Red White And Blue Rooms {That Don’t Look Like A Flag}

Dear Laurel,

Happy 4th of July!

I love that new sofa at Serena & Lily. It is so smart. It has a blue and white ticking, piped in red, and lovely fringe they’ve put on some of their other Miramar sofas.

The new Miramar sofa with a blue and white ticking stripe @ Serena & Lily

Everything’s on sale for a few more days.* I love the look, but how do you keep a red, white & blue room from looking like a flag? That’s my fear.

Thank you,

Blume Flagg–White

*The sofa is supposed to be on sale, but I think they forgot to mark it down on their website.

***

Hi Blume,

That was my great-grandmother’s name. She was German and it was pronounced Bleema.

That’s a great question on this soggy 4th of July. Alas, I have a little summer cold which I probably picked up at the Haymarket last Friday.

See? The market was mobbed. It was a sublime number 10+++ day!

There’s the historic Faneuil Hall! And please notice how exquisitely it is framed here by Boston’s infamous brutalist abomination, City Hall. More about that coming very soon.

Okay, back to our red, white, and blue rooms that don’t look like a flag.

Actually, I’ve addressed this topic before– nine years ago! I find it interesting to look at some of the posts I’ve saved that are now several years old.

So, here is a slightly edited version of what I said in 2014 about red, white, and blue rooms.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve said to a client with a wry smile, “Well, we don’t want it to look like a flag, right?”

Photo by iStrfry, Marcus on Unsplash

It’s not that I don’t like our flag or am not patriotic.

I just think that red, white, and blue as a color scheme can get a bit cutesy or cloying. And, sometimes, just too marine-like.

So, are there ways to avoid a red, white, and blue room from looking like any of those things or like a flag?

Yes.

Okay, I am only editing this for grammar and ease of reading, not content.

Let’s see what I had to say in 2014 regarding red, white, and blue rooms and how to make them look fantastic.

• Make the room primarily blue and white with red accents.
• Introduce other colors into the scheme, such as taupe, beige, gold, brown, black, and copious amounts of white.
• Vary the shades of blue. Even one other shade of blue adds a certain depth and interest to the color palette.
• Consider introducing other analogous shades such as orangey-red, magenta, pink, or blues with more green in them.
• Sometimes all you need to do is to add small amounts of other colors, such as yellow and green, in accents or art.

Well, how did I do?

Not bad. My views on this subject have not veered. However, I’d like to emphasize that the variation of the reds and blues is important.

Also, the three colors should never be in equal amounts.

I find that the predominant color should be either white or blue with accents of red. And, if we can keep most of those reds towards the warmer side, the room won’t look like a flag.

Finally, it’s wonderful to introduce some gold tones for warmth and guys. Please don’t be afraid of black. Black keeps your room from looking like a nursery or an Easter egg basket.

Below are several examples of well-done red, white, and blue rooms that reiterate my points.

Above and below by Meredith Heron.

Meredith’s use of color is sublime.

  Lillian August

Emily Followill photo

source unknown

A complimentary mix of patterns is a good thing.

Mary McDonald

She’s a genius.

Above and below by Kathryn Ireland
More genius. I’ve learned so much from designers like Mary and Kathryn.

Another post which has rooms with oranges, warm red, white, and blue can be found here.

And this is another colorful post featuring orange. Many rooms also have blue.

Lulu DK

Michele Bonan once again with the JK Place in Capri

The most beautiful red, white, and blue rooms ever!

This hotel, as many of you know, is my favorite hotel I’ve ever seen. This place was designed 16 years ago, in 2007, by Michele Bonan!

And now, I made a large shopping widget filled with items I’d put in a red, white, and blue room. Many of these items are currently on sale, so please check them out.

There’s a lot more of the current July 4th fantastic sales starting on the main HOT SALES page.

Well, it’s past midnight. I hope your holiday wasn’t rained out and that all is well.

xo,

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All you need to do is click this link and forget about it if you’re not ready to shop now.

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