is there such a thing as a warm blue?!

[DeliveredByKiki]

bought a new house, want to get it repainted before we move in, sick of rental properties and therefore white/off white walls

it's a big through-living space that kind of horseshoes round on itself, from dining to sitting area to kitchen to family room - we live in Southern California so have a lot of light (no direct sunlight into the ouse though) and I'd like to have a fresh coastal feel without making it feel cold...I want to paint the walls and have woodwork poss white off-white (maybe kitchen cabinets a darker shade of the walls?) but I don't have a decorating bone in my body, any thoughts or suggestions?!

[IDismyname]

I'm a great fan of blue, and you ...you lucky thing...have the Californian light to play with!
It would be difficult to suggest paints directly, as I'm sure those in the US will differ from those we have this side of The Pond, but I suggest you go down to your local paint suppliers and get those paint colour strips.

From those, you'll be able to work out how the blues change from the cool end of the spectrum across to the warmer versions. Be careful that you don't end up with lilac. I guess you're looking for a bluebell colour, but maybe a paler version?

Suggest you get paint sample pots, and prime and then paint the largest board you can find. Then you can prop it up in different parts of the room to get an idea of how the colour will be eventually. It also saves your room looking like a patchwork quilt!

Happy decorating!

[Ditsy4]

Yes, there is such a thing as a warm blue. It is on the colour spectrum between blue and red. Warm blues are nearer to the red whilst cold blues are near to the yellow.

[Pinter]

We recently moved into a place with a small dining room & a large lounge. Not southern California!

I bought lots of testers & put them all on the walls. Left for a few days to see how the light would work at different times of day.

Dining room choice leapt out easily. The lounge is proving a bit more tricky, but that's because we've already bought a couch.

Give some different ones a try, you'll at least get to know your palette soon

[DeliveredByKiki]

Ok so there are blues out there that are warmer with it being purples then?

I've pinned a few idea but you're right we won't know until we get some samples up - I usually do the strips but haven't thought of doing one board, that might work better

[PenelopePitstops]

Might not help as you are in california, but we just used a blue from Dulux and it was in their 'warm' section. Called amazon something!

If you have paint shops look at the cards and they had the info on.

[Cressandra]

You really do need to test them. We've had Crown Moonlight Bay which I think is not cold at all. No good for you over there, but if you google images of it, you'll see it comes out variously as anything from a clean looking pale blue to practically purple.

IME very dark rooms tend to suck out the blueness, making Moonlight Bay look more purple and a pale purple look pink. So hopefully with your good light it'll work the opposite way. You can pick a blue that has a reasonable amount of red in it, without it actually looking purple.

Your other option for cosiness is navy blue. Can be fab but I'm not sure I have the style to make it work. Maybe off white units and a navy wall in the kitchen area?

[ToastMama]

Can you get Little Greene paint where you are? Juniper Ash is a lovely warm blue:
www.littlegreene.com/juniper-ash

[DeliveredByKiki]

yes I realise it's a hard ask asking you for specific ideas when we're in different countries but I appreciate all the responses all the same!

I love the idea of navy blue but the walls flow through several rooms and I worry it would be too dark (and not sure i have the style to carry it off either) though I'm erring towards whatever this warm blue is on the walls, a very very pale sandy white on the woodwork (beach feel much?!) and a darker shade of the walls on the kitchen cabinets....I'll try to post photos from my phone to give a better idea

[DeliveredByKiki]

ok second question - so we prob want to the walls this "warm blue" fairly pale I think, then very pale white/offwhite/whitish colour woodwork throughout (some window have indoor shutters, we need to replace a few doors - all the woodwork is completely different at the moment which looks ridiculous)

BUT I think I want the kitchen cabinets a darker shade - is blue a good idea? I don't want it too dark though, would grey make it cooler (I tend to find grey a bit trendy and boring though)....and then I REALLY want a dramatic blue on the family room, so same woodwork as the rest of the house, the ceiling is high and slanted so that can also be white, the fireplace is brick and has built in shelves next to it which I would paint white, but I'd love like a cobalt or dark royal blue on the walls

With all this blue, should they be in the same "family"? Like when you pick up those swatches, should they all come off the same one more or less?

Haven't even started thinking about the bedrooms....

[DeliveredByKiki]

ok found some photos - it's staged furniture and we're replacing the hideous carpets (with the same wood that's there) - but see how it's open plan but kind fo horseshoe shaped?

[Milzilla]

Cornflower blue is lovely...

[Cressandra]

Yes, I think pick a dark blue you like, then get a much paler version (or just add a carefully measured bit of the darker colour to white paint - NOT the other way round) for the rest of the walls.

I gravitate strongly to blues - love them. However with so many blue walls, including some dramatic, dark ones, dark blue kitchen units might be a bit much for me. A mood board might help you decide if it needs breaking up a bit. If you do go for a blue kitchen, ideally pick the kitchen doors first, then maybe curtains, and leave the walls to the end. You can get paint in any colour whereas kitchen units and curtains, not so much.

[DeliveredByKiki]

I think we're just going to repaint the kitchen as it is then hope we can change the work tops at a later stage....

Any thought on the kitchen if we go dark blue in the family room? Should I keep the kitchen pale? Can it be a bit darker than the whiteish woodwork though?

[KarenLancs]

Don't underestimate how much the other colours you use for the soft furnishings can warm up a room. Lighting too!

[untinctured]

I would check out //www.houseofturquoise.com for some inspiration. I love this blog. It has lots of different shades of blue.