Designers Celebrate Blue-and-White Decor

ASHLEY WHITTAKER

In a New York apartment, interior designer Ashley Whittaker adorned the master bedroom walls with a custom-colored Bennison fabric. “The delicate pattern on the walls contrasts with the larger pattern on the canopy,” she says of the room’s blue-and-white decor, which she accented with soft pink. More on Ashley Whittaker.

BUNNY WILLIAMS

In a vignette so simple but so dreamy, Bunny Williams highlights a single blue-and-white plate among a collection of white ceramics, set against soft green eighteenth-century chinoiserie wallpaper found at auction. More on Bunny Williams.

CECE BARFIELD THOMPSON

In the foyer of a historic Colonial home in Larchmont, New York, Cece Barfield Thompson placed a thrift store console in the posh company of Vaughan lamps and fine antiques, including a collection of large blue-and-white ginger jars underneath.

In the same Larchmont home, Cece Barfield Thompson anchored the sunlit breakfast room’s blue-and-white decor with a tablecloth by Roller Rabbit. Polka dot chandelier shades and a duo of floral patterns on the banquet pillows reinforce the color scheme. More on Cece Barfield Thompson.

ROI DU LAC

The youthful couple behind Roi du Lac wallpapers—designer Marco Kinloch Herbertson and his wife, business mastermind/Italian princess Antea Brugnoni Alliata—are known for creating Old World grandeur for the modern age. Featuring blue-and-white vessels and peacocks against muted blue scenery, this paper from the Chinoiserie collection nods to Casina Cinese in Palermo, Italy. “It’s a Chinese temple that dates to the 18th century, but it’s a Western interpretation of China,” Herbertson says. More on Roi du Lac.

GARDEN DISTRICT

Delftware vessels overflow with delphiniums on a table nestled in the fields of the Wigchert family farm in the Netherlands. Floral designers Greg Campbell and Erick New of Garden District, based in Memphis, chose the vessels as a salute to 17th-century Dutch history, when the city of Delft was a major center of production of blue-and-white pottery. Photo by Sarah Bell of Sélavie Photography, from Campbell and New’s book Florists to the Field (Southerly Media, 2018). More on Garden District.

PINEAPPLE, PALMS, ETC.

Florida interior designer Lisa Peterson varies her style according to her clients’ desires. However, her shop, Pineapple, Palms, Etc., which she co-owns with sister Shelly Bascetta, conveys her preference for white, blues, and greens, as well as wicker and rattan, stripes, and bold, colorful art and pillows. She believes a room is successful when “you feel like yourself when you are in it. You can let out a big ahhh and sink into the environment.” More on Pineapple, Palms, Etc.

JAMES FARMER

In a historic Alabama home re-envisioned for a young family, hand-painted chests reminiscent of Chinese export porcelain were the starting point for the master bedroom’s blue-and-white palette. Designer James Farmer chose Matouk custom scallop-edge linens as a crisp counterpoint to the knotty wood pencil-post bed and oversized inlaid mirror.

In the same Alabama home, a screened porch epitomizes Southern style with a bed swing made in South Carolina and chairs from Georgia. James Farmer finished the look by layering blue-and-white textiles in an assortment geometric and organic patterns. More on James Farmer.

JESSICA LATHAM

Event designer Jessica Latham, founder of the firm Social Studies, shared two distinct blue-and-white table settings with Flower magazine. The first is this pretty summer table for a party in the Hamptons, with mix-and-match dinnerware patterns, blue glassware, and potted plants. 

For a decidedly more modern take, Jessica Latham paired blue-and-white plates with gold-toned flatware, black napkins, and a casual grouping of small vases. More on Jessica Latham.

PAMELA BABEY

Design virtuoso Mariano Fortuny began producing his mysterious shimmering fabrics in Venice in 1907. Today, Fortuny fabrics continue to enchant with their inherent beauty and ingenuity. Here, in the San Francisco residence of designer Pamela Babey, a blue-and-white chair outfitted in the Veneziano print is resplendent standing against gold-and-white upholstered walls in ornate Caravaggio.

