How to Decorate with Blue and White

It's no wonder that blue and white is a favorite color combination for cottages and seaside decorating. The colors are at once calming and refreshing and evoke images of the sea. Read on to learn how to use blue and white to decorate your own home.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Use blue and white porcelain in your decor. Blue and white has long been a popular combination for dinner china and beautiful antique or new blue and white plates are easy to find. Head to an antiques shop or mall and try to locate a couple of plates in the ever-popular blue willow pattern, or even flow blue patterns, with purposely blurred images, that were popular about one hundred years ago. Display them on plate stand made expressly for the purpose, available at craft shops and antique stores. Vases, soup tureens, tea pots and other pieces of antique blue and white porcelain also look beautiful when on display.

2. Keep fresh blue hyacinth or hydrangeas in a crisp white vase, or display silk or dried blue flowers.

3. Always be on the lookout for blue and white linens to add to your collection. Tablecloths, napkins, table runners, placemats, tea towels, wash cloths, hand towels, curtains, bedspreads, sheets and more are available in delightful blue and white solids and patterns that can brighten up your home.

4. Look for cobalt blue glass plates and glasses for dinner settings.

5. Search for old wooden furniture painted blue, or paint a wooden chair or table blue and use a bit of sandpaper on the edges if you like a distressed look.

6. Find a blue porcelain tea set to display in the dining room or kitchen.

7. Paint walls blue with a bit of white trim or vice versa. Search for attractive blue and white wallpaper or wallpaper borders that you can use for your blue and white decor.

8. Paint your shutters blue to bring your blue and white theme outside the house.

[insidestory]

on 3/8/2009 Sounds lovely, thanks for sharing your idea.

[Tfurby]

on 2/18/2009 I love blue and white! 5* plus recommendation.

[ermabombeck]

on 1/5/2009 I love blue and white. We just redid our powder room in blue, white and creams and it is so soothing to look at.

[painthorse42]

on 1/1/2009 Great article! We decorate is blue & whites! 5*

[hoolihan0519]

on 12/31/2008 Oh I love this. My favorites and you brought it all into reality. Thanks. RCRR.