The Unexpected Trend of Navy, Green & Grey

Have you ever seen Paris at twilight on a summer's night? A little after sunset, when the pink fades away, the sky deepens to a luminous navy blue. And against the grand, Dioresque-grey shades of the city's famous architecture, it looks incredibly beautiful, especially when you glimpse it through the tree-lined quays and boulevards.

Who would have thought navy, green and grey would look so distinguished as a design triptych?

I thought of this colour combination recently when we stayed in Boston's beautiful Back Bay neighbourhood for a few days. Surrounded by gracious parks, ivy-clad campuses, grassy quadrangles, preppy fashions and handsome Democrats (think of JFK), I couldn't help but think the place was an urban poem to the three tones. Indeed, navy, green and grey seemed to be the unofficial colours of this city. They were everywhere, from the peacoats and wool blazers (those classic collegiate staples), to the hotel lobbies and even the livery of the local Ralph Lauren store, above.

(Although it's perhaps not surprising: blue is a Democrat colour, Kelly green is a very Irish one and grey – well, that's an academic / ivy league shade from way back.)

Then I began noticing this dignified trio everywhere. (Louis Vuitton poster bought in SoHo.)

Including the Hamptons and New York. (Hydrangeas in full bloom in Gramercy Park.)

And down in Miami and the Keys. (Navy shutters on  the front of The Moorings's beach house.)

They soon became the prevailing colours of our trip. So much so, that we felt we should really buy some Kelly green and navy things to join the NGG Brigade. That's when I found this cute Webster dress at Target.

And these cuties at a Kate Spade outlet store. (Kate Spade's soft wool 'Beantown' Quinn bags, which were named after Boston and inspired by the peacoats.)

Now I've become so fond of navy, green and grey that I think I'd like to decorate our next house in these gracious, sophisticated shades. Navy on its own can be too sombre, but with Kelly green and Dior grey? It's fresh, elegant, and completely unexpected.

It will also remind me of our honeymoon.

Didn't I tell you I'd inject some romance into our home somehow?

 {Collage via Stoneblossom}

But it seems I'm not the only one to have noticed these distinctive shades.

In fact, now I'm beginning to think I'm quite possibly the last person in the world to have cottoned on to  the NGG Trend?  {Harper's Bazaar Editors' Picks from  August 2011. If these colours appeared in fashion late last year, you know it's only a matter of time before they filter down to interiors.]

Still. I'm hoping the colours are classic enough that they won't date anytime soon.

Just look at the beautiful Tricia Guild in her gorgeous London garden. {Photo by James Merrell}

Tricia is a big fan of the NGG combination. Every year, she includes these colours in her collections for Designers Guild. {Via Homes & Gardens}

Ralph Lauren is also a follower. His Paris store on Boulevard Saint-Germain is an ode to navy, green and grey.

Ralph likes the combination in his own residences too.  {Via Habitually Chic}

David Collins doesn't mind the NGG look either. {Image of his London terrace via Vogue}

Windsor Smith's converted too. {Via House Beautiful}

And Oscar de le Renta has even created a navy, green and grey garden inspired by the sophistication of these three shades. {Source unknown}

Here's some more inspiration, to persuade you to climb aboard the NGG train too!

Veronica Beard in Harper's Bazaar. {Via Habitually Chic}

Oscar de le Renta and Elie Saab. {Via StyleWithoutLimits}

Katie Holmes, who chose the combination when she stepped out (a free woman) in New York this week.

A snapshot of Tabitha's glamorous summer wardrobe from the always fabulous Bourbon and Pearls blog. {Via bourbonandpearls.blogspot.com}

The Viceroy Santa Monica in LA, still one of my favourite hotels for interior design.

Designer Stuart Membery's home in Bali, and a piece from his collection. {Via Vogue Living and Stuart Membery}

Another gorgeous poolscape. Love the blue urns. {Via the book Litchfield Style, photographed by Tim Street-Porter}

An outdoor setting with a twist, styled by Megan Perry of Dorya. Megan found the faux grass chairs in Paris and covered them in Dedar's Poulette fabric. {Via Traditional Home}

The Charlotte Street Hotel in London. Look at those lampposts. And the striped grey awnings. {Via Firmdale Hotels}

Even the flowers match at Firmdale Hotels.

One of my favourite scenes of Paris; late summer in the Palais Royal gardens.

A parrot matches the NGG look perfectly, as seen in this Domayne ad, from House & Garden.

And some more NGG whimsy from House & Garden.

Fabrics by Quadrille, which give this living room a little Hollywood glamour. {Source unknown}

And a surprisingly pretty dining room dressed in navy and granny smith apple green. {Via House Beautiful}

Who would have thought a hall would look so dramatic in navy and green? {Via Homes & Gardens}

And another of my favourite vistas from the Palais Royal's gardens.

And even the Australian Women's Weekly has styled their latest issue with a nod to the colour combination... (BTW, I see former Vogue editor Kirstie Clements is writing a book about her years in magazines. Should make for interesting reading.)

Decorating And Marriage...

I have been doing a lot of thinking this past week. Packing your life into 50 tea chests tends to make a person a little contemplative.

And what I've realised, in between the boxes, the bubble wrap and the puppies stealing my masking tape, is that it's not enough just to decorate a house. It's not enough just to paint walls in the latest palettes, hang prints like a Parisian gallerist, screw in whole lotta fancy New York hardware, toss some expensive cushions on a Danish sofa, and artfully arrange a pile of books on a low buttoned ottoman. (The latter skill still evades me: My coffee-table stack looks like the Returns Shute of the South Yarra Library. And I don't think I've managed any of the rest, either)

It's not even enough to slap on a marble splashback, hang some vintage lights from a flea market in the south of France, up-end a LV trunk for a bar, and throw together a salad with home-grown radicchio that looks like a dish Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall whipped up. (Heart chair image via Canadian House & Home)

No.

You also need to add some love.

{Image source of heart rug unknown.}

This has been my decorating epiphany this week.

{Image above of Daylesford Organics' kitchen garden. Image below of Prieure d'Orsan. Both by me.}

RR and I don't spend a lot of time lazing around the house together. In fact, when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg married his girlfriend, one of her conditions was that "they have at least 100 minutes of alone time together every week". When RR and I heard this on the TV in our hotel room in Boston, we looked at each other in alarm and said, "That's a lot of minutes!"

I always thought our separate studies (into which we retreat each night) had been the reason we'd stayed together for so long. But obviously we're doing things all wrong. Obviously we're not following The 100-Minute Rule.

So tonight I told him that our next house is going to be different. We're going to have Romance. Couple Time. Shared Moments in Front of Grand Designs. (He looked rather scared at this but courageously nodded.) Our home is going to be a portrait of passion. The floor plan's going to be so filled with joy, Kevin McCloud himself is going to ring and ask what's in our girders?


{Image of cushion in Umbrella Print fabric via Anna Spiro}

And then I wondered how I would achieve all this?

Decorating Epiphany #2 came when I tried to stop our Cavalier Spaniel Cooper from humping our Jack Russell Coco over the bubble wrap. ("Very disturbing," as my niece Shae would say.)

I realised that if our new home (which we move into on Monday) was going to be a picture of marital contentment, we were going to have to get the decor right. So that means far less black and white. (Too cold.) Far less bold stripes. (Too much like an Alabama correctional facility.) And no more vintage prints of guns and shooting parties. (Even if they are from the lovely Knightsbridge Map & Antique Prints Store.)

I just need to work out what to put in their place?



(More in next post...)