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1 December 2020
Black Accents for Home Decor
Black is the new black. As interior trends continue their shift toward the dark and dramatic, we’re taking a look at how to use black, the original lynchpin of drama, in details and accents in your interior design.
Utilising black in accessories such as cabinet handles, light fittings, picture frames, paint trims, door handles and shelf brackets amid otherwise neutral interiors helps to create contrast, catch the eye, and sharpen everything up to the eye. For many years, black was avoided in interior design but in today’s trends a bold and purposeful colour palette can really work. Using items such as black door handles and light fittings can pull everything together, acting as the final touch to an interior that would otherwise be a little dull.
If you’re looking for real drama in your interior style, pair black and white. Black and white are the ultimate opposites, and using them on top of one another cannot fail to create a striking visual. Try using a matte black lever handle, such as our Atlantic Forme collection, on a fresh white painted door and watch the interior design sparks fly. Start with simple brilliant white painted walls, and then accessorise with black picture frames, lamps, wall lights or even statement black artwork. Consider using black paint in non traditional places such as skirtings, window frames, and even on full sized doors. When you use black to frame a window it has a ‘pulling’ effect, drawing your eyes outside and making your space feel larger.
If you like the black interior trend but want to soften the edges slightly, consider utilising metallics and soft furnishings to take the edge off the contrast, while still retaining the classic black and white statement. Accessories such as our Industville Brooklyn pendant lights are available in dark pewter with a copper or aged brass fittings – perfect to carry the contrasting theme whilst also adding an element of warmth in the luxurious metallic tones. Consider a soft throw to add a splash of colour and comfort to black and white design.
If you want to push the black style trend to the most dramatic, then it may be time to join the dark interior movement. We’ve been seeing interior design take on a dark and dangerous edge for a few years now. While perhaps daunting for those of us who have lived by the ‘light and airy’ mantra for years and decades, pushing your interior over to the dark side is very likely to have striking and unexpected results. Many people believe that houses and flats with small rooms and few exterior light sources should be painted white to ‘brighten things up’ however many leading interior designers believe that this can make the interior more depressing, rather than less. Consider utilising darker, inky paint hues such as deep blues and greens and yes, even black.
Dark monochrome kitchen units with simple shaker panels, or even plain flat block designs are making headway across the kitchen world. Shaker panelling painted in a dark colour palette can make a space feel cosy and luxurious. With dark interior design the right accessories are even more important. Look to add splashes of copper or brass to add a sense of opulence, chrome or nickel to create a striking contrast, or even double down and go black on black, with some of our matt black knurled cabinet handles or door knobs.
