Pairing red and blue may strike you as a recipe for a headache, especially if you are more comfortable with gentle suggestions of colour. And yet walk into enough well-decorated homes – as we have the joy of doing so regularly – and you’ll spot the combination in both big and small ways.
To put the colour-averse at ease, very few people are putting fire-engine red next to primary blue and calling it a day. Some of the best examples soften one or both colours, adding a flash of glossy red against a smart navy or a burgundy against a chalk blue.
Ahead, you'll find some guidance on how to apply red and blue in your own home, as well as some stylish spaces that have paired the two in different yet brilliant ways.
Why do red and blue work together?
If you look at a colour wheel – the trusty, low-fi tool of the interior designer – pairings are usually formed using colours that sit directly opposite each other, known as ‘complementary colours,’ or those that sit next to each other, known as ‘analogous colours.’ Red and blue do neither, which is what makes the combination so interesting and often surprising – it simply doesn’t follow the expected conventions.
The other half of the answer is temperature. Red is warm and blue is cool, so putting them together gives a room the sort of vibrant contrast that stops it all blending into one.
Where to start
If the idea of red and blue in the same room feels like too much of a leap, start with a suggestion. Textiles are the lowest-risk entry point of all and simply adding a few burgundy cushions to a navy sofa is plenty. The only caveat here is that when you’re going for subtlety over statements, you should repeat your red and blue accent more than once around the room – it might feel like an accident if it’s a one off.
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Blue is a much easier colour to live with than red, so you might strike a happier balance too if you go bigger on the blue. Navy kitchen cupboards are a classic and understated choice, which frees you up to bring in red somewhere loud but contained, such as this striped splashback.
Getting the proportions right
As with all great colour schemes, balance is key. Using red and blue in equal amounts has the potential to feel overly busy or, if every blue vase is matched by a red one, a little contrived.
Try applying the popular 60-30-10 approach, which divides a room's colour palette into three harmonious portions; 60 per cent of the room features your main colour, 30 per cent features your secondary colour, and 10 per cent features an accent. Red is an effective accent, and blue could be your main colour followed by cream as your secondary.
What other colours go with red and blue?
Red and blue rarely appear completely on their own. A considerable dose of cream or off-white show up in almost every example, whether as a wall colour or plain floor.
Yellow is worth trying too, since it's the third primary colour alongside red and blue, and a small amount of it completes the trio. It works best in a muted, earthy shade such as mustard or ochre. And to stop it all feeling a little too primary, natural materials such as wood and stone are your best friend.
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