Harry Murray
Whether you want to add a few bursts of it to freshen up a neutral palette, create a relaxed atmosphere with shades of baby blue, or energize a living room with electric blue and similar shades, this color can do wonders in any home. If you’re a fan of rich, jewel-tone shades, golden yellow is one that looks great with blue. Try adding bold blue and golden-yellow accents to a largely white room for a pop of energetic color! And soft blue walls with cool white trim can be a great way to add a quiet, relaxed atmosphere in a bedroom. If you want a rustic, Southwest-inspired aesthetic, try a palette of warm terra-cotta and cool blue. For a striking contrast, pair midnight-blue walls with pieces of terra-cotta pottery placed throughout the room.
Or for a homey feel, opt for terra-cotta walls with soft blue rugs or furniture. Luckily, both of these shades can be found in abundance in the furniture world, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to experiment with this exciting combo.
If you want to try just a touch of this palette, add silver hanging lamps to a room with a blue or mostly-blue wall or ceiling.
Another understated way to harness this combination is to hang photos or art pieces in silver frames on blue walls.
For a modern and memorable bathroom, combine a steel sink and bathtub with blue tiled walls. Beige and blue is a classic pairing, and this palette evokes the image of the seashore, especially when you mix in some white.
Try combining warm beige couches and chairs with sky blue and white pillows and rugs. If you want to harness the power of complementary colors in your project, you can also combine warm beige with its complement, light steel blue. Light steel blue walls will go nicely with warm beige furniture or accents.
Red and blue is a great pairing, but if you’re like many people, you’d rather avoid having your home look like something out of a Fourth of July parade. But cranberry red has a subdued appeal that makes it a great choice for any type of decor. Even something as simple as adding one of these rugs to a room with blue couches can do wonders.
Or if you want something more subtle, go for an eclectic mix of cranberry red and blue vases and/or bowls in a largely neutral space. And just like most color combinations on the list, you can create a variety of moods with this one depending on the exact shades you use. For an airy, coastal feel, combine sherbet orange with pastel blue.
Either one makes a great wall color, and you can even incorporate blue and orange patterned rugs or throws for some high-energy contrast. If you want to create a room whose color scheme is muted but not quite neutral, olive green and navy blue is an excellent choice. Cooler, grayish olive greens are good for color schemes closer to neutral.
If you’re looking for a dignified yet non-traditional combination with blue, violet is a great color to choose. And one of the best ways to use this combination is to incorporate a variety of shades ranging from blue to blue-violet. In a mostly-neutral palette, you can add floral or vine-printed wallpaper in a room with strategically-placed blue accents.
A gold accent on an otherwise-bare blue wall creates a memorable focal point in any room! But if you want to be subtle, simply add gold hardware on a blue dresser or end table. If you’re going for a calming and classic palette, a combination of blue and chocolate brown just might be the answer.
Try a blue and white patterned rug in a room with chocolate brown leather furniture. Wood with a dark, chocolate stain forms a beautiful pairing with any shade of blue. Mauve is a muted purplish color perfect for those who like the blue and violet combination but want something a bit calmer.
But if you want an eye-popping contrast, cerulean or sky blue can also work in tandem to create a room with balanced energy.
Its grayish, almost silvery undertone means it’s a great option for pairing with cool colors. But if you want an unusual and cheerful look for the room you’re designing, tangerine and blue make a great pairing.
An orange accent wall plus a navy and white striped rug is a great example. Royal blue and tangerine pillows add just enough energy to a room with pale gray couches and chairs.
Alternatively, for a cool contrast, place the mustard couch in front of a deep blue accent wall. Even a simple mustard-yellow lampshade or two can add some subtle warm energy to a room with a lot of blue. If you want to try something a little different, take a room with light wood floor and paint the walls burgundy. Cooler shades of beige will create a relaxed, calming energy in any room.
Or in a largely blue room, add seagrass rugs or similar beige accessories for a grounding influence. Alternatively, you can create a gradient effect by combining darker brown with a beige and blue palette. Try incorporating a seafoam green bedspread into a room with baby blue walls. One nice yet subtle example is including champagne-framed mirrors or pictures in a room with blue and white patterned wallpaper. If you prefer largely-neutral palettes, you can sprinkle in a few blue accents when you have a room with champagne furniture and walls. This is also a combination that works well in bathrooms: try soft blue walls (or tile floors) with champagne-colored hardware.
If you’re creating a room with high-energy, beachy feel, this combination is a great choice. And if you like patterns, you can often find coral and light blue blankets, rugs, or shower curtains.
