologists consider those who favor shades of blue to be sensitive, affectionate, intelligent, creative, responsible, independent, generous, and inspiring.

Blue has more meanings than any other color depending on the shade. Bright blue indicates cleanliness (and it makes whites look whiter and brighter), strength, dependability, and coolness. Dark blues convey authority, trust, dignity, and intelligence, as epitomized by the dark blue business suit and corporate logos (think "Big Blue" aka IBM, for example).

Lighter shades of blue are calming and philosophical while darker shades of blue can be melancholy, as in “blue mood” or moving and soulful – like “The Blues” in music. Blue can be icy cold and aloof or as warm, comfortable and friendly as your favorite pair of blue jeans.

Which Blue Are You?

Used with greens, blues create a cool watery color palette. Add a dash of red, orange, or yellow and your cool blue takes on the warmth of summer in the South of France with fields of sunflowers dancing under clear blue skies.

To warm up an all-blue color scheme, use deeper shades of blue with a touch of red or very deep indigo or navy blue. For a traditional, classic look as fresh today as it was centuries ago, contrast blues with whites. Add the sparkle of gold or silver for extra panache!

Whatever your style, from Antique, Asian, or Avant Garde to Victorian and Zen - there's a blue hue just right for you!

Although the shade and hue of blue may change over time, the popularity of blue in home decor has never waned.

From historic silks, damasks and velvets to contemporary microfibers, there's a blue for every period decorating style from Classical to Country, Primitive to Sophisticated, Traditional to Cutting Edge.

Reproduction Historic Fabrics from classic toiles to florals and stripes bring the flavor of France to home decor with an emphasis on bleu, Mais bien sur!

Blue is the most frequently used color for bedrooms. It is soothing and restful, calm and peaceful and conducive to a good night's sleep and awakening feeling refreshed in the morning.

Although universally the color most frequently named as a favorite is blue, and more than half of the world's national flags (and all but 4 of the 50 U.S. state flags) contain blue, there are some differences in the metaphorical meanings of blue across cultures.

We have already mentioned some U.S. specific "blues" as in music and moods. In European traditions, blue-blooded means aristocratic. In English, to feel blue means to feel sad or depressed, but in German, to be blue means to be intoxicated.

In Greece and Mideastern countries, blue is believed to ward off the "evil eye." In Korea, it is the color of mourning. In China, blue represents immortality.

In some religions, blue is associated with divinity. The Christian Madonna is usually cloaked in blue, and it is the skin color of the Egyptian god Amun and the Hindu deities Krishna, Rama, Shiva and Vishnu.

Those in the U.S. who adhere to the customary blue is for boys and pink is for girls may be interested to know that in Belgium, the opposite is true. Pink is for boys and blue is for girls. The Japanese also consider blue a feminine color.

Left to Right: A trio of KitchenAid Stand Mixers in 3 shades of blue, West Bend Slow Cooker, Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor, Keurig Elite Blue Single Cup Home Brewing System, Great Northern Popcorn Countertop Popcorn Popper, Oster Beehive Blender in metallic blue. (Photos not to scale). All available from Amazon.com

Shown above: Allure Home Creations Eve Shower Curtain, Garland Jazz Shaggy Washable Nylon Rug, MR Direct 627 Blue Sky Glass Vessel Sink, Blue Subway Mix Glass Mosaic Tile, Set of 4 Italian Collection 100% Egyptian Cotton Bath Towels, Trimmer Molded Wood Solid Toilet Seat, InterDesign 4-Piece Franklin Bath Collection Set, Diamond Shape Crystal Glass Cabinet Knob Cupboard Drawer Pulls. All from Amazon.com.

Supima cotton is woven from (ELS) Extra Long Staple cotton that is remarkably soft and smooth yet up to 50-Percent stronger and more durable than other cotton varieties.

Because of its fineness; more fibers can be spun into a yarn of a given count, creating a very thick, dense, durable and absorbent fabric that becomes softer after each wash.

Even though Supima cotton towels are promoted as the best quality towels on the market, the price tag does not reflect this considering they will last longer and provide more years of luxurious use.

Calcot's Cooperative of American Cotton Farmers has constructed the Grower's Collection 4-piece towel set from hand selected, 100-Percent U.S. grown cotton.

If you love blue in interior decor, you're sure to find a style of artwork to enhance your room. From soft to bold, modern to traditional, we've selected several pieces that are among our favorites. All are available in a wide range of formats, sizes, and prices, with optional mounting and framing for your convenience available at reasonable prices.

Claude Monet (1840 - 1952) profoundly influenced landscape painting with his impressionist style. The impressionists focused on capturing light, the changing effects of time, atmosphere, and season on color and light. This is a print of one of his much-loved Water Lilies series of paintings, accented by a simple black frame.

It is available from AllPosters.com in your choice of prints, sizes, shapes. Choose from a variety of mounting and framing options to suit your interior decor and your pocketbook.

"The Old Guitarist", by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was one of the most famous artworks from his Blue Period. It was painted when he was 20 years old. One of our favorites by the prolific artist and later co-founder of cubism.

Available at AllPosters.com as an unframed poster or in your choice of frames.

The pages below will provide advice and instructions for the best way to position, install hardware, and hang your artwork on the walls of any room in your home. They cover different types of walls and hangers for every situation and construction type, with resources and videos to help you do it yourself with ease and confidence.

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