These palettes may be from the cool side of the colour wheel, but there’s nothing cold about these living rooms. Deep teals, navy and inky blue-greens are used to dramatic effect in projects from the ELLE Decoration archives, creating cocoon-like living areas designed for lounging around the clock.
The deep blue den in London
This moody blue entertainment room (painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Hague Blue’) is a departure from the bright and white interior of the rest of this London home. Design and architecture firm Michaelis Boyd installed the ‘Soft Modular’ sofa and ‘Cork Family’ stools by Jasper Morrison for Vitra, perfect for movie nights at home.
Members club vibes in a London living room
Designer Holly Canham gave the basement rooms of this Victorian home in London a cosy, clubby vibe with inky-blue walls and low, comfy furniture including the ‘Neowall’ sofa by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani, which is piled with cushions from The Conran Shop. The rug is Kvadrat.
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A custom colour for a narrow Melbourne home
This muted turquoise is a custom colour with a distemper finish from Porter’s Paints. Two vintage lounge chairs by Luciano Frigerio, upholstered in a hot pink fabric from Designers Guild, pop against the contrasting wall colour, while an antique chandelier by Murano glass brand Fratelli Toso and the ‘Spring’ table lamp by London-based designer Marianna Kennedy add mood lighting to this cosy living space, designed by Kate Challis.
An industrial home in Sydney
Rather than using paint, design studio Arent & Pyke introduced blue and green tones to this living room with furniture and artwork. The industrial concrete space is the ideal backdrop for The Lines of Confluence 2 artwork by Judith Wright, which hangs above the ‘Tactile’ sofa by Vincenzo De Cotiis for Baxter with a rattan chair by Sika Design.
A seagreen palette in a Stockholm apartment
A moody green and blue palette features throughout this dreamy Stockholm apartment. Joanna Lavén and David Wahlgren of Studio Lawahl chose the curvy ‘Sesann’ sofas by Gianfranco Frattini for Tacchini and a custom coffee table with a quartzite top to add depth, while the muted green sheers and wall colour tie the scheme together.
The jewel-toned chalet in the Dolomites
This chalet in the Dolomites does cosy-meets-cool all year round, thanks to its enveloping all-blue interior. In the living room, architect and homeowner Stefan Rier paired a vintage sofa and pouf by Fischnaller with a copper side table, while a black swinging ‘Monkey’ lamp by Seletti takes advantage of the double-height ceilings.
The living room with floor-to-ceiling blue
A rich teal wall colour and navy rug create a cocoon-like feel to this cosy room, designed by Giancarlo Valle. That dramatic wall is the backdrop to paintings by Nathalie Du Pasquier and Landon Metz, while the furniture is a mix of classics – a Jean Royère ‘Sculpture’ chair, concrete ‘Loop’ chair by Willy Guhl, Gianfranco Frattini table and Jorge Zalszupin sofa.
The womb-like room in a Manhattan home
While other areas of this stylish New York home are painted in subtle shades of grey and feel more open, when it comes to this cosy room ‘you walk in and everything contracts, you’re more in a little womb’, says designer Roman Alonso of Commune Design. The walls and woodwork are cloaked in ‘Inchyra Blue’ by Farrow & Ball, while Frits Henningsen’s ‘Signature’ chair for Carl Hansen & Søn creates the perfect reading nook.
The living room that contrasts and complements
The grey-blue tones of ‘Castle Gray’ from Farrow & Ball set the scene for this stylish living room by Studio Duggan. This comfy corner features the ‘Karine’ armchair from Soho Home, reupholstered in ‘Straub Twill’ by Claremont, a burgundy ‘Tung’ side table from &Tradition and the ‘Maxime’ floor lamp from Jonathan Adler.
The California home ruled by soft textures
A soft grey wall colour, curtains in Pierre Frey’s luxurious ‘Teddy’ mohair and a custom sofa upholstered in an inky velvet combine to create a cosy spin on California cool in this living room. The home and work space of design studio Hommeboys in Sonoma, it’s a lesson in layering textures and textiles to add depth and warmth.
