Beautiful, Stylish Black
When it comes to gorgeous
evening wear nothing says
formal elegance like black.
Whether it’s the little black
dress or a black tuxedo, the
look is sophisticated. The
same is true in home
decorating.
The color black is magnetizing
in a way that bold colors like
reds, fuchsias, and bright
teals could never be. There’s
a sophistication and seriousness
about black that a color, say,
a bright green, could never
match. That’s because black
is an anchor. Put black in the
room of bright green, and suddenly the green becomes much more important. It’s the same reason why men wear black when it comes to formal wear: so the ladies they’re with and their beautiful gowns have something to stand out from.
The problem with black is that it’s just so, well, black. I personally love black because it pulls you into a room. In art, black is used to create depth. Artists know that black makes items stand out in the foreground when they use black around them. However, black doesn’t have to be the source of decorating fear that it has been. There are a number of ways to bring black into your decorating scheme that will give your whole home a sense of sophistication, drama, and interest.
Make furniture important
A coat of glossy black paint on a ho-hum piece of thrift store furniture can make it say “Wow!” If you’ve got hand me down furniture or a piece of inexpensive furniture, give it a coat of black paint and it will create instant presence in the room. Have an odd chair in the room? Paint it black. Finish it off by painting any details in gold and the chair will demand much more attention.
Highlight details
Black is another way to add interest in a house. So many houses are a monotony of white trim. Paint bedroom or exterior doors black and then they’ll have style. Have a kitchen island? Make the beauty of your wood cabinets pop against a black island. Even columns and bookshelves look beautiful and much more interesting and dramatic draped in black paint.
Give it to white
If you’ve got an all-white room, there’s nothing like black to make it instantly sophisticated and stylish. In fact, black and white decorating is gorgeous and the stuff of design magazines. Don’t be afraid to paint over your children’s furniture with black. Some of the most incredible kid’s rooms are ones where black is used. Balance it out with some bright colors, such as red or green, and you’ve got a kid’s room that doesn’t look like every other one on the block.
Accents in black
Designers say that every room needs a touch of black. Black says you have verve and daring, so punch up your room with black accents. Paint a plain mirror frame with black, or give those mismatched picture frames a glossy coat of black to unify them, add a black accent rug, or a few key black accessories and you’ll move your home a long way down the sophistication scale.
Get more ideas for black
Better Homes & Gardens has a wonderful slide show of various rooms featuring the use of black, from mirror frames to fireplaces. Go to http://tinyurl.com/abyop for some wonderful and imaginative ways to incorporate black into your home. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how black can give you a decorator’s touch for the price of a quart of paint – making it one of the cheapest investments in high design you can make.
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calender, that calender that puts you in control of your home by ending the power struggle. For more information log on to http://tinyurl.com/d9rh5.
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© 2007 Kathryn Weber, all rights reserved