MARK D. SIKES

In the California home of designer Mark D. Sikes, a terrace becomes a natural extension of indoor spaces with its blue-and-white furnishings and accessories surrounded by ficus-covered walls. “The pairing of deep green with a lighter blue mirrors the naturally occurring contrast between plants and sky,” he says in his book, Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style (Rizzoli, 2016). More on Mark D. Sikes.

FRANCES SCHULTZ

At her former home, Bee Cottage in East Hampton, writer and tastemaker Frances Schultz created two distinct looks for blue-and-white decor in a bedroom. The first features sky-blue walls and cloud-white bedding trimmed in blue. A half-canopy camouflages the sloped ceiling while creating height and adding drama to the master bedroom.

In the Bee Cottage guest room, Frances Schultz enveloped the walls in Benjamin Moore’s Galapagos Turquoise in a high-gloss finish. “It reminds me of the ocean, waves and all, thanks to the bumpy old stucco walls,” she says. More on Frances Schultz.

LETA AUSTIN FOSTER

“One of my favorite color combinations is aqua with cobalt blue, and mixing them with the warmth of copper and wood makes the kitchen such a pretty room to sit in,” says interior designer Leta Austin Foster. For a dash of cobalt in the kitchen of an alpine-inspired Colorado home, she used blue-and-white tiles from Solar Antique Tiles. More on Leta Austin Foster.

WILLOW CROSSLEY

Based in Oxfordshire, in England’s bucolic Cotswolds, floral stylist Willow Crossley is known for airy, unruly bouquets as well as her love of juxtaposing freshly cut stems with patterned walls and fabrics. Here, the reds, pinks, and yellows in a vibrant bunch of tulips pop against blue-and-white wallpaper and a matching cachepot. More on Willow Crossley.

NATHAN TURNER

For a table featured in his book on West Coast–style entertaining, Nathan Turner’s I Love California (Abrams, 2018), Turner layered blue-and-white patterns, setting Williams Sonoma’s Japanese Garden dinnerware on Ralph Lauren’s Nanking fabric. More on Nathan Turner.

MARSHALL WATSON

In a Palm Beach living room, Marshall Watson used a palette of pale blues and creams to ground the many patterns in the fabrics, moldings, and marquetry occasional tables, as well as decorative elements of the sea, such as starfish, sand dollars, and coral. The Greek key motif, seen in the rug, lampshade, and pillows, is another unifying element, which links the rooms of the house. Photo from Watson’s book, The Art of Elegance: Classic Interiors (Rizzoli New York, 2017).

On the patio of the same home, Marshall Watson continued the blue-and-white theme, contrasting it with magenta bougainvillea. Long striped curtains bring a chic attitude to the outdoor living space. More on Marshall Watson.

MARY EVELYN MCKEE

“I believe in making a room symmetrical, beautiful, and harmonious, and then throwing the boomerang in,” says Alabama designer Mary Evelyn McKee. That boomerang might come in the form of art, the inherent wildness of flowers—or perhaps a modern metallic lamp punctuating the serene blue-and-white decor of a master bedroom. More on Mary Evelyn McKee.

JENNIFER AMODEI

At her California home nestled in a 30-acre lemon orchard, designer Jennifer Amodei chose blue-and-white decor for the outdoor sitting area, which she filled with furniture from Sunset West and pieces from her collection of blue-and-white porcelain.

Jennifer Amodei describes her home’s style as “California coastal with a Provençal attitude, mixed with an Italian influence.” Here, large blue-and-white ginger jars and hydrangeas adorn an alfresco table. More on Jennifer Amodei.

