Blue and white, I’ve got a crush on you! Always have, always will.

This popular color combination is one of my favorites. I love its familiar yet surprisingly fresh vibe. On Swedish gray surfaces, blue and white looks effortless and lovely. It’s cool, calming and crisp against the Gustavian palette. On period brown furniture, I can always count on blue-and-white accents to jazz up these classics. Whether used unabashedly or sprinkled here and there, this color scheme is timeless, versatile and beautiful.

Check out how I incorporate blue and white at our shop.

To cozy up our store, which has three sides of expansive glass walls, I had a small, homey kitchen installed. I designed it to be simple, functional and blue! Simple to complement our inventory of country and formal antiques. Functional for a variety of daily tasks: arranging flowers, washing china, etc. And blue because it looks terrific with pretty much everything, especially our collection of white ironstone.
– Cabinetry from Tedd Wood
– Farm sink from Kohler
– Fridge (actually a small wine cooler from the cellar of our former home) from U-line
– Marble is Carrara
Currently over the kitchen area is a French Louis Philippe mirror in silver gilt and a large Swedish plate rack with a collection of antique ironstone round platters. The four-tier rack with lower shelf holds both platters and plates.
Along with white, our business cards have similar shades of blue – Pantone #646 and #644.
And the marble-top beadboard sales desk is also blue.
Now you know where I sit when I’m at the shop. Will that be cash or credit? ๐Ÿ™‚
No post about blue and white would be complete without a look at china. This color scheme has been used for centuries on Chinese porcelain, Dutch delftware, English ceramics, etc. Staffordshire, England produced some of the best known blue-and-white transferware in the world. I collect and sell both the pale blue Romantic (above) and dark blue Historical pieces (below).
One pattern I cannot resist is “Girl Musician” produced by John and Richard Riley (1796-1828) in Burslem, England. I adore the bucolic scenery complete with country house, meandering river, grazing animals, kneeling shepherd, girl playing the flute, and a border of wild roses – pure bliss!
Resting on this French Louis XVI (Ca. 1790s) walnut side table is a graduated set of 3 platters from Wedgwood. The French classical style armchair is upholstered in a velvety blue cotton.
BELOW: These items have all sold, but I am sharing this photo to show how a dash of blue and white can liven up a dark wood surface.
A pair of French bergeres (Ca. 1890-1900s) in a greige paint with all new blue-gray Belgian linen upholstery. This Louis XVI model with the rectangular backrest happens to be my favorite type of bergeres. When I come across these, I will splurge on the down-filled seat cushions. I love how they “pop” next to French occasional table’s mahogany surface – that’s the beauty of mixing finishes! Pillow fabric is from Carlton V.
ABOVE: A blue painted Swedish desk against Gustavian oak doors at a friend’s manor home in Sweden. BELOW: The same manor house with a Gustavian chair in a printed linen. Both the desk and chair I purchased and sold a while ago.
Playing it cool! Two collages showing accents of blue and white on gray surfaces. These pieces have all sold – apologies!
Last but not least, blue and white looks dazzling with Mocha, our sassy 14-year old Tibetan Terrier in need of a good brushing!
Thanks for visiting our store ~
Cheers,
Loi