Embrace the Dark Side
Traditional rules of interior design look to create a space that is comforting and homely, light and spacious and ultimately, timeless. So, one colour that does not immediately spring to mind when it comes to redecorating is: black. Stereotypically, many will think that only goths decorate their rooms with an abundance of black – but let’s face it, the kind of people who want a black room probably couldn’t care less about stereotypes! Black is a fantastic colour to add to your home, as the great Morticia Addams said “Black is such a happy colour, darling” – Who can argue with that?
THE MYTH OF BLACK ROOMS
It has always been believed that black or darker colours make a room feel smaller or cramped – akin to a dungeon maybe. That doesn’t have to be the case – in fact, black can accentuate features in your room; bring a feeling of luxury, sophistication, romance and drama, and believe it or not, space!
Now, we are not saying that you must adorn every aspect of your room with black, but it is ideal to add it to any room to further accentuate colours or drawing your eye to a focal point.
PAINT IT BLACK
It’s a popular belief that white is the best for adding light and space to a room, and black will make a room feel smaller or cramped, when in fact it is the colour infinite space! Painting your walls black will not increase feelings of claustrophobia, in fact, the use of darker colours on a wall, can hide the edges and corners of a room and add a feeling of vastness. Besides, too much white can feel clinical.
White does have its place within a black room, mainly on the ceiling. This can create the illusion of a higher ceiling by drawing the eye upwards. Or switch around and have a black ceiling with white walls – just as dramatic. If doing this, make sure that you choose a matte paint.
FRAME IT
If you feel that you are not ready to fully embrace your inner Morticia, then there are several ways of incorporating black into your home:
- PICTURE FRAMES– frame your photos or works of art in black frames; or hang them up on a black wall – art displays on a black background can really make them pop. Galleries often paint their walls black in order to draw more attention to the pictures on them.
- FRAME YOUR DOORS – framing need not be exclusive to photos and art think about painting a door frame or window in black.
ACCESSORIES & FURNITURE
Adding black furniture to your home can be both elegant and dramatic (besides a sofa) a very popular Swedish furniture shop have a black bookcase in their range that is both stylish and affordable. Or, if you are not keen on purchasing the black version, how about painting the inside of another bookcase black.
Painting furniture black is ideal for anyone who do not fancy buying new furniture. There are a range of chalk paints available for an upcycling project.
If having black furniture is still too ambitious then you can take even smaller steps by adding black accessories: cushions, throws, lamp shades, rugs or ornaments.
Do not fear black – it is a timeless colour. If you feel like this is the time to embrace your dark side, head over to our shop and see what black pieces you can add to your home.