A gathering can be just one single person

Andrew Jonathan Griffiths of A New Day loves to make homes feel convivial, even if you live on your own, he tells Pip Rich

- 

PIP RICH A few designers have told me recently how averse they are to blue. Tiffany Duggan, who has a similarly earthy, rich palette to you, says she finds it hard to incorporate. But I see it so often in your designs. Why? And how do you make it work?

ANDREW JONATHAN GRIFFITHS Perhaps it's because I'm an Aquarian, a water sign! I love the sea – the wide open outdoors and all that coastal air. Blue is my favourite colour, in all its shades. It can have the most incredible depth and freshness. Earthy palettes are my happy place, for the connection to nature they bring, but blue has a similar link in the ocean and sky. It also offers a sense of balance and when I want a reprieve from all that earthiness, I'll throw in a blue. In my house I have an earthy living area opening onto a stained blue veneer kitchen.

PR Are there any blue paints you find particularly easy to work with?