Sea & Sky

Mention blue and white and we tend to think of summer – blue sky, white puffy or wispy clouds, lazy afternoons on the porch, ice tea and lemonade in hand; ocean frosted with cresting waves, warm sand at foot, the call of seabirds and children squealing with delight.

Blue and white has been the quintessential color scheme for waterfront homes for a very long time. Surveys, again and again, show blue to be the most popular color, across gender and race. One of the most famous decorating schemes in blue and white, now often copied or imitated, was by Billy Baldwin for a villa in Italy. Baldwin, a master decorator of understated and simple elegance, used sky blue cotton upholstery over a deeper blue and white rug, a mix of blue and white small scale geometric pillows, blue and white pottery, white flowers and greenery against off white walls and filmy white curtains. The result is both serene and fresh and need not be limited to ocean, lake or river locations.

Blue & White Patterns in the cross-point™ Collection –  I

top row left to right: #GASM-02, #GRE-01, #FLE-03, #BERG-03, #BASM-04, #NIL-03
bottom left to right: #HON-B-04, #TUL-03, #TULB-03, #TUST-02, #MEA-03, #TAB-02
bottom: 12th Century Geometric #12thC-01 and #12thC-01-2

Most of the patterns shown above are available in a variety of sizes: lumbar or back pillows, squares and also rugs. Please visit the website to see all possibilities. The Tulip Stripe shown as upholstery on a chair in the above photo is also available as a pillow, and the 12th Century Geometric pillow is also available as upholstery. Honeycomb, Nilos, Tabriz and 12th Century Geometric are available as small rugs.

A variety of schemes can be pulled together from the patterns shown. For example, one could use the two versions of the 12th Century Geometric for pillows, the Tulip Stripe on a chair or bench, and add solid pale or dark blue pillows to supplement the patterns. Another example might be Tulip and Honeycomb for pillows with the Tulip Border used for upholstery on a chair or stool. Trust your imagination to come up with the right combination for your interior – whether living room, bedroom or study.

Blue & Ocean Hue Patterns in the cross-point™ Collection-  II

Waves, sun and cerulean skies….ocean hues, from foamy whitewater  to deep teal…evoke memories of the beach and summertime. From pale icy blues, pale to dark gray blues, pale aqua to turquoise,  deep teals – both green and blue – ocean hues change continuously depending on sunlight reflecting off water early or late in the day, on whether the water is smooth or choppy, how waves break – big or small, and, of course, location – Caribbean or cool northern shores. Some of us love walking along the water when it’s calm, others of us enjoy stormy seas. Which are you?

These colors can be both restful and serene or exciting and mysterious.   Yet a different mood is created by adding colors of a sunset reflecting golden on the water surface, or adding  sand colors as seen through waves lapping at water’s edge. Whether pale or dark – silver, tan, beige, brown or pewter in addition to blues and ocean hues –  adds a certain level of warmth. Late afternoon the ocean often appears a deep blue green. Below are some suggestions for more exploration.

left top to bottom: Oahu #OAHU-03, Pisac #PISA-03, Tabriz #TAB-SM-06
center top to bottom: Shalimar #SHA-01, Pisac #PISA-BP-07, Topkapi #TOP-08
right top to bottom: Lindisfarne #LIN-BP-02 & LINC-02, Oahu #OAHU-L-01, Plaid #PLA-06, Karakum #KASM-02

MORE BLUES & OCEAN HUES WITH SAND COLORS

top row left to right: Carnation #CARBP-02, Plaid #PLA-01, Pisac #PISA-06
bottom row left to right: Morocco #MOR-02, Small Morocco #MOSM-03, Soumak #SOSM-03
Most of these are available in many different sizes ranging from small accent pillows, to back pillows, to large and small squares and long rectangular pillows as well as some rugs. Sometimes colors are arranged in a different way on sizes other than shown above. For example, Soumak is available in 4 sizes and the background color changes in each.

In cooler climates or to use blues year-round in all climates, we can add more colors such as coral, lemon yellow, or browns and dark beiges to create warmth during the colder month without changing the entire color scheme.

Blue & Yellow Patterns in the cross-point™ Collection – III

Yellow combines beautifully with so many blues. Blue and yellow is an enduring color scheme and can be found in tiles, dinner ware, bowls, vases, fabrics, decorative plates and jewelry in countries  all around the Mediterranean, and from there across the Atlantic in Central and South America. In Portugal, entire buildings are covered with blue and yellow tiles, inside and outside.

From pale buttery yellows to deep egg yolk yellow, sunny colors lift the spirit and bring instant cheerfulness. Combined with blue – whether indigo or turquoise – creates a combination both cool and warm.

In interiors, this classic combination is often seen in kitchens but has historically been used successfully in living rooms and bedrooms. One of the most famous yellow rooms was that of Nancy Lancaster, an American living in England and part of one of the most illustrative decorating teams with John Fowler. Recently I came across a photo in a magazine that showed a living room with pale yellow walls and a grayed blue and white carpet, blue and white plates on the walls, strong sunshine yellow slip covers on chairs, solid blue and blue & white throw pillows. Stunning!

The starting point for a yellow and blue scheme can be a piece of pottery, tile, painting or stitched  pillow. Perhaps you have a bowl of Italian majolica in turquoise blue and pale lemony yellow, or a true blue and daffodil or buttercup yellow painted plate to use as your starting point for a summer scheme. Whatever your accumulated treasures that are your reminders of a life lived, at cross-point™ we offer custom colors so we can adapt any one of our patterns to your particular shades of blue and yellow.

Blue & Yellow Pillow Patterns in the cross-point™ Collection

top row left to right: Pattern Lindisfarne color #04, available in 4 sizes
middle row at very right: Pattern Turin color #01, available in 2 sizes
bottom row left to right: Pattern Honeycomb color #03 (5 size choices);
with Pattern Tulip & Tulip Border color #04;
and at far right:  Pattern Anatolia color #03 (2 sizes, shown is #ANBP)
Both Honeycomb and Anatolia include small rug kits. These rugs would be wonderful used across a large ottoman, on a chest, or even across the foot end of a bed.

Blue and Red Patterns in the cross-point™ Collection IV

Red, white and blue – the quintessential American summer color scheme – is celebrated each July 4th. Perhaps your summer memories center around those celebrations that included pic-nics with family and friends, home made ice cream, corn on the cob, bands playing in the park, parades down Main Street and a whole day of festivities.  Perhaps these are the colors that make you smile, or, perhaps you live in a cool climate that could use a warmer color like red in all it’s variations to combine with blues. At cross-point™ we offer several choices from true reds to coral reds, combined with white and sand:

top row left to right: Pattern Anatolia color #08 (available in 2 sizes & small rug);
at far right: our 13 Star Flag (pillow insert, bag or door stop);
middle row left to right: Honeycomb #05 (5 sizes); Tulip & Tulip Border #04;
at far right: Balouch color #01 (one pillow and rug size);
bottom row left to right: Pattern Oahu #04 (3 sizes), Basilica #07 (3 sizes);
at far right: Pattern 12th Century Geometric #03 colors which    blend with both Basilica 07 pillows & rug, and Oahu 04 in all 3 sizes.

However you create your private ambiance, however you arrange your summer colors to reflect your own taste and remembrances of summertime, if you include blue it will be easiest to have a successful scheme if you will stick with one color hue and use it in different values: palest blue, medium blue, dark blue.