Color — and lots of it — was the goal for actress Sarayu Blue when she converted a guest room in her Studio City home into a personal retreat of sorts. She painted the walls a deep turquoise, anchored one corner with a burnished orange lounge chair, laid down a floral teal rug from Anthropologie and set out vases, which she keeps filled with fresh bouquets.
“I want a place to feel welcoming and warm,” said Blue, who recently appeared on the CBS comedy “The Unicorn” and on “Medical Police” on Netflix. She also voiced the character of the palace tailor on Disney Junior’s animated series “Mira, Royal Detective.” “I’m a big fan of burnt colors. I like things clean and simple, but I didn’t want it to feel cold or like you couldn’t touch anything.”
She shares the 1,800-square-foot town house with her husband, producer Jonathan M. Blue, and their 4-year-old Maltipoo rescue, Otis. When they moved in two years ago, they removed the carpeting, installed new flooring, took down wall sconces and light fixtures and painted everything white — but didn’t change much beyond that.
“We wanted to live in it first and get a feel for it before decorating,” she said.
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A spare room upstairs with its own bathroom became a guest room, but that was barely used unless Blue was prepping for an event and had her glam squad in there. Earlier this year, she revamped the space, infusing rich colors and topping it off with a trio of couch cushions from the set of her 2018 NBC sitcom, “I Feel Bad.” When arrayed together, the cushions spell out “You Do You.”
Why is this your favorite room?
My husband has an office downstairs, a man-cave football-watching den; for a long time my office was the living room. I realized I needed my own creative space.
What do you do in here?
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I don’t come in here unless I’m working or taking space for myself — I’m a big alone-time person. I have my coffee. I read. I light my candles. I wanted a place to write or do yoga; this room is that for me.
How did you redecorate it?
We got rid of the guest bed and got a pull-out sofa bed instead, in case people do want to stay with us. I love mixing styles and eclectic tastes. I love brass fixtures. The little sink here had chrome faucets, but I went online and found brass faucets that fit and match perfectly without requiring me to break anything. And I brought in this ottoman, which I’ve had for 10 years. I bought it then as a big treat to myself when I lived in a dinky old crummy apartment.
So, instead of working with a decorator, you put it together yourself?
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I love playing — I moved things from other parts of the house in here, like this triangular marble table. I’m lucky I have friends that I can run things by if I need an opinion. Mostly I like to see what’s out there and find deals.
Are there pieces that are especially meaningful to you?
This coffee table is from West Elm; it was part of our wedding registry, and a group of our friends got together and bought it. I love that it has storage. I don’t need a desk, but I do need a place to work and to put my computer away afterward. And I love the print on the wall. It’s by an artist named Caryn Owen. The piece is “Arctic Ice” — we bought it for the wall in the dining room, but it looked tiny down there so I moved it here. I love how calming it is; there’s something so soothing about it.
And there’s a story about the orange chair.
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When Jon and I started dating, he said he hated orange. I asked him, “How do you hate a color?” It turns out it goes very deep into the family history. Orange is the color of a sports team that was the rival to the team his family supported. It took me a minute to figure that out. Much to his chagrin, the chair stayed. And now, orange is a major part of his life.