Over the holiday season, I’ve embarked on a post series titled “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue” (and you can see the previous entries under Categories: What I’m Reading in the farther right-hand sidebar.)

Initially, though, I was a bit stumped by Something Blue, because I couldn’t find a book I hadn’t read previously, whether new or old, that had “blue” in the title.  I could think of plenty of books that I had read and loved previously, which make quite a nice list in their own right:

• A Patch Of Blue by Elizabeth Kata (first published as Be Ready with Bells and Drums, 1961)
• The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (1982)
• A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voight (1983)
• Army Blue by Lucian K Truscott IV (1989)
• Blue At The Mizzen by Patrick O’Brien (1999)
• The Blue Girl by Charles De Lint (2004)
• Bitterblue by Kirstin Cashore (2012)
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (2014)

And there’s one or two more in there, I’m sure…

However, I did not have to continue thinking hard after all, because I was rescued by a Christmas present — UK designer William Yeoward’s Blue & White, subtitled “A Personal Journey Through Colour.”

As those  who’ve read my Month Of Joy posting on Skiffy and Fanty will know, I am a fan of colour in all its manifestations — and the colour blue is probably my most consistent favourite (although the “favourite” tag does tend to shift around.) So Blue & White was always going to be of interest and although it’s been some time since I read an interior design book from cover to cover, this one did repay the journey.

The “personal journey” of the subtitle is very much the driving force of the book, but that is no less interesting than a wider purview since William Yeoward has spent 35 years in the industry, honing his craft — which has also, as perusal of the book makes clear, been very much an artistic path as well.

The book focuses on homes and settings that Yeoward has either decorated outright or styled in some way, and I liked that it is not “just” pretty pictures: he also explains his design approach and how certain effects  are achieved. One of the elements I found interesting was how he combined the basic blue and white schemes with other textures, for example, natural wood, to ensure the blue effect was not “cold” — always the risk with blue, from my observation, much as I love the colour.

The other aspect of interest to me was how Yeoward’s schemes and focus were predominantly in what I consider the English style, which is very textured and very formal. Overall, it’s not a style I think works readily for the New Zealand climate and lifestyle, or its light, which is much harsher than in the UK. However, the value of the book is not so much in fittings and furnishings but in how colours work together and effects can be achieved. In that sense it’s a matter of applying the principles rather than slavishly adopting the “look.”

Blue & White is a beautiful coffee table book and it’s also a resource, albeit at a high level. Anyone who is interested in art, interior design, or colour will almost certainly enjoy the read — if only to realise how much time and money people spend, not only on interior schemes but on elaborate table settings. With respect to the table settings I will confess that my own plebeian reflection was that it was a lot of time and effort to expend on something that would be all-for-nought as soon as the guests sat down, however striking as a first effect. I enjoyed the “window shopping” though, even if, like Georgie Girl, I had no intention of “stopping to buy.”

So there it is, not only Something Blue, something a little different for “…on Anything, Really” as well. But hey, it’s the new year and that’s the time for having fun and changing things up a little.