Colour is clever. It is one of the most transformative tools you can use to decorate a room. Dark hues can envelop you and add instant glamour to a space. The same applies to dreary rooms with no clear features; a well-chosen dark tone can be hugely transformative. We caught up with Fine & Country Interior Design to give us their top tips to embrace the dark side.
1. Start small
If you're scared to dip a toe into the dark side, start off with a small space. It could be a statement wall, a guest bedroom or a hallway to create high impact and visual intrigue. No matter what room you are decorating, colour is the most transformative and cheapest tool you can use. Using bold hues takes confidence. You won’t always get it right the first time, so don’t panic.
The soothing green tones in this bedroom by design and development company Landmass London create a stunning accent.
2. Create infinity
It’s a myth that dark colours are unfit for small spaces. Instead, go bold and paint the whole room dark - walls, floors, ceiling, woodwork, shelving - the lot. All the boundaries that usually chop up a room like skirting boards and radiators distract the eye, which can make a space seem even smaller. Painting everything in the same dark hue blurs all the boundaries and softens the edges of a room, creating an infinity effect.
Soothing, inky blue tones on a statement wall and skirting instantly makes the space look larger and maximises the high ceiling. This dining room is by Studio Kamini.
3. Cool backdrop
Dark colours always make everything look cooler. It can elevate your artwork, lighting and accessories, so your home can look cool and glamorous. If you want to use lighter colours, balance out the dark shades with neutrals – rich caramel, creamy taupe, khaki greys or blacks. These are the ‘new neutrals’. If you want to add the glam factor, treat animal print and metallic as neutrals – just as in fashion, they go with anything.
Designer Wickenden Hutley have introduced warming copper pendants against the dark backdrops of this dining scene to give a luxuriously glam atmosphere.
4. Balance the mix
The great thing about using dark colours is being able to mix up the textures. The trick is to cause friction and put as many different materials in a room as possible. Hand-tufted rugs, riots of soft cushions, gilded frames, wooden tables, hand-thrown vases: mix them up and your space will feel anything but one-dimensional.
Base Interior have mixed rich, velvet blue tones to contrast with the soft neutral textures to create layers and intrigue in this fabulous dining scene.
Don’t be surprised to find dark hues spread to the rest of your home – they can be addictive.
Taking the step to dark interiors can be intimidating. Fine & Country Interior Design can offer as little or as much help as you need. Contact them today on +44(0) 7946 712 569 or al.rose-young@fineandcountry.com.
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