Decorating with black

I love design and decoration; changing how a room looks, adding new accessories, evolving and reshaping rooms. I'm passionate about it... it's addictive and we have made a career from it.

We are about to start re-vamping our kitchen and we are going for an industrial chic vibe. Open shelving made from scaffold planks with French iron brackets, our tile wallpaper (soon to be unveiled) and black paint on doors and some walls. So, I thought I'd share some gorgeous images of rooms using black, and more importantly, how to make the look work. 

The first and most important thing to make clear, is to layer the room using lighting, colour, texture, pattern and natural materials like wood. Colours that work really well with black are caramel, yellow tones, golds, heathery shades, wood - they ground a room gently with soul and integrity.

Lighting is very important when using dark colours. Layer the lighting - task lighting that can be dimmable to create soft glowing colour, a statement suspension ceiling lamp to add drama, pool lighting in the form of floor and table lamps and even candles to create gentle flickers of warm light.

Don't use too many hard, linear edges or your room will end up looking like an 80's bachelor pad! Add soft curves and mix up the style of furniture; vintage, period and a bit of contemporary all work brilliantly together with black.

Look at this black bathroom - it is warm and inviting, thanks to the use of yellow tones, plummy notes in the curtains and the jade flooring.

If you want to tread gently with darker shades, how about just painting doors or architraves? It creates a very strong, graphic design statement. White walls are a stark contrast but see how the wood tones the palette. 

 

Look at the layering of colour, shape and form on this mantelpiece. A selective colour palette in greys and greens is given extra life by using natural wood - it imparts real depth.

This bedroom has used the golden tones, neutral detailing and layers of texture and pattern to create a relaxing and restful room. Whilst I might choose not to add blackboard paint to my bedroom wall, nevertheless, the overall scheme is appealing and inviting.

So, go for it. Have fun! It's only paint! If you hate it, paint over it and start again... but give it a go. It might just just take you off to a whole new decorative direction, or, as in our case, new career!