When the resident of that gorgeous blue bedroom decided to downsize, he changed his address, but not his favorite color. Turning to designer Andrew Suvalsky, an alumnus of Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz's firm and now head of his own design firm, the client again requested blue, blue and more blue. Suvalsky delivered, beautifully. "The challenge," he says, "was to develop a design that used this color in grand, meaningful gestures without sacrificing a warm, comfortable feeling."
To maintain the balance, fresh and warm cream tones and lighter shades of blue were integrated into each of the main living spaces to soften the intensity of the cobalt. The living room, for example (not pictured), is cream with bright blue upholstered furniture. But in the media room, the deepest shade is found on the wall finish: celestial bursts of shimmering glass dust applied over a blue-black enamel. A sofa covered in blue leather, sofa cushions in blue velour and deep blue drapery layer the color for an intense, enveloping and warm feeling.
"If you want to go for a similar, warm ambiance," Suvalsky says, "remember that blue hues vary wildly, not just in terms of shade and depth, but in terms of what undertones are present. In this case, there's a hint of green undertone, which has yellow — a warm color — in it."
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