What are the colors that go well with blue?
The blue color looks clean, soothing, solid. It works great in most cases on its own, yet it can always make an even better impact if combined with a proper pair. In general blue looks great with just about everything.
It is well complemented with soothing colors like grey or green or earth tones what works great in rooms or clothes when you want to achieve a calm effect. It also makes great combinations with warmer contrasting hues of pink, orange, yellow or red in situations where you want something bolder.
We need to note there are hundreds of blue shades out there, so don’t expect the same perfect match for navy or royal blues like for baby or sky blue. All in all, the single most important decision when you are looking what color goes good with blue, is your purpose. So ask yourself what is your goal and in the meantime enjoy some of the best combinations already tested in various situations. What color makes the best match with blue?
What goes with dark blue?
By far the most known tones of dark blue colors are navy and royal. Let’s see some combination with dark blues!
Navy blue as a classic choice for the dress but also in room interiors, for instance, works perfectly with white. This classic choice is a classic and so versatile it’ almost impossible to imagine all the uses. Dark blue can be used as a base or as an accent and the same is true for white. All kinds of patterns will look nice when navy and white are combined. One such typical example is polka dot design.
Knowing the power of dark blue and white combination we can build up to more advanced combos.
All close relatives of white can do well with dark blue, yet in general, they will perform better with navy than royal, which, by most standards looks a bit more purplish.
Colors, which may compose great pairs with dark blue shade are pales like cream, grey (lighter hues), ivory, beige, peach, khaki, sand, tan, …
Here we can see several pastel colors on the navy blue background. Each one of them looks great, doesn’t it?
We can continue with the beige hues but this time with darker brown tones including mocha:
If you want to achieve a bolder effect, create an impact, make a statement – don’t hesitate to pair dark blue colors with other dark tones, including black. How about the saying you can’t wear black and navy blue together? Well, it’s just one of those urban myths without any scientific background. Similar colors (in this case dark tones) go well together. Always were, always will.
Colors That Match Light Blue
Light blue comes in numerous shades too. We may name them as baby, sky, dusty, azure, ice, angle, … blues and each one of them posses its specific character. Just think about the color of jeans, which can be manifested in dozens of shades supported by other shades of blue and complimented with black, grey or white threads. This is only a beginning because the jeans become a real thing only when is at least partially worn out and colors are a few tints moved from the original appearance.
We all know you can’t miss when wearing the blue or black t-shirt with a pair of trousers or a skirt made of jeans, no matter what shade of blue is colored by. Least known is a fact of usage of bolder, livelier colors with blue, like a yellow or an orange decorative threat which is still one of the signature signs of the legendary Levi’s.
If we want to answer what color compliments light blue, we can make at least three good answers:
1. Neutral, earthy tones
Brown may not be the first thought when thinking about the possible combos yet next picture shows they can make almost a perfect pair:
Blue jeans will undoubtedly always go with the brown belt and brown boots:
2. Most bright and muted colors
You can try to pair blue, including all lighter shades with most of the pastels. While it won’t look very good with pink, it can go very well with very bright shades of pink or purple shades:
3. Bold lively energetic tones or strong dark ones
Check these yellow and brown colors with light blue jeans!
We have a perfect match with light blue in yellow and light brown colors (the color of the skin can actually be one of these, as you probably already noticed). But beware:
Light blue (actually we can see all kinds of blues on the photo above) won’t work best with red because they are not opposites, but it can make a statement with yellow or orange which are. We have already seen that and here is another example:
As we can see below a pairing with a darker shade of blue can go long way as well.
All dark colors can work with sky blue or ice blue shades, which, in these cases become recessive. Apart from traditional light blue colors, we can play with numerous related shades with a significant amount of yellow or grey, like teal, turquoise or slate colors. If you need a bit of theory behind the colors, don’t forget checking this post where you’ll find what colors make blue.
We can find light blue in countless traditional designs, working as a softener in classic bathrooms where white and grey are dominating.
Almost the same effect is seen in this study room, where soft blue colored window frames instantly make the place more lively and playful.
Combinations of light blue can work very well with brown, yellow and gold tones, as presented in next spacious yet comfortable and intimate bedroom:
In next example, we can find the power of light blue in the role of an accent in a minimalistic bedroom with dominant beige and grey colors on pure white base. Believe it or not, blue can look spectacular as a wall paint. There is a full post just about blue wall paints with a whole world of opportunities for a designer in you.
Beige, creme, gold and of course white are signature colors of beach decorative theme when they are paired with lighter shades of blue. Next beach themed cake is a fine example of such combo.
We’ll throw more examples of different shades of blue colors in time. Think about this post as the work in progress, so don’t forget to bookmark it and get back after a while!