A wonderful historic feeling grey-blue colour – or is it green-blue? – the hard to pin down Inchyra Blue was originally created for the doors of historic Scottish house Inchyra Estate, in ‘big tree country’ Perthshire. Taking its tonal inspiration from the local dramatic skies that are typical of the area – and that change by the minute – the colour has proved to be a huge hit for interiors and last month won the Colour of the Year award at Homes & Gardens Fabric awards. Among the judges of the competition were interiors guru Kit Kemp and Homes & Gardens editor Sarah Spiteri who described Inchyra as a “beautiful, moody hue with much more depth than a classic navy, thanks to its grey notes.” In a nod to the accolade, below we explore how to make this nebulous colour work its magic in various ways as illustrated by a few of our favourite rooms.
A perfect palette for hanging art
Image from abstract painter Rebecca Hall
Artist Rebecca Hall’s Inchyra room acts as a gorgeous moody backdrop for her large scale abstract landscape paintings. This painting reads like a big stormy sky, which is fitting, given the inspiration behind Inchyra. The fact that there are similar tones in Rebecca’s work adds to its impact on this wall and we love that the immediate interiors details surrounding this focal point are similarly neutral – the grey of the sheepskin and the black of the lamp. Elsewhere the eye is drawn to colourful accessories in contrasting shades.
Find Rebecca on instagram here.
Pair with whites and off-whites
Image from Farrow & Ball
Pair Inchyra with a white or off-white for an elegant, conservative outcome – this is perfect for those of us dipping our toes into darker shades. Try soft Shaded White or even the browner Drop Cloth alongside this blue-green-grey and it will remain as the colour creating all the drama. If you want to tread lightly and have a Victorian or Georgian room, consider painting one side of the dado rail in Inchyra and the other in your chosen white.
Image from Farrow & Ball
Team with other tones taken from nature
Image from Kristine Hall
Farrow & Ball’s Creative director Charlotte Cosby loves Inchyra alongside Vardo, which is a punchy teal colour, much like the cushion in the above living room by Interiors stylist and designer Kristine Hall. Charlotte advises that putting Inchyra alongside other colours from nature is an easy win and Kristine has followed this thinking with her various shades of blue, green and grey – all colours that seem to be contained within Inchyra.
For more interiors ideas, follow Kristine on Instagram at Restoring Landsdowne.
Off set Inchyra with warm materials and colours
Image from Manuela Holmes
As a cool shade, a sure fire way to give Inchyra even more depth and moodiness is to throw a splash of hot tones into the mix of your room. For best results avoid too, too bright – go for rust oranges rather than citrus shades, murky mustards and deep browns, and touches of warm brass.
We love how Interiors Instagrammer Ela (Manuela) Holmes has painted her bedside table the same as her walls before adding small touches of contrast via a cushion and bedside lamp (above). Follow her account Altona Stories for more ideas.
Meanwhile journalist and wedding ceremony speaker Verena Gernemann has joked about the power of dressing your children to match your interiors decor – and the mustard she’s referencing looks wonderfully warming against her Inchyra painted bedroom walls (below). You can follow her interiors here.
Image from Verena
The post Decorating with award winning Inchyra Blue appeared first on The Chromologist.
