If ever there were a competition for the most classic color combination, blue and white would surely win the prize. Blue makes white feel even more pure and crisp, while white highlights the depth and vitality of any shade of blue. The two colors are particularly lovely on the coast of Maine. “Blue and white is equivalent in nature with sky and water,” says Annie Talmage, founder and lead designer at Saltwater Home in Kennebunk. “People are innately drawn to it. It also just has a calming effect.”

Blue and white is a color combination so easy to get right, we could end this story right here: pair blue with white, the end. However, its ubiquity is sometimes also its downfall; there are some who might say the combination is boring, old-fashioned, or entirely too expected (especially on the coast). We asked Talmage and other designers to share ways to make blue and white fresh and how to make even the most traditional blue and white scheme sing. 

Here’s how to get blue and white right.

Treat the combo like a neutral.

Like a perfectly faded pair of jeans, blue and white go with almost anything. Use blue and white as a foundation, and swap in navy blue where you might normally use black, or pick a steely blue instead of gray. Talmage says to try to use organic and historic tones of blue—instead of super-bright or pure blues—for ultimate versatilty. “They’re a little bit more muted and easier to live with,” she says. “Use more of what would be found in nature.”

Add an accent color.

The easiest way to wake up a blue and white room is to add a hit of another hue. “Some people hear ‘blue and white’ and think of blue and white china, but it can be much more fresh and modern,” says Samantha Pappas, an interior designer based in Yarmouth. “It’s just in the application of the colors and how they are being used.” Your accent can be something small, like a yellow hand towel in a blue and white bathroom. “An accent color keeps your eyes moving, and it can really set a tone for the mood of a room,” says Pappas. When choosing an accent, you can reach across the color wheel to complementary orange or nearby yellows, or stay more tonal with an accent of green or purple.

But be careful with red.

One color that is harder to work into a blue and white scheme is a true red. The patriotic connotation of red, white, and blue can quickly make a room feel overly traditional. If you long to try this combo, vary the shade and tone. Think tomato red, mid-tone blue, and white; maroon, gray-blue, and cream; or rust, navy, and buttery white.

Warm it up with wood.

You’ve likely already got some wood tones in most rooms, but blue and white look especially nice against the natural hues of wood. If you have a blue and white room that is feeling too cold, add wood or warm neutrals. “One of my favorite combinations is a camel color with a soft, soft sky blue,” says Talmage. “If you balance blue and white with that warmth, it makes the space more inviting and more livable.”

Find the right white.

Choosing a shade of white is both simple and complex, as anyone who has visited a paint store discovers: there are hundreds of shades of white. To find a white that compliments your blue, Becky Gallant, a color consultant with Johnson Paint in Portland, says to look at the undertones of the blue. “If the undertones tend to be on the warmer side of reds or yellows, I lean towards a warmer white like Benjamin Moore’s Simply White,” says Gallant. However, Pappas warns against choosing a white that is too warm, because it might read as yellow next to blue. When in doubt, choose a pure white like Chantilly Lace or Super White. 

Layer your blues.

One way to add instant interest to a blue and white scheme is to introduce different shades of blue. Instead of just navy and white, add a sprinkling of green-blue accessories to a room. Paint the ceiling in a blue and white room a shade of sky blue. For an interior ceiling, Gallant recommends Benjamin Moore’s Blue Veil, which she describes as “just the slightest hint” of blue. 

Decorate with dishes.

Blue and white china has been around for centuries, and it looks just as great on the wall as it does on the dinner table. Displaying a set of beloved dishes can be a great way to add character to a newly built home, says Tom Stringer, the founder of Tom Stringer Design Partners in Chicago. “I like incorporating collections from a client’s past in new spaces as a means of connecting them emotionally to their new surroundings,” he says. If you think this is just for more traditional homes or country-style homes, Stringer explains, “The color combination is crisp and graphic, and can be found in porcelain from various cultures around the world from the fifteenth century to the current day.” Imagine a set of Finnish ceramics on the wall of a midcentury modern cabin, or a trio of Japanese porcelain plates in a minimalist interior.

Enliven a modern setting.

While blue and white is often considered a traditional color combination, it works just as well in a more modern home. In the new book Blue and White Done Right, Hudson Moore says, “Even the best modern interiors can sometimes feel austere. Not so when blue and white become part of the equation: the duo lends a gimmick-free liveliness to any genre—and bends especially well to a contemporary, no-frills approach.” (Read more about the book on the next page.)

Use it in the kitchen.

Blue and white is a natural choice for the kitchen, and Stringer suggests using the combination to wake up an all-white kitchen or as a spin on the “tuxedo kitchen” cabinet trend (where the base cabinets are painted black and the uppers white). “Blue base cabinets add zip and contrast to otherwise all-white kitchens,” Stringer says. “Rich blues can be visually heavy, so we apply the color only to the base of the island, which creates a good focal point for the room.”

Play with patterns.

Because blue and white is considered a more traditional color pairing, you can get away with being a little more maximalist with your patterns, mixing a few together. If you are more conservative with pattern, blue and white may be a way to explore a whimsical approach. “It could feel more comfortable to try a playful pattern in a very classic color combo,” says Pappas, citing an abstract Rebecca Atwood design she recently used as an example of a modern print that still feels at home in a traditional interior.

The Book of Blue & White

If you’re a fan of blue and white decor, you’ll love the new book Blue and White Done Right: The Classic Color Combination for Every Decorating Style (Monacelli, 2023). The latest in what promises to be a series of decor books from Schumacher, the famed textile and wallcovering maker, the book is a survey of fabulously decorated rooms that use blue and white, many featuring Schumacher’s fabrics and wallpapers.

The editors prove that blue and white can run the gamut from bohemian to traditional through the work of celebrated designers, including Mark D. Sikes, Miles Redd, Tom Scheerer, Virginia Tupker, and Veere Grenney. As author Hudson Moore writes, “Blue and white can bend to an improbably wide range of styles, configurations, and schemes, from traditional to contemporary, sweet to sophisticated, and everything in between.”

With a cloth cover printed with Schumacher’s Exotic Butterfly pattern, this book would make a lovely addition to a coffee table or a charming gift.  

9th century C.E.

Artisans in the Abbasid Caliphate (centered in modern-day Iraq) discovered how to fire pottery with cobalt, creating the first blue and white ceramics.

Palette Picks

These five wallpapers celebrate the classic pairing of blue and white.