Blue Nova: Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year

Design Team: Bjørn Design, Verner Architects, Drew Maran Construction, Photo: Bruce Damonte Architectural Photographer

The magical twilight time of day, "Blue Hour," inspired Blue Nova, Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year. When sunlight scatters, the sky becomes a deep shade of blue with violet undertones. San Francisco interior designer David Bjørngaard of Bjørn Design selected shades of the celestial hue for the living room of a contemporary Palo Alto home. It's the client's favorite color, and David combined it with white walls, blonde oak built-ins, a textured gray rug, and a laser-cut steel staircase. Colors and materials repeat throughout the compound, which includes a three-story main house, two-story guest cottage, garden, and pool.

Rebecca Katz Art, One Night in Maine - 48" x 36" - SOLD acrylic, canvas covered panel

Rebecca Katz is no stranger to the color Blue Nova and the Blue Hour. She paints Turner-esque seascapes and skyscapes from her studio in Sausalito's historic Marinship complex, which boasts magnificent views of Richardson Bay. The location features ephemeral shades of blue and has long been a lodestone for artists, writers, musicians, actors, and dreamers. While evoking another location, Rebecca's painting, One Night in Maine, still captures the luminous hues of Sausalito's sky and sea.  

Philip Stites, Set of Eight Portuguese Blue Glazed Faience Albarello

Blue Nova makes a beautiful color for accessories and accents like this Set of Eight Portuguese Blue Glazed Faience Albarello from Los Angeles antique dealer Philip Stites. Apothecaries used these jars, dating from the 17th to 18th centuries, for ointments and dry medicines. The tradition of pharmacy jars originated in the Middle East when Hispano-Moresque traders brought them to Southern Europe along with the technique of tin-glazed pottery, which evolved into faience. With their elegant Latin labels, Albarelli were both functional and decorative.