Indigo, a Decorating Classic

By Candace Ord Manroe

Indigo. Even the name sounds moody, inspiring the likes of Duke Ellington to choose this hue above all others for his jazz tune "Mood Indigo." The color, like the song, is a hit--and a classic. Long associated with exotica thanks to the indigo dye's ancient origins in India, the color indigo continues to inspire designers with its rich and complicated quality, which is somewhere between a true blue and a violet on the color spectrum.

And, man, can it sing! Look what happens to a stack of hand-carved Louis XV and XVI fauteils and bergères when their curvy French frames are painted indigo and their soft places are covered in Dedar's "Tabularas" shiny cotton satin. The result is sensuous, vibrant, and incredibly chic.