Designers sing the praises of modern blues

Some things never change. The sky? Still up there, still blue. The color most kids reach for in the Crayola box? One shade or another of blue (six of the crayon-maker’s top 10 shades are blue).

Sure, you can get all wound up about Greenery, Holly Berry red or Sulphur (from Pantone’s recent color forecasts), but when the paintbrush hits the living room wall, odds are the color’s going to be a variation on a blue, blue theme.

It’s easy to see why blue can be a victim of its own popularity. As much as blue-and-white ginger jars are an all-time classic, or crisp, nautical blue and white feels natural in a beach house, those can also feel like safe (boring?) choices in a world where originality is prized.

But interior designer Melissa Benham, a principal at Chicago’s Studio Gild, says that’s no reason to shy away. “I’m always drawn to watery blues. Blue has always been my favorite color,” she says with a shrug.

Blue is universally loved, Benham says, with good reason. “I think it works in all rooms. I think when you have stronger light, the colors are going to pop more, so maybe the blues will be more muted. But in a darker space, navy is good; imagine a dark moody den, maybe in a glossy paint with reflection so you can bring in your own light.”

Trends often include a hit of blue too. Denim, a fashion stalwart that’s enjoying another turn on the runways, is also showing up in new furniture and paint collections. “There is a lot of denim happening right now,” Benham says. “And that’s a good example of blue as a neutral: Jeans are not perceived as being a color; everybody wears their jeans with everything.”

Benham often draws on clients’ wardrobes to help find interior color schemes that fit them as well as their favorite jeans. In a recent project by Chicago’s lakefront, she chose a bluebased palette for an executive couple exchanging suburbs for city, inspired in part by the wife’s eye color and in part by the brilliant expanse of Lake Michigan that dominates the view. The trick? Urbanizing the ubiquitous color scheme to create a look that’s modern and clean, rather than traditional. Here’s how she did it:

Say “lake-inspired” and some people will trip over themselves trying to grab the first “Gone Fishin’ ” sign they see. Skip those theme-park tendencies, Benham says. “It doesn’t have to be overly theme-y.” Though the colors in the apartment were lake-inspired, there’s nothing that actively screams “lake house.”

To give your blues a modern edge, look beyond the expected royal blue and white combos. “We tried to push it more into navys and turquoises, so it has a little more depth, a little more modern, graphic appeal. Blue-and-white palettes can be very preppy, but we went for something a little bit more downtown modern,” Benham says.

Navy can offer the same graphic accent in interiors as black, but it’s a more intriguing choice. Though Benham often sticks to neutrals for large upholstered pieces, she made an exception for a navy chair here. “It functions almost as a neutral,” she says. “We were hoping the navy would be classic enough to have staying power.” To temper a familiar color scheme, you’ll want to avoid too much repetition. “It can’t be the entire house in blue,” the designer says. “It’s nice to have a piece of artwork or something through the house to tie it in, but we did try to have

Look closely at Benham’s rooms and you can see that the basic building blocks — large upholstery and other major furniture — stick to neutrals and natural materials to keep the clients’ options open. Changing just a few elements to different colors gives the entire space a fresh look. “You can change many of the accessories very easily,” she says, “so you can tone down the blue in the future if it’s not what you want.”