With blue-and-white decor, mix and match pattern, texture, and shades of blue from robin’s egg to deep navy. History, nature, and fashion are your muses.
Heather Chadduck Hillegas and David Hillegas’s home offers blue-and-white inspiration for almost every room: dining room, office, living room, entry, guest bedroom, and patio. Find style for every day and Flower‘s wallpaper finds that embrace the color scheme, too.
Blue-and-White Decor for Every Space
The dining room’s botanical allure comes from the hand-painted walls of trailing vines based on a Swedish wallpaper design, while the table sparkles with a mix of blue-and-white pieces.
The elegant table setting with lush florals includes the ‘Gosford’ dinner plate ($265) and side plate ($185) and ‘Vita’ goblet in Blue ($320) by William Yeoward Crystal, williamyeowardcrystal.com.
A cabinet filled with blue-and-white Canton pieces is lined in a playful wallpaper that complements the more formal motifs of the china. ‘Les Touches’ wallpaper in Cadet by Brunschwig & Fils, brunschwig.com
“Much of the blue-and-white Canton was a gift from David’s mother. This spot seemed like a lovely little shrine for it.”
Keeping up with correspondence in a room wrapped in blue-and-white makes the task more enjoyable. ‘Loggia’ wallpaper in navy on white from Meg Braff Designs, megbraffdesigns.com
Wallpapers (left to right, then bottom): Aerial Garden by Anna French • Aldwych by Cole & Son • Derwent by Osborne & Little • Avera by Brunschwig & Fils • Piccadilly by Cole & Son
The ‘Echols’ wool kilim rug, handwoven in Turkey, is from the Sarah Bartholomew Collection available through King’s House Rugs, kingshouseorientalrugs.com. The shoes are Stubbs & Wootton velvet loafers; visit stubbsandwootton.com for similar.
Casual touches such as bamboo curtain rods and garden stools keep the living room from feeling too formal. Heather upped the style quotient on a bamboo bench/coffee table with a wide tassel trim by Samuel & Sons, samuelandsons.com. The 18-inch ‘Gathered Bedwyn’ lamp shades in Blue Marden Cotton are from Edgar-Reeves Lighting, edgar-reeves.com.
The ‘Echols’ wool kilim rug, handwoven in Turkey, is from the Sarah Bartholomew Collection available through King’s House Rugs, kingshouseorientalrugs.com. The shoes are Stubbs & Wootton velvet loafers; visit stubbsandwootton.com for similar.
The foyer sets the tone for the blue-and-white joys to come. Heather chose China Seas’ ‘New Batik’ in French Blue on Tint (quadrillefabrics.com) for the table skirt.
In the Bedroom
Blue-and-white is a favored palette in bedrooms due to its soothing side, as beautifully put together in the Hillegases’ guest bedroom. Heather mixed antiques with an iron bed she had made and outfitted in a jaunty stripe. For similar fabric, see Summerville Linen Stripe in Ocean by Schumacher, fschumacher.com.
In a sitting area, a classic tulipiere makes arranging a breeze—pop in whatever blooms you have at hand. ‘Country Estate’ tulipiere tower set ($695) in Delft Blue by Juliska, juliska.com
‘Margot Collection’ Euro shams, sheets, and duvet cover ($68–$599) and ‘India Collection’ ($79–$399) scallop-edge pillowcases by Matouk, matouk.com
For Outdoor Living
Blue-and-white decor works year-round in any space. Heather used the color pairing outside with a striped tablecloth and cushions, a blue-and-white garden stool, and fresh-picked hydrangea blooms.
“We’ve planted over 100 blue, white, and green hydrangeas in the cutting gardens since we purchased the property.”
‘Festival’ dinner napkins ($57/set of 4) from Sferra, sferra.com. For similar dinnerware, see Williams Sonoma’s ‘Ginger Jar,’ ‘French Blue Bouquet,’ and ‘Japanese Garden’ collections, williams-sonoma.com.
Another view of the covetable table setting reveals metal dining chairs with blue-and-white striped cushions, as well as the cute blue polka dots on the glassware. ‘Drop’ short ($44) and tall ($50) tumblers by Vietri, vietri.com
The couple’s German Shorthaired Pointers, Harley and Eloise, embrace the color pairing with their sartorial choices.
'In Bloom' vase ($3,317) by Bernardaud, bernardaud.com
“It’s fascinating how a piece of blue-and-white china adds a certain presence or shimmer to a room, as flowers can sometimes do too.” — John Esten in the book Blue & White China
‘India Block Print Blue’ and ‘Heron’ wrapping papers ($11/roll) by Dixie Design Collective, dixie-design.com
'Grace' dinner fork ($135), dinner spoon ($135), and dinner knife ($130) by Ercuis, 201.804.8000; (bottom center) 'Monogram Twig' hand towel ($35) by Henry Handwork, henryhandwork.com.
Produced by Amanda Smith Fowler and Ellen S. Padgett | Photography by David Hillegas | Styled by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
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