Decorating Myths Busted: Dark Colours Can Work In Any Space
It isn’t true you have to stick to pale shades in a small room. Here are 10 reasons to turn to the dark side…
Susannah E James
4 July 2014
It is a truth universally acknowledged that you should never use dark colours in small spaces. In fact, it’s drilled into all of us from the first time we pick up a paint chart that deep hues will visually shrink a room down so it looks poky and gloomy.
But there’s another side to the story. The truth is, deep, rich wall colours can add a hefty dose of glamour and sophistication to any space, regardless of its size. Inky blues, charcoal greys, chocolate browns and, yes, good old black all add impact in a way that no pastel shade ever could.
Used right, these hues can make a compact room feel cosy and intimate – somewhere to hunker down and escape from the rest of the world. And isn’t that exactly what we all want from our homes? So if you always thought black walls were just for teenage metal fans, it’s time to discover the power of darkness…
But there’s another side to the story. The truth is, deep, rich wall colours can add a hefty dose of glamour and sophistication to any space, regardless of its size. Inky blues, charcoal greys, chocolate browns and, yes, good old black all add impact in a way that no pastel shade ever could.
Used right, these hues can make a compact room feel cosy and intimate – somewhere to hunker down and escape from the rest of the world. And isn’t that exactly what we all want from our homes? So if you always thought black walls were just for teenage metal fans, it’s time to discover the power of darkness…
Create an intense backdrop
Imagine this room if the walls, shelves and floor were white. Nice, but nothing out of the ordinary, right? But that rich petrol-blue backdrop does something magical, making every other colour in the room pop, from the blush pink of the sofa to the golden blind to the blue and red spines of the books.
Imagine this room if the walls, shelves and floor were white. Nice, but nothing out of the ordinary, right? But that rich petrol-blue backdrop does something magical, making every other colour in the room pop, from the blush pink of the sofa to the golden blind to the blue and red spines of the books.
Join the navy
A navy silk wall covering gives this bedroom a wonderful cocoon-like quality. When using an extreme colour in the bedroom, a good trick is to counterbalance it with white bed linen, then pick up the wall colour in your cushions and throws.
Discover 10 reasons to use dark blue
A navy silk wall covering gives this bedroom a wonderful cocoon-like quality. When using an extreme colour in the bedroom, a good trick is to counterbalance it with white bed linen, then pick up the wall colour in your cushions and throws.
Discover 10 reasons to use dark blue
Try a role reversal
Using a dark hue on your walls means you can pick out architectural features and key pieces of furniture in white – almost like a negative. In this room, it’s not the deep blue paint job you notice, but the elaborate cornicing, elegant fireplace and come-sit-in-me chairs.
Using a dark hue on your walls means you can pick out architectural features and key pieces of furniture in white – almost like a negative. In this room, it’s not the deep blue paint job you notice, but the elaborate cornicing, elegant fireplace and come-sit-in-me chairs.
Luxe it up
If there was an award for the world’s most luxurious bathroom, this would be on the shortlist. Black mosaics add a sense of opulence and are a perfect foil for the showstopper tub, while a white ceiling keeps the room from feeling too enclosed.
If there was an award for the world’s most luxurious bathroom, this would be on the shortlist. Black mosaics add a sense of opulence and are a perfect foil for the showstopper tub, while a white ceiling keeps the room from feeling too enclosed.
Enjoy cocoa in the bedroom
Rich chocolate brown makes this a truly inviting sleep space and works beautifully alongside the dark wood four-poster and console table. Beat that, pastels.
Rich chocolate brown makes this a truly inviting sleep space and works beautifully alongside the dark wood four-poster and console table. Beat that, pastels.
Play to a room’s strengths
A windowless, low-ceilinged space is never going to look open and airy, so don’t try to force it. Instead, turn its darkness to your advantage, using deep, warm colours to enhance its snug feel.
A windowless, low-ceilinged space is never going to look open and airy, so don’t try to force it. Instead, turn its darkness to your advantage, using deep, warm colours to enhance its snug feel.
Work in the dark
This is one office you wouldn’t mind pulling late-nighters in. The black wall and book wallpaper create an inviting library-like ambience that’s sure to aid concentration – and that chalkboard wall ensures you always have somewhere to jot down ideas when inspiration strikes.
Explore 10 of the best chalkboard ideas
This is one office you wouldn’t mind pulling late-nighters in. The black wall and book wallpaper create an inviting library-like ambience that’s sure to aid concentration – and that chalkboard wall ensures you always have somewhere to jot down ideas when inspiration strikes.
Explore 10 of the best chalkboard ideas
Get in the zone
A single wall of ebony units teamed with white walls and pale flooring is a great idea if you’re not ready for an all-black kitchen. It also makes it easy to zone different areas in an open-plan room. Here, the black units mark out the cooking area, while the white island shows where the living space starts.
A single wall of ebony units teamed with white walls and pale flooring is a great idea if you’re not ready for an all-black kitchen. It also makes it easy to zone different areas in an open-plan room. Here, the black units mark out the cooking area, while the white island shows where the living space starts.
Start small
Sometimes a little hit of deep colour can be more effective than slapping it on every surface, and so it is here. This navy feature wall appears to recede, so rather from making the room look smaller, it fools the eye into thinking it’s larger than it really is.
Sometimes a little hit of deep colour can be more effective than slapping it on every surface, and so it is here. This navy feature wall appears to recede, so rather from making the room look smaller, it fools the eye into thinking it’s larger than it really is.
Get the light right
How does a windowless room predominantly decorated in dark colours manage to look glamorous rather than gloomy? The secret’s in the lighting. Copious downlighters and a multi-bulb central fitting bounce light off all those reflective surfaces, showing that black can be bright.
TELL US...
Do you like to incorporate dark walls in your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
How does a windowless room predominantly decorated in dark colours manage to look glamorous rather than gloomy? The secret’s in the lighting. Copious downlighters and a multi-bulb central fitting bounce light off all those reflective surfaces, showing that black can be bright.
TELL US...
Do you like to incorporate dark walls in your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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Totally agree, dark colours can be effective and not only in the house! I have painted my wooden garden structures graphite and the effect is amazing; whilst they disappear in terms of immediate eye-catching the colour displays the plants to great effect. I hope the picture below shows what I mean!
Would like to see more additions to give a 1990's cottage some style with using dark paint