Blue is a colour that is often related to a sense of calm. It’s also considered royal, tranquil, and serene. Therefore, it’s quite a popular hue to be used in interior designs - especially in accent pieces like throw cushions and pillows.
The colour blue has a certain visual hook - it’s demanding, it’s grounding, it’s absolutely refined and certainly hooks the eye with its tempered depth and stability. These are all reasons why it has become such a popular colour for cushions. Besides, who doesn’t like the shade of the sky and the ocean? That said, it can be challenging to style blue cushions, so here’s a comprehensive guide that will help you make the most of your imagination and ideas. Let’s take a look.
Blue is a universally appreciated colour and it goes well with almost all popular interior design styles. Here are the most popular ones:
Blue cushions are a static interior design fixture and they’re best articulated in popular shades. Here are the ones that most homeowners find unique and interesting:
While blue cushions are perfectly amazing on their own, you can mix and match them with various other hues to create enchanting combinations to accentuate your interior designs. Here are some popular hues that go well with blue cushions:
Classic blue and whites: Blue cushions with hints of white are always a classic. This universally appreciated combination is guaranteed to work well, no matter where or how it’s styled.
Mixing shades of blue: Each shade of blue varies in hues and tints, and they can be combined in dark and light shades to create a cushion combo that feels very dynamic and interesting.
Blue with a pop of pink: If you’re a fan of high contrast, then blue cushions with pops of bright, magenta pink will certainly appeal to you. It’s a bold choice that never fails to captivate the eye and feels very eclectic.
Blue and green: Although both blue and green lie on the cool side of the spectrum, they can be combined to deliver a nice, calming cushion combination.
Here are our 10 favourite ways to style Blue Cushions beautifully for your home.
Richer shades of blue like royal, teal, and navy can be articulated in solid and floral cushion patterns to deliver a charismatic contemporary look. The trick here is to style the solid cushions in the back and use the richly printed florals in the front. This will result in a dynamic setting that will certainly please the eye.
Pro tip: This blue cushion styling tip works wonders in casual interior design themes like boho chic, shabby chic, eclectic and contemporary (especially if you offset them with rattan and bamboo furniture along with macrame plant hangers and rustic light fixtures).
Pro tip 2: This cushion combo also looks the best when styled against a neutral backdrop of grey or white or cream. This is because these colors enhance the boldness of the blue two-fold.
Blue cushions that lean on the lighter shades (Sky Blue, Sea Mist, and Duck Egg) are perfect for styling against the bed headboards. With these, you should always put solid ones in the background and complement them with a mixture of single-stripe and floral cushions in the foreground.
Pro tip: The shades of blue cushions in the front should always be lighter than the ones in the back. This will help you make things more visually interesting.
Blue and white are two colours that complement each other perfectly. So, if you’re thinking about using this combination to accentuate your furniture, then checkered and floral blue cushions with white designs will look truly wonderful. If you’re leaning for understated elegance, then choose lighter shades of blue (i.e. sky blue or Duck Egg Blue) and offset them with furniture with light coloured upholstery for the best effect.
Navy blue cushions are very charismatic, but if you’re styling them on a corner sofa or sectional (which lean on the large side), then you must learn to mix and match. You can’t just style with solid cushions - you need a variety that consists of stripes as well as other understated solid cushion hues like grey, cream and white. One or two patterned cushions will do as well.
Now, you must create a dynamic combo of navy cushions. The solid blue ones should be used in moderation because they’ve got a big visual weight and are super eye-catching. They should not be used as focal points and must be offset with blue-and-white striped cushions of both vertical and horizontal variety. These in turn, need to be offset with light grey and cream solid colored cushions in order to provide a nice visual balance.
After that, you can plant a patterned navy and white cushion in the mix (a single one would be good enough) and carefully eye-ball your setting to see if everything looks balanced and harmonized or not.
Pro tip: Dark and navy blue cushions always look best when they’re styled against a neutral backdrop. So always make sure that your sofa upholstery leans on the sandy, tan or taupe side if you really want to bring out the richness of the royal blue hue.
You don’t always have to use multiple blue cushions to create an impact-worthy aesthetic. In fact, you can simply use one blue cushion to accentuate the most note-worthy furniture piece in your interiors - the armchair!
Pro tip: Since you’re using a single cushion, you must pick one that is slightly larger (for example 40x60cm cushions) in size than a typical one. It should complement the girth of your chair and must hold its own while being placed in the center.
Pro tip 2: The best way to ensure that your blue cushions take center stage is by placing them against armchairs with light-hued upholstery.
While blue cushions are classy and noteworthy on their own, you can always mix and match them with other colors to make an eclectic, eye-catching statement. Pink is quite a good contrast option and it pairs with blue floral cushions incredibly well.
You can style this combo in a way where the pink cushions are put in the backdrop with a solid navy blue one in the middle, and two floral blue cushions at the front to cap things off.
The 80s-Esque vintage charisma of mixed floral blue cushions can certainly be recreated in contemporary times. Styling such cushions require a keen eye for detail because you’re basically eye-balling and balancing everything out on instinct.
Pro tip: You should choose a combination of dark and light-hued floral blue cushions so that your furniture can look visually holistic from all angles.
Blue cushions are especially suited for coastal and Hamptons-style interior designs. They pair well with rattan and wicker furniture with light, breezy finishes and an airy backdrop. For such ventures, you should choose lighter shades of blue like sea mist, aqua and place them strategically on the corners of your sofa, loveseat or armchair for the best impact.
Pro tip 1: Accentuate this entire setting with blue vases, flower pots, books and other accessories to create a holistic ambiance.
Pro tip 2: Choose your blue cushions in lighthearted patterns with pastel florals or white stripes to accommodate the overall breeziness of the atmosphere.
Emerald and darker shades of blue cushions pair really well together, especially when you’re trying to create a space that is rich with inherent charisma and gravitas. You can style such cushions with the emerald ones in the back and striped navy ones in the front for visual diversity and interest.
Casual contemporary spaces call for light, informal blue cushions. Sea mist and Duck Egg Blue are great choices once again. Additionally, if you want to emulate a dynamic, eye-moving aura to the atmosphere, then style your cushions with the oversized solid blues in the back and smaller, patterned ones at the front.
Pro tip: Here, instead of keeping the background light, you can even go for a blue-on-blue aesthetic where the upholstery is one or two shades darker than the cushions.
So, this is everything that you need to know about blue cushions and how you can style them in various ways. We hope you find this guide helpful while accentuating all types of interiors with a focus on blue cushions.
For complimentary personalised cushion styling, reach out to us via our contact page and we will have fun styling together. Take a look at our Blue Collection to find the perfect look for your furniture, for both inside and outside your home.
