Blue paint colours are bold and beautiful

Blue is a great colour choice for a beachside home, drawing inspiration from the sea and wide open sky. But used as an accent colour, blue paint can also provide a stylish twist to urban interiors too.

Don't think that singing the blues is all that blue is good for. Evocative of sun-drenched summers, sparkling seas and fields of cornflowers, blue can bring a sparkle to any home when cleverly used.

According to Tully Hatswell from Windsor Paint Spot, blue is very big right now for people looking to give their homes a more Mediterranean feel, particularly combining deep blues and crisp whites.

"People don't tend to go for the really pale blues, as they may as well choose off-white, but the stronger blues are popular," says Tully. "There is a Wattyl blue-coloured paint called 'Seashell Lagoon', which is very fresh and clean and works particularly well in beachside houses."

Although Tully says that blue is not as common in urban homes and not many people use it over broad areas, it is quite popular for trims and accents. "Used as a highlight, blue can work really well to give a room a bit of character," he says.

Another blue paint that Tully says is consistently favoured is 'Waterway' by Dulux. "This is a strong, deep blue that has a lot of character for interior spaces," he says. "For exteriors, the 'Royal Blue' is a very traditional, strong colour that is pretty well known."

But to really get the colour you want, Tully suggests bringing in a sample to have it colour matched. "A lot of people bring in something they want matched, like a beach towel with a particular blue that matches a colour theme they already have in the home," he says. "They use this as a reference point to get exactly what they want for their trims or their walls."

Even without colour matching, Tully says there should be no problem finding the right hue of blue, as there is a wide selection of blue paints on the market. "There's so much to choose from, and so many brands to draw from, that it is quite likely that the colour you want is already available," he says.

If you're thinking of incorporating the fresh, clean look of blue paint in your home, find a paint specialist in your area: