As the clocks go back and the evenings draw in, it is time to swap summer linens for something warmer. This winter series looks at five ways to dress a sofa or bed for the colder months, starting with the coolest and most elegant: inky blue and cream, a scheme that looks as right at Halloween as it does in January.
And you do not have to start again. Keep the cushions you already have and simply add a few in blue and cream for a new look.
You can now choose cushions by colour on CushionBank, so if blue is your colour, see all our blue cushions in one place.
Big checks, soft colours
Highland in Bleu and Vert side by side on a cream sofa, with Vanoise in soft brown and grey on the rug. Big 65 x 65 cm checks set the tone, so everything around them can stay simple.
Start with a check. The new Highland in Bleu is a big 65 x 65 cm check in navy, slate blue and rust on cream, and one in the corner of the sofa is enough to build a whole scheme around. As the photo shows, it sits happily beside Highland in Vert.
Add depth with velvet. Manade in Bleu Topaze is an inky petrol blue with a lot of movement in the pile, and Guéthary in Marine is a slubbed navy that catches the light in fine lines. Then bring in one or two patterns: Joshua in Celadon Nacre has embroidered stripes in teal and cream, and the new Padua in Topaze Terre de Sienne has caramel leaves on a deep teal ground, a lovely warm note against all that blue.
There are plenty of blues to mix in. Bryce in Celadon is a geometric cut velvet in sea green and cream, and Forget Me Not in Pierre Bleue has cream leaves embroidered on a soft blue grey. Ruivo in Bleu Galet is a textured basket weave with a striped border, made for indoors and out. From Black Edition, Ruban in Teal is a woven check with a fringed edge, and Zurana in Teal a painterly velvet check flecked with ochre.
Soften it with cream. The new Sami in Ecru has a long, shaggy pile that makes the whole sofa feel cosier. A throw finishes it: the Rodeo sofa cover in Petrole is a soft chenille in deep petrol blue, and the Guéthary throw in Bleu Canard is a slubbed teal cotton linen.
A designer's tip: build from the back. Put the largest cushions, 65 x 65 cm, at the back, then 45 x 45 cm in front, and finish with an oblong or a bolster. Odd numbers look more relaxed than pairs, and one check, one plain velvet and one texture is a mix that rarely goes wrong.
A tub full of blues
Teal velvet, pale linen, hand drawn checks and embroidered leaves, all piled up together. Keep to a few blues and creams and every texture gets its moment.
Pile a few blues together and the detail does the work. Forget Me Not in Pierre Bleue has leaves in cream and pale green velvet appliqué on a blue grey ground, each one with a soft raised edge. The Oban checks look almost hand drawn, stitched in wool: Bleu Ocre mixes blue, ochre and brown lines on cream, and the new Bleu Aubergine brings in navy and plum.
The Lost Garden is the showpiece, a dense embroidery of leaves, ferns and flowers in rust, blue, green and ochre, like an old crewelwork panel. Chroma in Bleu Sarcelle is a deep teal velvet that goes almost petrol in shadow, picked out with a fine rust piping, and Ivy in Beige is a small woven check in beige, blue and soft green.
Then let the plains calm it all down. Cote Lin in Opaline is a pale aqua linen, like sea glass, and Bleu Baltique a cool, smoky grey blue, both with a contrast piped edge.
Petrol blue for the bedroom
Rodeo sofa covers folded across the bed in Petrole, Beige Fonce and Ecru, with mustard, sage and old rose cushions at the headboard.
Take the blue upstairs. Rodeo is a soft chenille with the look of linen, and the new Rodeo sofa covers are 90 x 195 cm, so they fold neatly across the end of a bed as a runner. Layer two or three colours, Petrole over Beige Fonce over Ecru, and let the piped edges show at each fold.
Then add warmth at the headboard with Rodeo cushions in Ocre, Vert de Gris or Vieux Rose. Next to mustard and old rose, the deep petrol blue looks cosy rather than cool. The cushions come in the same colours as the covers, including Petrole and Ecru, and they are washable, which always helps in a bedroom.
The best thing about blue and cream is how easily it mixes with what you already own. Keep the cushions you love, add one check, one velvet and one texture, and the whole sofa looks new for winter.
Click any photo above to see that cushion and all its colours. If you would like help choosing, get in touch.
Coming next in the series: Starry nights, terracotta and gold for Christmas.