I wandered through a popular home decor store recently. As I looked over the new spring displays, I noticed a theme: is that a wooden table with black chairs? And look, there’s a set of wooden chairs with a black table. And the dishes on it are black. And there’s a sweet rattan chair and lacquered coffee tables and two different bed frames, all unashamedly black.
And it was all gorgeous.
Okay, maybe black seems a bit much. But what about a warm grey? A mysterious night blue? Rich oxblood red? An espresso brown? But we’re just getting out from underneath winter, you’ll say. Why do you want to plunge us back into darkness? Oh, I answer, for so many beautiful reasons. You can love dark colours in your home. They just need to be dark colours done right.
Think of your favourite aspect of winter: the cozy. Dark colours can maintain winter’s cozy all year long. This is why they’ve been perennially popular in certain rooms – the bedroom, library, den, places where we want to feel cocooned. Coziness can be achieved in these rooms with dark wood floors or walls in mahogany, walnut or ebony.
Don’t forget that as the days lengthen more natural light floods our rooms. The more natural light that floods a room, the more intensity of colour it can take without ever feeling oppressive. Rooms letting in maximum light are ideal for that black marble floor, fireplace, or countertop you’ve always wanted, for example.
What place in your home gets more natural light than the patio? A dark stone or wood deck can fit beautifully into your yard’s landscaping. Deep, rich colours in patio furniture and soft furnishings can warm and anchor a shaded deck, and will glow beautifully under string lights or lanterns on those long summer evenings.
The fir greens and mossy shadows that make your west coast backyard serene and lush will work inside too. Bring the outdoors in with deep greens, greys, and browns in a room with a view of the outdoors. This will create a gorgeous visual harmony. These colours also function as stunning backdrop for displaying your art, richly-coloured antiques, or your well-loved collection of houseplants.
If all that feels like too much, just dip a toe in and go for dark focal points: a single wall, a fireplace, a door, a ceiling, or below the wainscoting in the dining room. Choosing dark accents can allow you to indulge your love for especially vivid or dominant colours without them overwhelming. Imagine a pair of deep red doors, for instance, or one chestnut wall over your fireplace. You can have that punch of cobalt blue at home; just confine it to a guest bathroom, an entryway wall or a kitchen backsplash.
You might have a cherished ivory-canopied bed or leather sofa, or a light stone fireplace surround, that you’re just not going to give up. Or maybe you inherited a set of pristine pale china you love using when you have guests. Wonderful! What better way to use contrast and highlight it than to set it against an oxblood wall or on a glowing ebony floor? Well-placed darks will make your lights and brights pop and can guide the eye to details you want to feature, like a panelled ceiling, a gallery wall of family photos, or a favourite painting.
Now I don’t want to assume. You might actually be champing at the bit to fill your home with gorgeous dark colours! In that case, might I suggest you plunge in all the way and use black? Well-deployed swathes of black go with any and every colour, style and period of décor. Think pastels can’t go with black? Think Art Deco and suddenly they do!
Let’s face it: black looks rich. Black is a stretch limousine, a tuxedo, a designer dress. Lacquered wood stair rails, a marble fireplace, quartz countertops, even doors and window frames, all can look luxurious when you make them full-throttle black. There’s a reason the store I recently visited has made black one of its feature colours, not for fall or winter, but for spring and summer. It features black in outdoor loungers and dining sets, patio umbrellas and pillows. Because black says chic.
Numerous home stores feature many dark colours right now: deep green and blue sofas, dark textured wallpapers and carpets, black coffee tables and giant mirror frames. They are bringing drama into the home and Reid can do the same for you. Let Reid set the stage for your dream home or renovation and produce it with you. Contact us now!