Can you see yourself decorating a room in your home in black or is just the thought of it appealing for you? Or maybe you would feel like you belonged to the Addams family if you did?
I will show you how to decorate a room using black without the room turning into something scary or dark. I will also show you how to use books in interior design.
At first, consider the following quote that says it all:
“Without black, no colour has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.” — Amy Grant
So true and a complete description about what black can do for your! Black can be defined as the absence of all other colours or as the present of pigments from all others colours. Black is often associated with negative associations but in interior design black is really an underestimated colour. Black is a colour full of contradictions. It represents elegance, formality, death, evil, sex mystic and power to mention a few. Read more about the colour black here. So lets start with a room with black interior design.
Black interior design
I will start with a dining room where black is the dominating colour and where the other colours just reinforces the black colour. The base in the dining room is of course the dining table! After many years of searching I finally found this dining table that look exactly how I wanted it to be. I can particularly recommend a hexagonal table because it gives a more strict appearance than a round table. Another important advantage is that if you are sex people around the table, each person will get a defined surface of the table that gives clarity at the table settings. And the fact that the table was black was a big bonus! If you don’t have a black table you can use black wallpaper or paint on one wall instead to reinforce the black details in the room.
To use white on the other walls and the furniture creates an illusion that the room is mostly black since our eyes tends to be drawn to the most dramatic when we enter a room. Black and white is both excellent background colours that reinforced each other. White stands for purity and innocence but a room with too much white can give a sterile feeling and doesn’t stimulate socializing. So depending on which atmosphere you want to create you can add other colours to white and in this case I use black colour.
This is how the room looks during daylight and as you can see the room isn’t so dark or gloomy that you might think it will be even though the black colour is dominating.
This photo is taken during the winter season and therefor I use black curtains of lace that let the precious light shine through while it still gives the black colour and also the right feeling that I want to have here.
Here is a close up on the curtains. In order to let the black colour dominates I also use curtains in silver whit a metallic look.
A room like this also needs some black details. Make sure to reinforce the contrast between black and white by using black candlesticks or other black things here and there. To add another colour, for example dramatic red, in just one place in the room can make a big difference in turning the room more alive. Red are said to increase the blood pressure and give us more energy and is an excellent choice in dining rooms. Black in combination with red gives a room a more warm and cosy feeling. But don’t overdo the red colour since red also make a room look darker.
But it is in the evening the dramatic look appears and the room transforms into a dark and trendy room: If you want a warmer feeling, just add plenty candle lights and lamps with a yellow light and the room transform into a great room for parties.
To use black as an accent colour
Black is a fantastic ground colour that can be used in other ways too; if you just add one light and bright colour scale to the black and white colours you will get a completely different room. Black is the best colour to use if you want to give more depth into other bright and strong colours and can get other colours to lift in a fantastic way. Black is often said to stand for drama, courage and elegance and if you use black in the right way it will make a hugh difference in your decoration. How much black you use or how you use it is only limited by your imagination.
In this case you use black only as an accent colour and the green light or lime green colour is supposed to be dominating. Since black is a strong accent colour you can add pretty much of the green colour without running the risk that it will be too much. And make sure to add green colour in many different places in the room. By arranging colours in a room so that the chosen color can be seen in every directions in the room makes it dominate even if the dominant colours such as in this case in fact is white and black. Use the colour you want to be the dominant colour on paintings, candles, napkins and flowers. Add other things like green books, bowls or whatever you have avalible.
House decoration ideas and a little about how to arrange objects as ornament
Colour
A white and dull bench can become an important part in your decoration if you add the colours you want to be the dominating colour. In order to bring a flat area to live you must use both heights, colours as well as different forms.
Hight
A painting behind a white flat side table creates a great background. Then you need to add the other chosen accessories. Always start with the higher objects and try them out in different positions. You will get best balance if you put the high objects on the sides and the smaller objects in the middle. Another way is to add one high object also in the middle. It all comes down to what you want to be the central- object.
Ornaments
You can use almost everything but as always; choose things that you like and things that have a meaning for you. But whatever small objects you use; use several of them! If you for example use stones or porcelain ornaments arrange several of the same sort in a group and not just one of them. One small stone or porcelain ornament does not add so much and will only cluttering the area you want to decorate. By arranging several in a group they appear to have a meaning and are there for a purpose and not just standing there because you didn’t know where else to put them!
Books
I often use books in interior design and I constantly find more ways to use them besides the ordinary way standing in a bookshelf. I think it is a waste to just let books stand in a shelf among other books! They become totally invisible for everyone, including you. Many books have beautiful covers as well as the back of the book and you can use which one you like. Choose your favourite books or a book that has the right colours and arrange them after your taste. I use books placed with the cover up for decoration or let them stand as they would in a bookshelf. One extra bonus is that I find myself picking up the books I use for decoration more often than I would have done if they stood in the bookshelf.
Another great way is to use books as a way to get some height in the composition or as a way to protrude something by putting the object on top of a stack of books.
I hope I have given you some tips on how to use black in interior design. My next choice in this room will be to use cerise instead of the green colour. By changing just the accent colour a room will get a totally different look. With black as a background colour there is no limitations and you can use any bright colour you like. All bright colours will get a new shadow and fullness if you mix them with black! And that goes for your home as well!
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