Blue has been having a resurgence, after its initial peak in the noughties, over the last few years as the paint trend to know about. From being announced as the Dulux colour of the year in 2022 to the accidentally Wes Anderson interior trend, we've seen blues popping up everywhere, and now former Girls Aloud singer and star of stage and screen Kimberley Walsh has given it her seal of approval with her new living room transformation.
And if you adore the colour just as much as we do, did you know that you can actually buy the exact custom colour to recreate the living room colour scheme in your own home?
Kimberley sat down with Ideal Home to talk about her very first collaboration with Wickes, with the two working together to create the specially created paint shade, called ‘Blue Haze’.
‘It does make sense for my first paint colour to be something that’s quite versatile,’ says Kimberley.
‘Initially, it was the colour that I wanted to paint my main living area. It was kind of a selfish reason initially because I’d decided that blue would be the perfect colour and I kind of knew exactly what I wanted to create in my head, I just had to try to find a way to bring it to fruition.’
That’s where working with Wickes on it made perfect sense.
The colour, which is a light to mid-shade blue from the aqua family, has a soft blue-grey undertone and is available in 2.5L Tough and Washable, as well as Matt Emulsion options, depending on the project that you’re looking to take on.
Kimberley explains, ‘It’s totally transformed my living room and I’m just really, really happy that I managed to find the perfect shade. It’s funny how much of a difference it’s actually made. I don’t even think I quite realised how much it would change the space.’
Inside Kimberley Walsh’s living room transformation
When it came to the exact shade that she chose, she reveals the reasoning behind the blue hue that they ended up with, ‘I wanted something that was overall not too dark, because I’ve got other darker colours in the house – in the basement area and the dining room – which I think are the sort of rooms that can take that sort of darkness. But because that’s our main living space I didn’t want it to be too dark.’
But she didn’t want too light a shade either. ‘I also had the challenge of not wanting it to be the sort of colour that you would see in a nursery. I didn’t want it to be a duck-egg sort of blue. I wanted it to have that strength that will bring out all of the key features in the room, like the archways and the fireplace,’ she adds.
And it’s done exactly that. We simply adore the result.
‘I had this sort of dusty sort of grey-blue type of tone in my head and just had to try and work out how you actually mix that colour – with a bit of help.’
Versatility was key for Kimberley when it came to creating the perfect custom shade.
‘I feel like it will be really lovely in a bathroom, so potentially maybe at some point one of our bathrooms upstairs, which has wood panelling, would look really lovely with it. It’s just got that kind of versatile usage,’ she affirms.
If you’re wondering which other colours or shades to pair ‘Blue Haze’ with, Kimberley has a few ideas of her own. ‘So, in my living room, I’ve got some sort of vintage-y deep red and neutral patterned cushions – it’s quite hard to explain because it doesn’t sound as nice as they actually are. But blue goes with a lot of different colours, so there’s nudes, darker blues – obviously – any other sort of tones of blue in the same kind of vicinity.’
‘I feel like that’s another really nice thing about it because of the tone of it, it really does go with a lot of different colours, which means that generally it’s probably quite an easy one to just swap out in your room and keep a lot of the stuff the same, which would save money.’
Wickes have also made pairing ‘Blue Haze’ with complimentary colours a real breeze thanks to their handpicked accompanying shades. These include Teal, Turkish Blue, Admiral, Marshmallow, Sage, Pastel Olive and Beach Hut hues.
And the colour looks just as impressive in real life as it does in the photographs. Kimberley tells us, ‘I’ve had a good response from friends and family so far, which is good. I’ve already had quite a few friends go, ‘have you got any paint left?’ I’m like, ‘no, you’ve got to purchase it.’ Because they’ve seen it in real life and that’s the easiest kind of way to be sure of a colour – when you actually see it on someone's walls. Then you feel confident that oh, yeah, that will work.’
For her – and her family – their living room is a ‘calm and happy place.’
‘I think that’s obviously because of the colours but also that’s kind of the place that I spend the most time, you know. It’s where I relax, so I associate it with that as well.’
And the difference that a simple lick of paint has made is truly incredible.
We can’t wait to see what Kimberley transforms next.
Kimberley Walsh x Wickes ‘Blue Haze’ paint is available in-store and online, while stocks last.
