Blue doesn’t get much bluer than Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul. If you’d like to turn your outdoor space into a Kahlo style salute to all things Mexican, YesColours should be your first port of call…
Frida Kahlo is, to this day, an inspiration to millions of people through her art, life and activist work. And now, you can take inspiration from her famous Casa Azul and turn your own home into a piece of art too.
Blue is the colour.
Don’t stint, don’t hold back, don’t bottle it at the last minute. The quickest, Kahloest way to a stylish Mexican exterior is with lashings of our Electric Blue Masonry Paint. There are plenty of ways to use Electric Blue but simply drench your home’s exterior in it, just like Casa Azul and you absolutely won’t regret it.
YesColours’ Electric Blue is probably our most highly pigmented, velvetiest shade and a top seller with very good reason. This luscious colour sits somewhere between cobalt and ultramarine. Fans say it reminds them not only of Frida Kahlo’s Blue House but also of the Majorelle Blue of the gardens in Marrakech and Yves Klein’s International Klein Blue 79. You feel you could fall right into it.
Our Electric Blue paint colour is bright, vibrant and, the best part - has a delicate velvety finish which is unmatched by any other blue paint colour out there. It also happens to be the perfect paint colour for replicating the design of Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul. Available in Matt emulsion for interiors and in Masonry for exterior brick and concrete surfaces.
Do blue on a smaller scale.
If an entire exterior wall of ultramarine blue is a little more ultra than you think you can manage, why not see how you feel first by tipping your toe in. Not literally, we hasten to add. We’d prefer you dipped in a gnome or perhaps a stone garden bench or two. There are plenty of easy ways to bring a bit of cobalt blue to your space without committing too hard. We think if Frida were here now she’d tell you to try out Electric Blue on a few terracotta pots planted up with cacti. (She wouldn’t; she’d definitely tell you to go blue or go home and do that whole wall, but she’d be pleased to see you make a start).
The perfect summer (and all year round!) DIY project - painting a plant pot with our bestselling Electric Blue Masonry paint. See how our Co-Founder and Creative Director - Emma, transformed this terracotta plant pot in her own garden here.
Use your whole artists' palette.
In Frida Kahlo’s Blue House, the cobalt blue exterior walls are complemented with several other bold shades; terracotta and green detailing on window frames and garden screens, for example, and the bright yellow tiles of the kitchen that peep out, bringing a pop of citrus. Add a little zing to your Electric Blue by pairing it with trims in Mindful Green, Loving Orange and Passionate Yellow and your outdoor space will soon look like a Kahloesque canvas. Just add watermelons.
Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul is full of life and colour not only on the outside, but inside too. Steal the look of this bright and colourful room with our Passionate Warm White, Passionate Yellow, Joyful Aqua and Fresh Peach paint colours.
Add height and structure.
Ultramarine blue has plenty of depth so to complement that, you need a bit of height. Think like Frida and add wooden garden screens, painted in your complementary secondary colours, at different heights through the garden. Add seating and raised beds on different levels, and tall, architectural-looking plants. The Blue House is famed for its cheese plants, cacti and palms, but look for anything with a bit of height that will grow well in your soil. And be sure to throw in some dahlias somewhere, even if only to wear them in your hair.
One of our most favourite transformations so far: Suzy Broome and her garden makeover, inspired by no one else than Frida Kahlo and her Blue House. See how Suzy and her daughters used our Electric Blue Masonry paint colour to create this masterpiece.
Tell your own story.
The courtyard of the Blue House is also home to folk art, heritage pieces and shells. LOTS of shells. All these things ground it heavily in its location, nodding to local folklore, art and history. Bring a little of your personal story and your locality to your space, by using local stone where you can, adding shells, stones and other finds from your trips to the coast, and objects that just make you smile. As Frida said to us once: “Nothing is worth more than laughter.”
Did you know: we have an entire inspirational paint colour edit dedicated to Mexico. As our paint colour palette is inspired by culture, travel and the world that surrounds us, we created our Mexico Edit as a tribute to one of the most colourful countries in the world and its rich palette.
We hope that you are now fully inspired to recreate Frida Kahlo's iconic Casa Azul with our equally iconic Electric Blue paint colour. And if you need any more colour help, simply book a colour consultation with us and we'll sort your colour puzzle in no time. It's easy, it's fun... and there's a free option available too.
Share your YesColours home transformation by tagging us on Instagram.