How to Choose Your Best Blue Paint Color

The Two Types of Blue & Where They Work Best

If you’ve been trying to pick a blue paint color for your walls but can’t settle on a favorite, I bet I know why! Either your room doesn’t suit blue (which we’ll get into below), or you’re looking at the wrong type of blue.

The wrong TYPE of blue? Isn’t blue BLUE? Well, yes…and no.

THE TYPE TYPES OF BLUE PAINT COLORS

Blue likes to tip two ways – green or purple. So, depending on where your favorite blue sits on the color wheel, it will slide blue-green or blue-purple.

Of course, that’s the simplified version (which is my go-to ), as your blue isn’t really mixing with green or purple—it’s mixing with yellow (blue+yellow=green) or red (blue+red=purple). However, sometimes it’s easier to call it as we see it.

Some blues are pretty darned blue, but they can be swayed so easily by their environment and personal perception, so today, we’re focusing on blue-green and blue-purple.

In the above bathroom photo, do you see plain old blue, blue-green or blue-purple? If you guessed blue-green you’d be the winner winner chicken dinner! You’re looking at Benjamin Moore Ocean Air which is a beautiful soft blue-green.

And because it’s definitely the most POPULAR these days, let’s hit on blue-green first.

ALL ABOUT BLUE-GREEN PAINT COLORS

While blue-green is technically cooler than blue-purple, we know that it’s not all about technicalities when it comes to how a color looks and feels. Blue-greens tend to look softer and slightly warmer than blue-purples—go figure. And by the way, this little detail could be very important if you’re thinking of painting ‘certain rooms’ blue—which we’ll get into shortly.

So, looking at a blue-green you should SEE BLUE FIRST. You might not see the green, or you might see some green mixed in. Now, if you add more and more green, you’ll start tipping those scales, and eventually, you’ll have a GREEN-blue, meaning it’s a green paint color that leans into blue (think mint or aqua). In the last bedroom photo, you should see a blue that is nicely grayed out – which is common with most popular blue paint colors. However, that is actually a blue-green – a mild one called Benjamin Moore Mount Saint Anne.

Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue (below) is a popular shade of blue with a good dose of green and some gray to calm it down…

The Best Paint Colors for a Dark Hallway

This next photo with the rocking horse shows Benjamin Moore’s Sea Star in all its blue-green glory!

A BIT MORE ABOUT BLUE-GREEN

• If you add enough green, you’ll get colors like teal and aqua coming out of the woodwork.
• Blue-green is a far more popular choice than blue-purple for a beach, coastal, or even modern farmhouse vibe.
• Most popular blue-greens are mixed with a solid dose of gray to calm things down.

BLUE-PURPLE PAINT COLORS

Again, blue-purple should technically be a WARMER-looking color than blue-green, but it tends to look cooler in a room—especially if you put it in a room it’s not meant for. That’s right: just because you want to paint a room a particular color (e.g., blue) doesn’t mean you SHOULD, and we’ll hit on that shortly.

The interesting thing is that in my Online Color Consulting, I rarely refer to blue-purple paint colors in the lighter range—they don’t suit as many rooms/styles. And because I ONLY use my E-Design clients’ images on my site, I don’t have many good photos of blue-purple projects—that’s how rarely I come across them.

However, that doesn’t mean that it won’t suit YOUR room. In fact, most of the photos that I do have are of my own home—well, our last few homes, actually.

Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Upward

Sherwin Williams Upward is a great example of a blue-purple (with a whole whack of gray). Truth be told, it’s more of a purple-blue, with purple being the more dominant of the two.

Benjamin Moore’s Steel Wool is a popular gray with a blue-violet undertone. Here it is in the entryway in our old home…

In another one of our homes, I played around with the navy blue vibe of Benjamin Moore Anchor Gray – a navy blue that leans slightly purple…

A BIT MORE ABOUT BLUE-PURPLE

• If you lean hard enough into the purple, you’ll get a periwinkle-type color. Lean harder, and you’ll get violet, where your blue becomes more purple with blue in it.
• Blue-purple can feel a bit more formal than a blue-green, but it can also look more romantic and feminine, especially with a decent purple mixed in.
• And don’t forget, even navy blue will have its preference for either green or purple!

Benjamin Moore’s Blue Dragon

The Best Navy Blue Paint Colours for Islands, Cabinets, Front Doors & More! 

BLUE PAINT COLORS IN NORTH-FACING ROOMS

Here’s the deal, Ally McBeal (I’m totally dating myself, I know): Blue in a north-facing room is a tough sell.

Why?

Well, blue is a cold color. North-facing light is a cool gray light with a blue cast to it. Combine these two, and you have a damn cold-looking room! That northern light will further glorify the cool tone of your blue paint color, leaving things feeling a wee bit nipply.

Here’s Anchor Gray again in our last home, which was extremely north-facing (and colder than Tim’s ex-girlfriend’s heart).

However, there are some workarounds for this (which are different from reacharounds).

Blue-green suits north-facing rooms more than blue-purple.

Although blue-green is cooler than blue-purple, it tends to feel softer and warmer and is better suited to a north-facing room than blue-purple.

The above romantic farmhouse bedroom shows us Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue, which is often mistaken for ‘blue’ when it’s actually a blue-green.

And by the way, I find the same can be said of east-facing rooms. While they don’t have that particularly cold cast, they aren’t generally warm-feeling rooms and usually prefer blue-green (they told me so…or maybe it was the wine).

Use texture and warm-colored accents to add warmth to a north-facing, painted blue room.

If you fall hard for a blue-purple, you’ll want to add texture and softness to the room to help balance that cold-on-cold look.

While this next home doesn’t have blue walls, notice how the rattan pendant lights’ warm texture and the counter stools’ cognac color add balance and warmth…

Benjamin Moore Brittania Blue and Benjamin Moore White Dove

For example, let’s take a look at my Anchor Gray family room again. Notice the carpet – a gray with a soft purple undertone. Also, notice the stacked stone fireplace with its gray-purple veining…

It would’ve been a hot mess if I chose a blue-green (which would’ve been way more up my alley). So, the happy medium was adding some depth (which I always love) and leaning my blue slightly into purple. I can’t say I was ever CRAZY about the color, but it was a great happy medium between what I prefer and the specific needs of my room.

Choosing a darker shade of blue can make a room look warmer and more inviting than a light shade.

Sherwin Williams Naval

And you might be thinking, ‘Ummm Kylie, you’re telling me that north-facing rooms don’t always suit a blue-purple, yet YOU PAINTED A NORTH-FACING ROOM BLUE-PURPLE!’ True. The funny thing is that I’m generally not a fan of blue-purple. However, when painting a room, it’s not always about what WE want; it’s also about what the room wants.

The Best Paint Colors for a North-Facing Room

BLUE PAINT COLORS IN SOUTH-FACING ROOMS (WEST, TOO)

South-facing rooms are much better suited to blue – any type! Southern light can be super warm, and you might even find that a well-chosen blue will help balance out the visual heat of a south-facing room.

Benjamin Moore Arctic Gray

The same can be said of west-facing rooms, however, they will have that more muted/flat light in the morning which will then get amped up from noon onwards.

 North, East, South, West – Which Paint Colours are the Best?

Sherwin Williams Rainwashed – blue-green-gray that tends to lean more into blue

READ MORE

The 8 Best Blue & Green Blend Paint Colours

The Best Blue & Green Paint Colors for Bedrooms

 LIght Green Paint Colors

The Best Gray Paint Colours from Benjamin Moore

Not sure which BLUE is best for YOU?

Check out my Online Color Consulting – I can help!