A Patriotic Color Scheme Circa 2011

Lucianna Samu

It's official--the glorious blue bedroom is complete and I think General George Washington himself would approve.  I began the transformation of this room with an uncharacteristic yearning for the color blue, proving once again that when it comes to color conundrums following a gut instinct is a wise decision.  Lifting my personal embargo on blue walls in deference to my Revolutionary War era blue and gold color palette ultimately led me to Deep Ocean 2058-30. Ta-da!

photographs by Mark Samu

This particular blue is a very complex jewel-toned hue, rich in vibrant green undertones.  Here in the soft Northeastern daylight, Deep Ocean appears almost, but not exactly, turquoise.  By night the bluer range is lifted by the yellow of incandescent lighting.  While technically a dark color (it's LRV is 12.6), the room feels breezy and bright, and best of all it always appears crispy clean.

The high ceiling, painted Blue Veil 875, is just a whisper of blue.  Painting hard to reach high ceilings a soft shade of blue will ensure they remain looking clean and fresh for a very long while: a good trick if you're not much for the extension pole!

The crisp white windows, and long expanse of primed and painted (and sanded!) white bookcase, form a collaborative relief of seemingly crystal clear white, which leaves me to imagine white caps dancing across the moody ocean blue.  I've managed to increase the contrast, by choosing Ivory White 925, a white absent of yellow, blue or green influences.

The sunburst mirror adds just enough shine and glitz--the definitive tried and true choice for accessories when you're accentuating mysterious and moody jewel-tone color.

Because the high contrast is the origin of that all-important neat and clean quality, the final stroke of (white) brilliance is the pure white painted chairs.

Following up on Jane Dagmi's lovely post last week, Finding the Best Blues and Purples, my final white accessory was sourced from the hydrangea patch.  Next time, we can talk about how to paint any old chairs to look like new, in any color your instincts or your hydrangea patch, is inspiring you to try.

Stay colorful!
Lu


Links

Lu's blog 

Deep Ocean 2058-30

Blue Veil 875

Ivory White 925

Jane's post Finding the Best Blues and Purples

Comments

[Joe (mad about design furniture) Cooper]

These colours look amazing! Nice room!!

Best regards,
Joe
http://www.designandinterior.com

[Kate]

Talking about patriotic colors, the current issue of colorA2Z has an interesting article on how the colors in the Flag have gotten brighter over the years. It's well worth a look. Check it out here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-a2z/id431562178?mt=8

[Magg]

I usually do not like blue color in the room, however your choice is nice. Surprisingly room looks fresh.
Great work.

[Limestone Tile]

Proper choose of color on your house especially in interior design, you should always pick a good color combination to looks attractive. Anyway I like the blue wall color on this bedroom, its look cool. White and Green are also a good option for the color of your wall.

[Scott Courtenay-Smith]

Amazing room! Tell us more about that mirror inside a mirror-- did you construct that yourself? (Seems like the type of thing you would do).

[Lucianna Samu]

Thanks Kathie!

[Lucianna Samu]

Thanks Dee! I'm happy I lifted my personal embargo on blue.

[Lucianna Samu]

Marcia, yes you can never have enough books. Glad you enjoyed the story and photos.

[Kathie]

What a lovely retreat.

[Dee]

What a deep beautiful color. I love the windows and fireplace too!

[marcia greene]

Lovely Lu - especially love the book cases - we never have enough of them. That, or stop collecting books. Thanks for the good read and great pics from the picture guy.