LET US
INSPIRE YOU
August 30th
Interior Design
Is blue a good color for the interior?
Yes or no. It's not so easy. If we thought about this color and closed our eyes we would almost certainly all see the sky and the sea: it is absolutely normal given how powerful and familiar their vision is since we are little.
It goes without saying that, consequently, we associate blue with large spaces, with a dimension without borders, it is immense and quiet entities.
However, it doesn't take much for blue to reveal its other character, which is also the second character of the sky and the sea, that is, that of a world in storm under which there is the danger of getting lost or drowning.
In short, in the blue you can be calm and relaxed, but also castaways. Fortunately, very few tricks are enough (and perhaps the help of an expert in the most difficult decisions) to benefit from the most beautiful aspects of this color without any contraindications.
Where is it from?
Blue is an ancient color that has always been considered prestigious and precious in every culture existing on the planet.
Looking back in time, we see that the Maya were among the first civilizations to use it for paintings. For them, on a linguistic level, there was no difference between green and blue: they were the same color, the color of the forest and the sky that surrounded them and that could give them a comfortable or extremely hard life. And it was the color they attributed to the center of the universe.
The ancient Egyptians treated the blue pigment, difficult to obtain, to adorn the sacred places and the tombs of the pharaohs, giving it divine connotations.
Things have not changed more recently (so to speak) in our Middle Ages, where blue was made from lapis lazuli and was considered so precious and noble that it became the official color of the veil that wraps the Madonna in religious paintings.
But there are also incredibly famous examples of works and paintings that make blue a central element, precisely because of its great ability to convey powerful emotions.
What emotions does it induce??
According to the psychology of colors, blue has a relaxing, calming feel.
Helps slow heart rate and lower blood pressure. It does not do everything by itself, of course, but the presence of this color in the environment would help to achieve these results.
It also helps to combat anxiety and in general to achieve a calmer state of mind.
The lighter shades of blue, it is said, are more related to creativity, inspiration and at the same time relaxing the mind, while the darker ones are related to a more analytical type of intelligence, to a more attentive and pragmatic reflexivity.
In fact, says communication science, we can find blue in most of the logos of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and even political parties. Blue naturally communicates a sense of reliability and solidity.
Even fashion confirms it: a person dressed in light blue will be perceived as creative and sunny, while dark blue are many uniforms (including law enforcement) or male and female suits typical of more corporate environments.
So creativity, lightness, calm but also reliability and solidity.
As we said, the presence of this color must be designed with care.
How is it applied to interior design?
In interior design you can use blue to give the overall look a clearer, cleaner impression. A properly chosen blue can create both an atmosphere of study and concentration and one of escape and relaxation.
In lighter shades, like almost all light colors, it will help make spaces appear more airy and wider, smoothing shadows and corners. Blue can also balance a room that is too exposed to the sun and would otherwise appear too bright and warm.
A studio could benefit from a darker shade of blue or an alternation of dark and light blues, in order to encourage concentration without communicating stress and without forgetting creativity.
A bedroom with a dominance of light blues can promote peaceful sleep and put us in a good mood when in the morning, under the rays of the sun, it brings to mind visions that we could almost define as a holidaymaker.
In the kitchen, blue can be inserted either through the use of tiles or furnishing elements, or through plates or utensils. In any case, its presence seems to have positive elements also on our habits, as the reduction of our stress induces a reduction in that unhealthy appetite which is actually a desire for gratification. Eating on a blue plate will certainly not make us lose weight, but this color could be a little more weapon in our favor in that battle too.
In any circumstance, if you want to make use of darker and fuller shades of blue, you need to pay a lot of attention to how the room is made and its lighting. Blue, let's remember, is a cold color and reflects the light it receives by changing its temperature. A room that starts out dark and dimly lit may only bring out the darker and more gloomy character of blue, with a result we will probably want to change in the long run.
Furthermore, let's not forget that blue has great potential also and above all when combined with other colors. Blue and white, as we said, is a classic of bathrooms and of many kitchens (and of many magnificent Greek scenarios) that communicates freshness and serenity to us.
But blue can also be combined with colors such as green, to obtain an almost naturalistic, creative and stimulating appeal. Or with shades of yellow and orange to give a touch of dynamic eclecticism.
Combined with gold, it becomes a symbol of extreme prestige. The kings of the past combined blue and gold, it is no coincidence that the nobles were called blue blood. Sure, it's an extreme solution for certain interiors, but not without charm or tradition. Far from it.
