‘There was that moment where navy blue was everywhere. If you wanted to make something dreadful look smart you painted it navy blue, and maybe that killed it - it was over used,’ says Rita Konig. Rita notes that in the decade or so since navy started to fall off the radar, our collective taste has veered towards earthier, muddier tones of paint. Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador at Farrow & Ball is inclined to agree: ‘After the “grey years” we saw a rise of navy blue. It was ubiquitous on kitchen cabinetry, a feature panelled wall both in living rooms and bedrooms- it just all became a little “seen it, done it”,’ he says. But Patrick and Rita, like us, are pleased to see that the barometer of taste is swinging back in favour of the deep blue shade. Not only is a navy blue hue called ‘slow swing’ one of the Dulux’s colours of the year, but a navy has also made its way onto Benjamin Moore’s most searched for colours of 2025 (it’s called ‘Hale Navy’ and it is positively captivating with its inky depth). Much like the designers below, these brands are joining our quest to prove that navy blue is one of the most timeless and elegant colours around. As Patrick succinctly puts it, ‘navy is a classic and used wisely it can be joyful.’
In spite of their bad rep, Rita maintains that navy blues are ‘really smart and it go with everything’. ‘I like it to use it in a gloss finish as a trim colour that picks up on the colour of a small print wallpaper, but a very dark navy outside is also lovely. There’s been a fashion for painting the windows of red brick buildings black, which I love but I think it should be a very dark blue that is almost black.’
Claire Sa, one half of architecture studio De Rosee Sa, is also a fan: ‘Dark blue is such a strong and stable colour,’ she says. ‘I particularly like it in a room with lots of journey where it can be a strong grounding, and even better in a library, since I often think so many book spines have red or orange in them, and both go so well with navy blue,’ adds Claire, who has used dark blue to fantastic effect in the home of Net-a-Porter founder Alison Loehnis. She cites ‘Kigali Blue’ (which is used in the room above) as one of her favourites, as well as ‘Squid Ink’, both from Paint & Paper Library and both of which, Claire says, ‘are recognisable as blue but have something else in them, like a bit of grey or black, which adds depth’.
‘I also think that unlike lots of blues which can traditionally be quite cold, navy blues actually bring out warm hues. If you put an element of brass or something shiny such as a lamp against dark blue paint, there is a warmth and sense of atmosphere created,’ says Claire. For her, this sense of comfort is what makes navy blue a brilliant choice for small rooms, dark rooms or rooms which don’t benefit from lots of natural light. ‘Putting a darker blue colour in a really sun-kissed or south-facing room can put a lot of glare on the whole thing and kill the colour,’ she explains. ‘But dark blue creates a sense of cosiness in darker rooms, north facing rooms or smaller rooms. The lack of bright light allows the colour to do its magic. It sounds counter-intuitive but I often think that too much light can dilute the effect of the colour’.
Like Rita, Claire finds navy a brilliant backdrop for colour and pattern. This view is shared by Helen Shaw, Director Of Marketing at Benjamin Moore, who recommends blending inky blues with ‘sun-baked tones such as terracotta, burgundy, and burnt orange. The deep blue anchors the palette, while the warm accents bring energy and vibrancy, resulting in a sophisticated, balanced look.’ Other favoured shades include ‘Stiffkey Blue’ by Farrow & Ball, which India Holmes describes as ‘a navy blue that doesn't speak to loudly’ and which she has used it abundantly in her own house in Highbury, and ‘Serge’ from the Farrow & Ball archive, which is a favourite of Patrick's thanks to its ‘beautiful, rich dynamism’. Rita has a few favourites that she returns to: ‘Clifton Blue’ by Papers and Paints, ‘Basalt’ by Little Greene and ‘Antwerp Blue' by Dulux Heritage.
Further evidence, if it were needed, can be found in the simple fact that Hatta Byng, House & Garden's former editor and someone who surely has been exposed to more different paint ideas than anyone else around, opted for navy blue kitchen cabinets. That, along with all of the above settles it: navy blue is back and is just as wonderful as ever.
