The Most Beautiful Cobalt Blue Landmarks, According to Designers
Like a true-blue travel companion, Cosmic Cobalt remains a bold-yet-calming presence on almost any journey you can imagine. This universal shade is not only the color of the twinkling night sky, as seen from the balcony of a posh hotel suite or the porch of a rustic cabin, but also the color of the inky sea, stretching out before a beachfront resort or the bow of a luxury ocean liner.
As perhaps the most global of colors, VERANDA’s 2025 Color of the Year has served as a muse to both artisans and architects throughout history. From the Greek Isles to Moroccan tiles, the color can be seen in both everyday items and in every culture’s most enduring monuments.
As a favorite color for artists, Cosmic Cobalt is—not surprisingly—a hue that interior designers have also embraced in their work. We asked a handful of top designers, who seek out inspiration wherever they travel, to list their favorite blue landmarks to see Cosmic Cobalt in the wild.
The Roman Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle: San Simeon, California
Though many of the most famous landmarks that use Cosmic Cobalt are far-flung, one of the best examples lies closer to home. Designer Noz Nozawa’s pick for the best place to see VERANDA’s 2025 Color of the Year? “Hands down, the Roman Pool room at Hearst Castle,” she said. “I first saw it on an episode of TLC’s America’s Castles when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old, and finally got to visit it in person in 2016. It is astoundingly beautiful.”
Valley of the Kings: Luxor, Egypt
“Egypt has drawn me to its mysteries since I was a little boy,” says designer to the stars Martyn Lawrence Bullard. “As long as I can remember, I have wanted to visit this land of pharaohs and pyramids and a culture older than time.”
To celebrate a milestone birthday, Bullard embarked on a Nile cruise and recalls the cobalt treasures he saw along the way. The way that the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings “sparkle with cobalt blues in the hieroglyphics and wall paintings will always be engraved into my memory,” he says.
Marjorelle Gardens and Villa: Marrakech, Morocco
Designer Katie Ridder named the former home of Yves Saint Laurent as one of the most memorable landmarks featuring Cosmic Cobalt, and Martyn Lawrence Bullard agrees.
“The beautiful Marjorelle Villa and Gardens in Marrakech is, of course, the icon of cobalt blue when used in design,” Bullard says. “I think it is one of the greatest moments that color has starred in.”
Ishtar Gate of Ancient Babylon: Berlin, Germany, and Hillah, Iraq
Interior design Corey Damien Jenkins is a fan of the classics, naming the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, which was built circa 569 BC.
“When I was studying architecture many years ago, I remember falling in love with the iconic Ishtar Gate of Ancient Babylon,” he says. “The monument was originally commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II, and featured glazed and molded bricks painted in cobalt.”
Today, you can see the Ishtar Gate in two locations: a smaller version can be viewed in Hillah, Iraq, while the larger original gate has been reconstructed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Luis Barragán’s Casa Gilardi: Mexico City, Mexico
For interior designer Nick Olsen, a trip south of the border comes to mind when he considers the most striking Cosmic Cobalt landmarks.
“I think of Luis Barragán’s Casa Gilardi, which I was able to tour in Mexico City,” he says. Art and interiors advisor Audra Kiewiet de Jonge also loves Casa Gilardi, naming it one of the best museums in Mexico City.
“Architect Luis Barragán was a color theorist who did incredible things juxtaposing vibrant shades and geometric forms,” she says.
Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul: Mexico City, Mexico
While most designers are inspired by their travels, this inspiration often plays out in subtle ways in their work. But for Annie Sloan, the inventor of chalk paint, a building she saw in Mexico City led to a very direct result: “My Frida Blue paint is a cobalt inspired by Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul,” she says. “It sums up her zest for life, her love of her Mexican heritage, and the creativity-boosting heft of this lovely shade.”
Kykkos Monastery: Pedoulas, Cyprus
Annie Sloan may have created a paint shade based on a famous cobalt landmark, but she also acknowledges that she was not the first artist to be entranced by this mysterious color.
Cosmic Cobalt “makes me think of ornate Catholic or Greek and Byzantine Orthodox sacramental imagery,” she says. “It was a celebrated, special color reserved for the royal, the wealthy, and the religious— i.e., the powerful—all over the world.”
Because ultramarine—the rich blue pigment made from ground lapis lazuli—was more expensive than gold, the color was often used for portraits of divinity, as in the Kykkos Monastery of Cyprus (shown above).
Entrance to the Royal Djurgården: Stockholm, Sweden
It’s official: Cobalt blue gates are having a moment. For proof, look no further than the homes of designers Timothy Corrigan and Michelle Nussbaumer. But for a peek at the one the original Cosmic Cobalt gates, jewelry designer Mish Tworkowski recommends a visit to Stockholm.
“[My husband] Joseph and I were enchanted by the Djurgården,” he recently reported on Instagram, following a trip to the Swedish capital. “It is a royal park on one of the many Stockholm islands, which contains several beautiful buildings and palaces surrounded by stunning grounds. You enter through cobalt blue gates and meander along a network of charming paths!”
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