FRANCIE HARGROVE

In a client’s home in Cashiers, North Carolina, interior designer Francie Hargrove captures “mountain chic.” A chaise and bedside lamp add a touch of pale ice blue to the master bedroom’s white-on-white palette, while layers of contrasting textures, including rough shiplap walls, smooth porcelain plates, and a coarse hair-on-hide bed, provide depth.

In the master bath of the same home, France Hargrove extended the pale blue hue to the walls. Floral prints and a French mirror and commode give the bath a sense of luxury rather than utility. More from Francie Hargrove.

LURU HOME

Founded by Americans Liza Serratore and Claire Russo in Shanghai after college, LuRu Home collaborates with Chinese artisans to create textile designs using an ancient dying technique known as Nankeen. Here, a collection of the line’s blue-and-white patterns makes a statement in a courtyard garden in Suzhou, China. More from LuRu Home.

TED KENNEDY WATSON

Seattle shop owner Ted Kennedy Watson entertains and unwinds at his Vashon Island cabin with sunset-facing views and rustic charm. For a summer dinner with friends, he set the table with cobalt glassware and a mix of casual blue-and-white china. More on Ted Kennedy Watson.

MEG BRAFF

In a blue-and-white bedroom with green accents, an intricate Chinese pagoda-style mirror complements a bamboo trellis wall covering. Designer Meg Braff selected the wall covering from her eponymous collection, which revives designs from the Philip Graf wallpaper archives. Photo from Braff’s book, The Decorated Home: Living with Style and Joy (Rizzoli New York, 2017).

A covered porch designed by Meg Braff offers a comfortable grouping of rattan furniture dressed in vibrant blue and white. More on Meg Braff.

ALEXA HAMPTON

Airy white shiplap walls and a neutral rug balance the elaborate upholstered headboard, canopy, and valances in a blue-and-white bedroom designed by New York’s Alexa Hampton, who followed in the footsteps of her legendary designer father, Mark Hampton. More on Alexa Hampton.

CATHY KINCAID

Antique Portuguese hand-painted tile graces the walls of a dining room by Dallas-based designer Cathy Kincaid. The antique display shelf and marble-topped console highlight the owner’s collection of blue-and-white porcelain. Pleated lamp shades by Charles Birdsong in a Robert Kime fabric top the hand-painted wooden lamps. More on Cathy Kincaid.

ELIZABETH LOCKE

When jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke entertains at her 1816 Federal-style farmhouse in Virginia, she considers every last detail just as she does when designing her eponymous jewelry collection. For a ladies lunch, she dressed the porch in a blue-and-white scheme with exuberant tablecloths found in India, painted ballroom chairs, and her antique Minton china, monogrammed linens, and repoussé silver.  More on Elizabeth Locke.

HEATHER CHADDUCK HILLEGAS

The 1920s home of designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas and photographer David Hillegas in Birmingham, Alabama, features inspired blue-and-white decor in almost every room, starting in the foyer. Heather chose China Seas’ ‘New Batik’ in French Blue on Tint for the table skirt. Tour this Blue-and-White Home.

KIM COLEMAN

The entry emphasizes Kim’s favorite color with a fi eld of blue. The wallpaper was 3D printed in a gessoed design of date palms and butterflies with a raised texture. A lustrous white wallpaper on the ceiling creates a cloud-like effect. See more from this Palm Beach makeover.

PHILLIP THOMAS

Despite its white cabinetry, the kitchen of this Manhattan apartment feels colorful thanks to blue accents, including a lacquered ceiling that reflects light. See more from this pre-war apartment redesign.

MIMI MCMAKIN AND CECE BOWMAN

To keep all eyes on the view, a palette of blue and white was enlisted for the oceanfront bedroom. See more from this Palm Beach apartment makeover. 

BLUE-AND-WHITE IS ALWAYS RIGHT

The classic color pairing makes a fresh addition to almost any room, as beautifully captured in the home of interior decorator and textile designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas and her husband, photographer David Hillegas. See story.