If you find this combination to be a little too high-energy, you can create a room with a mostly navy and white palette and include some coral and light blue accents. Alternatively, navy blue’s near-neutral quality makes it a good choice if you want emerald to be the focal point of a room.
Emerald is also a powerful enough color that it can do a lot for a room, even when incorporated as an accent. For instance, a small emerald table at the end of a mostly-neutral hallway can accomplish a lot!
Charcoal gray is another great example of a bold color with blue undertones. It’s a great color for a couch or even a bedspread, and it can really ground a room that is mostly pale blue. But if you’re looking for a non-traditional, high-energy color scheme, try combining lime green with blue! For a lighter look, even a few lavender accents will add some character to a soft blue room.
One good example is adding soft, sheer lavender curtains to a room with gray walls. To really capitalize on mint’s retro aesthetic, include bronze hardware on cabinets, dressers, etc.
Whether you choose ornate wall hangings or just opt for bronze hardware, this is a great way to make any room classy without becoming garish. Don’t feel limited to paint and furniture when choosing sand-colored elements for a room, either.
Jute rugs, pale wood flooring, wicker furniture, sprays of wheat, etc.
Adding a little burnt orange is a great quick fix if you feel like a mostly-blue room has become too cold and unwelcoming. Throw pillows or wall hangings that are mostly burnt orange are easy and inexpensive options for evening out a room. Navy or slate blues are also a way to use this combination while still maintaining a relatively calm atmosphere.
Burnt orange walls and dark blue appliances can create the perfect balance of creative energy and grounded calm in a kitchen. If you prefer a look of quiet elegance in a room, cool grays and various shades of blue go quite well with one another. Depending on the darkness of the blue and gray shades you use, you may want to include some white to balance things out a bit.
If you want to keep the focus on the neutrals, try combining a soft, cool gray couch with a blue and white patterned rug. With this look, try very pale blue or gray walls to prevent the room from looking overly sterile. It’s an intense palette that isn’t for everyone, but if you want a modern edge and plenty of energy, it’s a great choice.
Since hot pink is such a high-energy color, it’s a great choice for living rooms. If you like patterned wallpaper, a turquoise and white accent wall can be a great way to add some character to a room.
When using this lively color, it’s a good idea to temper its energy with cooler blues.
If you can’t quite make up your mind between gray and brown, taupe is a great color choice.
If you choose this option, some blue lamps, pillows, or other accents are enough to add some visual interest and character. Like orange, peach can be incorporated into design using a range of different saturations depending on your intended effect.
Soft shades of peach and blue also work well alongside white to create a pleasant energy. If you just want a few accents of this color, try finding medium blue and peridot patterned pillows or blankets. Since wood flooring takes up a good bit of space in any room, you may want to be careful to not overdo the dark blue. It makes a great color for a breakfast nook or sunroom, and it’s a nice lightening touch in a room with navy furniture.
For a dining room, try pastel yellow walls with a blue table runner. Try a deep navy or slate blue rug in a room with green velour couches and chairs.
Alternatively, light pink, peach, or cream pillows and throws can be a great way to lighten up this look. Marigold is a beautiful, unusual color that is roughly a combination of burnt orange and gold. We mentioned earlier that cool, crisp whites form a lovely contrast with blue.
As a bonus, warm whites make a room look light without looking overly cold or sterile. If you prefer a higher contrast, this soft color also looks very nice in a room with darker, cool blue walls. Try cornflower-blue couches with a few pink vases, bowls, or accent pillows in a living room.
Alternatively, pink and blue paisley wallpaper can help you create a beautifully unique accent wall. Black and blue might sound like a strange, bruise-like, and overly dark combination. In a kitchen, try black tile flooring with a deep blue backsplash and white cabinets and countertops.
Or for an old-school look in a moody room, you can even include black-and-blue patterned brocade curtains. You can also go subtle by combining a navy couch with cream-colored walls decorated with black-framed photos or art pieces. Try a blue and white rug and a few largely-red wall hangings in a largely-white room to add a dynamic burst of color.
Last on the list is a gentle and unique color for those who like pink but would prefer something a little closer to being neutral. Ash blue walls with gray furniture and a dusty rose rug can add some character to a mostly-neutral room without disrupting the color scheme too much. If you aren’t quite sure about using it, you can even add a blue vase with dusty-pink actual roses to try out the combination. And if you’re ready to commit, pale dusty rose is a great wall color, too.
If you’re considering using the color blue in your next design project, we hope you’ve found some new and unique ideas to try. Whether you’re creating a classic palette with navy and white or trying a unique pairing like blue and hot pink, you can’t go wrong with this calming color.
