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Blue
Blue
Designer Picks: 9 Beautiful Saturated Blue Paints
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Designer Picks: 9 Beautiful Saturated Blue PaintsFront and Center Color: When to Paint Your Door BlueCooking With Color: When to Use Blue in the KitchenColor Guide: How to Use Navy Blue
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Color Guide: How to Use Navy Blue

Solid, steadfast navy blue can ground a room, but it still knows how to have a good time

Samantha Schoech
Samantha SchoechSeptember 14, 2012
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it. You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
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Navy is the darkest blue and in its true form appears almost black. It gets its name from the uniforms of the British Royal Navy and is associated with uniforms, dress clothing and other traditional sartorial choices.

Navy is an elegant and serious color, and it evokes serious things like tradition, solidity and strength. It is definitely a masculine color. But it doesn't have to be somber. Pair it with crisp white and you get a brisk maritime feel — think yachting with the Kennedys. Put it with bright colors — lime green, bright pink and sunny yellow look great with navy — and you get something modern and vivacious.

Navy is extremely versatile and works in almost every style of decor. Use it on the walls when you want to go dark but not quite black. Use it as a contrast against white trim and interesting architectural details. Use it as a way to give a boring box more depth and interest.

Its very close relative, indigo, is often used interchangeably with navy and is seen in many traditional designs and arts. Traditional Japanese shibori cloth is very close to navy, and many Indian and South American designs incorporate it too. Because of this, it can go boho, eclectic and exotic as well.

Here are 24 examples of navy's acrobatic abilities as a design anchor.
Kerrie Kelly Design Lab
Navy on the Walls

Good lighting brings out the color in navy and keeps it from looking chalky or black. This navy-on-navy thing looks elegant and modern.
Emily A. Clark
A traditional room in navy and white. The chain-pattern rug adds to the maritime feel.
Laura Bendik Interiors
Navy is a solid, grounding color, and it works well below the chair rail, lending depth and elegance to this traditional dining room.
Michael Robert Construction
It works equally well above wainscotting or a chair rail.
Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.
A navy accent wall in a very light room adds depth. You don't even have to look out the window to tell that this room is near the water. The color combo and striped window shades tell the whole story.
Elizabeth
Navy goes modern. Navy blue can adjust to any decor, and here it is a beautiful, rich backdrop for bright modern white.
Kerrie Kelly Design Lab
Navy on the walls brings out the white details in this room and gives the whole thing a crisp, no-nonsense feel.
Navy is the color of the midnight sky — perfect for falling asleep to.
For People design
An almost-black navy is an elegant choice for setting off this glamorous bed.
Scheer & Co. Interior Design
Navy and white stripes are crisp and boaty and a little preppy. But here, paired with relaxed decor and in a small space, they are also fun and surprising.
Amber
A navy take on the blue porch ceiling. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, doesn't this look elegant?
KSID Studio, LLC
Navy in the Kitchen

Navy cabinets are an unexpected but still traditional take on the usual browns.
Michael Goodsmith Design
The high-gloss version looks sleek and design minded in this modern kitchen.
A navy tile backsplash in an otherwise all-white kitchen. The space has a seafaring vibe, but it's not at all like a galley.
1.bp.blogspot.com
Navy in Decor

Navy in a layered, eclectic room gives it a touch of the exotic but keeps it grounded and dapper.
In a crisp, spare room navy is soothing and serious.
Studio Marcelo Brito
Traditional but relaxed. Yachty but not overly so. This room is friendly, elegant and comfortable. I'd thank navy for that.
Glenn Gissler Design
Instead of going navy on the walls and light on the trim, reverse it. This navy built-in looks stunning. So does that farmer's table. Wow.
Horchow
Oh, navy and teal, let me count the ways ...
Montgomery Roth Architecture & Interior Design
An Indian block-print wallpaper in navy is the sly bit of personality in this very traditional navy and white bedroom. And the yellow lamps positively sing.
Texas Construction Company
Navy chairs in a neutral room. See how great those limey-yellow pillows look? The whole thing is very traditional and subdued but not at all boring.
Atmosphere Interior Design Inc.
A velvet navy sofa. It's so rich and opulent looking, it's almost Hollywood Regency.
Between Naps on the Porch
Navy Outside

A navy door has a colonial uprightness.
Cardea Building Co.
Navy trim on an American Victorian.
Old Navy 2063 Paint
A true navy. Very dark and very elegant.
Naval SW6244 Paint
Another true navy, but just a tad, and I mean a tad, lighter.
Approaching Storm CSP-535 Paint
Bluer, verging on indigo.
Hale Navy HC-154 Paint
A very gray navy blue.
Navy Wall Paint - Gallon
More maritime than true navy, but it gets grouped in.
Stunning Paint
A lighter navy, more the color of denim.
Commodore (SW 6524)
The brightest, bluest color you could ever possibly pull off as navy.
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Comments (28)
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  • vamcintyre
    2 years ago
    I painted my kitchen a shiny navy blue and loved it for about a year, but then it just got oppressive. After the sun went down it was very cave like and depressing. I repainted it yellow and was much happier. Also, think about how you are ever going to cover it. I'd suggest using this glorious color as an accent instead of for a whole room.
  • Lynn Lawrence
    2 years ago

    vamcintyre I painted three bedrooms a dark dark grey. Now I'm selling the house and painted the master in Agreeable Grey (which I think looks like cream) and am amazed at how much better it FEELS.


  • PRO
    AliciaTappDesigns Images on Tiles
    5 months ago

    To coordinate with the blues and navies-- how about a compass rose mosaic mural

    https://www.mosaicsyourway.com




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