Cobalt Gets the Red Carpet Treatment

The most surprising and captivating trend on the 2013 Emmy Awards red carpet for me was dazzling cobalt. Allison Williams and TIna Fey rocked the almost-electric hue. (Full disclosure: I tend to favor what my fellow brunettes are looking great in.) This is a trend that houses have already been enjoying, and I wonder if the fashion designers and stylists had recently strolled through Majorelle Garden or noticed the way cobalt tile has been flying off the shelves. Here are 11 ways this bold shade of blue is strutting its stuff around the home.

Cobalt makes it Moroccan. Inspired by the famous Majorelle Garden in Marrakech (you know, the one you see in all those great vintage photos of Yves St. Laurent, lounging in a white caftan on exotic textiles casually laid in piles on the ground), the designers at Laura U. punctuated this Moroccan-inspired home with dollops of cobalt.


Cobalt goes casual. In spite of its high-fashion success, cobalt can be relaxing as well. A classic picnic table glossed up in the color takes on a whole new personality.


Cobalt goes nautical. Paired with a yacht-like wood floor, white Shaker cabinets and steel and wood hardware, this kitchen is in ship shape.


Cobalt as a notch up from navy. If you like the crisp, nautical and classic pairing of navy and white but want to amp it up, consider cobalt.


If you'd rather keep your tiles white but still crave some cobalt in the kitchen, check out cobalt appliances. This is the BlueStar RNB Gas Range.

Tour the rest of this seaside home


Cobalt goes industrial. Mixed with steel and white, eye-catching variegated glossy tile jazzes up this futuristic bathroom. It throws some Ella Fitzgerald, scat-singing kind of jazz, you know, except with tile. Does that analogy make sense to anyone besides me? Just wondering!

Tile: Casale Tile


Cobalt sets the tone right out of the gate. Give your home's facade a jolt of cobalt on trim work, gates or exterior doors.





Gold House Numbers Cobalt welcomes guests. This color also helps with navigation — a cobalt door will make it easy for your friends to spot your townhouse among the others.

On the fence about a blue door? Get help deciding when to paint the door blue


Cobalt goes to the garden. Glass spheres transform this rustic path into an art walk.

Cobalt works with all sorts of garden styles, from traditional to contemporary. Test it out: Fill cobalt planters with red geraniums.





Cobalt artwork steals the scene. All of the furnishings in this chic Miami home are calm and neutral, which draws the eye up to this energetic cobalt triptych.

Triptych: "Blue Movement," via Art Design Resources


Cobalt plays nicely with fuchsia. The combination of these two bold colors results in a high-energy glamorous office here.


Cobalt enlivens a transitional dining room. This dining room was inspired by another Yves, Yves Klein, for whom the paint color Klein Blue is named. In fact, the paint here was specially mixed to match two of his sculptures used in the room.

Tour the rest of this Hamptons show house


The cobalt in this dining room is more traditional.

What do you think about the cobalt trend? Are you ready to dip in, or are you more into navy, turquoise or teal? Will you test it out with a few small accessories at first, or are you ready to dive in with a gallon of paint?

More: Get inspiration advice in the Houzz color guides

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