For a happy home, try a blue palette

With blues making a comeback, how can you use different shades of blue to create different looks?

Blues are more in vogue than ever. How can I put them to use in a way that looks new?

Blue is gorgeous. And like many colours that predominate in nature, it works almost anywhere. The best thing about blue is its range and versatility - it has the ability to look calm and peaceful, severe and austerely chic or simply bright and cheery. Yes, it can be nautical and beachy, but it can also be elegantly urban.

Blue walls are wonderfully uplifting, from a feature wall to an entire room. But if you can't or won't paint them, think about how you can best focus the colour in other, more easily accessible ways. Fun knick-knacks in the same hue accomplish the same effect. A single blue chair looks punchy and confident in a home of neutral tones; a scattering of cushions across a beige, dark brown or pale sofa; bright blue glass vases on a white table.

House&Home Interior Tips&Advice

How to plan, design, organise and redecorate your way to the home of your dreams.

A warm blue, one that contains an element of red, such as sea blue or deep denim blue, is great for a room with a social function, such as the dining room or kitchen: the warmth of the red makes the room feel cosy and welcoming. In bathrooms and bedrooms a cooler shade - one that contains a degree of green or grey - is preferable.

Pick up on the colours of nature to combine sky or ocean-hued blue with all greens, whites and yellows. The best right now are sharp, acidic greens, mossy sage greens and mustard yellows - all strong colours to pair with an easy-going blue, so use them lightly: for instance, a pair of blue cushions with a chartreuse-shade cushion between them. All blues look great against all manner of woods.

Texture is often used in neutral shades but used with colours, it is more surprising. Used in small doses it looks smart and pulls a room and a home to a higher standard: a blue chenille throw, a blue velvet stool or cushion.

Deep, dark blues can be the easiest to live with, funnily enough. Dark inky shades that verge on black are forever chic. Navy looks wonderful with white, chocolate brown, taupes and caramel beige, but also consider a jolt of fuchsia.

All shades of blue benefit from being surrounded by light, whether natural or artificial. In a warmer climate with plenty of sunlight it makes perfect sense to bring out the bright, zingy side of blue by pairing it with zippy shades such as a vivid orange.

Icily cool pale blue and white are a lovely combination for bedrooms. It's a pairing that reflects the blue sky and white clouds of the great outdoors and brings inside all the tranquillity of nature.

Emily Davies was speaking to Gail Abbott, a London-based home styling consultant who works globally and the author of Living With White (Cico Books, £19.99), Angel + Blume, [phone]