trendey

| photo: pia ulin |

I never get tired of blue. It’s my favourite colour. It is a creative colour (great for home office/study), a soothing colour (great for bedroom); an easily matched, versatile, cold colour. I picked these three lovely blue rooms for today’s colour inspiration.

|1st and 3rd pic: House Beautiful, middle: Shoot Factory |

We continue the Grandmother-Is-A-Decor-Hero track with this pic from the home of Underbaraclara‘s grandmother. This colour explosion of a house was decorated in times when decor-anxiety did not exist. Interior magazines had not seen the light, let alone interior blogs, and people did not use to put grades on what is ugly and what is nice. Furnished and decorated from the owner’s head and heart. Just as it should be.

Underbaraclara herself (yes, that is her name, Wonderful Clara, highly appropriate!) holds Grandmother as a role model in her own house decorating. Below is a fine example. She has sewn a curtain out of kitchen towels – easy and amazingly nice and summery in an old house or a cottage. And perhaps it is Grandmother herself who has weaved the fine rag rugs that adorn the floors.

By interior stylist Camilla Krishnaswamy.

I have to share with you this talented Canadian photographer I just found @Etsy browsing for wall art. Her name is Amy Victoria Wakefield and her Etsy-shop is filled with the most beautiful, affordable, prints. Just a few examples:

The sea has the most beautiful shades of blue. And nature knows how to match colours. Nature and sea are wild and free. Ideal starting points for home decor!

| Pic right: Living etc |

Petroleum is a naturally occurring beneath the earth’s surface. The treasure chest of our times. The petroleum blue hue, ranging from the colour of the deepest sea to the look of a rainy summer sky, is always hot but from time to time it rises and shines a bit extra. Like it’s doing this season.

Louis Paulsen AJ table lamp in the colour petroleum….

…and below, a wall painted in a light petroleum hue [Sköna Hem]:

These photos above were taken almost exactly a year ago, in Northern Sweden. (Nowadays, living in Stockholm, most photos depict streets and buildings). EARLY SPRING. Counterparted below with room inspiration [from house to home]

Today, the Danish super-brand DAY (Day Birger et Mikkelsen) released press photos of their Spring 2010 home collection. The early photos look very promising! It feels healthy, fresh and natural: evocative of the sea and beaches, nature, forest…

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There is no doubt the trendiest colour 2010 is blue. Blue is simply the new black! Here’s some inspirational photos, first from the London home of the excellent interior designer Abigail Ahern.

|photo: Mads Mogensen for Sköna hem|

It is easy to spot that these chosen gray-blue hues have many matching-options. Other blues, beige/light brown,- white, copper, wood…it makes an elegant and friendly look.

|photo: Mads Mogensen for Sköna hem|

…and not least, a great combination with attention-grabbing red and yellow (complementary colour of blue) details:

|left photo: Mads Mogensen for Sköna hem, right photo: ATELIER Abigail Ahern|

The book on international colour trends 2010 pointed out a variety of shades of blue along with the light airy Colour of the Year 2010. From airy and optimistic – lifting the spirit and lighting the darkness – to soulful teals and turquoises and rich, clear ultramarines. Personally I am particularly fond of spiritual and creative blue in a home office/study room, but blue is a colour that fits any room. Below are two dining room-examples: Pale blue crispy walls with white and crystal…a modern quirky look. And white furniture and accessories against a pale blue-greenish background and rustic floorboards.

|photos: HouseToHome|

Calming blue is of course great for bedrooms. Though, the shade and decor does not need to be sleepy. Below, a french country style bedroom with pink roses and turquoise details, – and a strong lively shade of blue together with green and gold in a Spanish inspired sunny bedroom.

|photos: HouseToHome|

I just had the pleasure to echo that one shade of my favourite colour blue was selected Colour of the Year 2010! I’m in the middle of choosing a blue hue to paint the walls in my new guest and study, so the award and inspirational colours came very handy. I was discussing it here; I think blue stimulates creativity and bring calm and serenity – especially the ocean or sky hues.

The book on international colour trends 2010 shows many shades of blue along with the selected light airy one. In four of the five trend theme colour palettes there are blue hues. The book points out which direction the trend colours are moving and as for the blue hues, they are airy and optimistic – to lift the spirit and light the darkness. There are soulful teals and turquoises – sophisticated serene, subtle and understated shades – suggesting deepest space; a place of mystery, imagination and atmosphere. And, there are rich, clear ultramarines that speak of both the past and the future.

I’m looking for paint – a blue as blue as the sky or sea – and at Fired Earth I found some great hues. They are actually very 2010. The selection is amazing. From the look of the colour palette: I hereby appoint Fired Earth Paint Supplier of the Year 2010! :)

BUT, in-real-life, appearance was deceiving. There are only two light ‘Fired earth blues’ that are actually blue: Welkin Blue ( a great hue though it’s almost baby blue) and Zenith Blue – a dusky greyish blue. The rest of the light seemly blues colours are in fact greenish. Paint hunt goes on! Any advise someone?

I was just selecting a blue paint for my guest and study, when I read that a shade of blue has been honoured the title colour of the year 2010. Each year Akzo Nobel (before merger: ICI Paints) draw together an international group of creative experts in the field of design, architecture and fashion – and their ideas about how trends and colours are developing are presented a year ahead in Colour Futures. I will get back to the overriding message and trend themes they have selected for 2010 now focusing on the Colour of the Year. This is the colour that best represents the prevailing mood and fashion of the time. I love it!

The Colour of the Year is an airy and optimistic blue that symbolises infinite horizons, new beginnings, renewed energy and a positive dynamic. This clear, transparent shade encapsulates a sense of purity and goodness – a hopeful and chemical free colour full of possibility. It puts over an image of vast skies, breezy ozone freshness and the energy and essentiality of water. Given these associations plus the fact that it is a receding colour it will always create a sense of space.

Blue, in colour psychology terms, is the colour associated with sky and sea. Airy light blues are recognised as being refreshing, soothing and liberating. They are good in helping to combat mental strain and stress, physical tiredness and feelings of exhaustion whilst at the same time being re-energising and encouraging fresh starts. They are also thought to enhance powers of communication which can help to promote feelings of confidence. A balance of the spiritual and the intellectual is represented by the allusion to air, sky and water… the freedom of the spirit married to the rationality of the mind; the vision of the artist to the knowledge of the scientist.

Both in interior and exterior settings this blue has an important role to play. It complements perfectly the contemporary materials and modern neutrality of glass, steel and concrete, but also works with stronger and more traditional interior shades such as crimson, burgundy, plum, teal, pewter and gold. This colour speaks of hope and clarity – a pure, clean and unpolluted direction for the future of our planet; a chance to reclaim possibility with renewed vigour and energy : the clear new horizon of tomorrow.