How to add black to your interior decorating (yes, really)
How to add black to your interior decorating (yes, really)
We know that a bold colour or a feature wall is daring at best, but you really can inject the darkest colour to give your bedroom a luxe, modern update. Here’s how to do it - without risking it looking like a cave or a teenage goth’s dorm!
1. Baby steps
Ease into the strong colour palette with some really easy, simple, and affordable touches - that you can easily switch up later. You can start out with some simple black candles, black wall art, black cushion covers, and black throws. Check out our gorgeous selection of candles below to get you inspired:
LUMIRA Cyprès de Provence scented candle, 300g £54.00, Net-A-Porter →
“The understated black vessel will look so chic on your coffee table.” NAP’s words - not ours!
For a more affordable and London-based brand like us, consider the fruity pomegranate candle from Union of London:
Union Of London Pomegranate Candle Black Large, £35.00, Trouva →
Also on Trouva, the online destination for independent homewares brands, this beautiful candle from The School of Life is evocative of the magical mystery of Scandinavian woods:
The School of Life Walden Scented Candle, £35.00, Trouva →
Last but definitely not least, you can never go wrong with a beautiful Diptyque candle (so dreamy!) The signature Baies candle comes in a gorgeous black glass case, “to allow you to see the candle flame as it burns.” Heaven!
Diptyque Baies Noire Scented Candle, 300g £62, John Lewis →
2. Expand to homewares
And, by this, we mean gradually move from your gorgeous accessories and little touches here and there, and start looking at bigger pieces - like a rug or your bed set. If fully black is still a bit scary to you, dark grey still works. Our darkest shade of bedding is “slate”, available in slate in percale and sateen →.
3. Grab the paintbrush
What’s important to remember when thinking about dark colours is that - whilst they require some bravery - they actually add depth to a space. So, whilst it may sound counterintuitive, darker shades are actually perfect for something like a narrow hallway, a small bathroom, or even a ceiling! As dark colours absorb the light, it can make it feel deeper in a weird way (trust us on this!
The Pitch Black shade of paint from Farrow & Ball is described as having “an unsurpassable depth and almost velvet quality” (this sounds good to us!) You can buy a sample to test out first, and you can also pre-order a colour chart to make an informed decision first, too.
Whilst painting a wall a very dark shade is a great move, it’s still important to break it up a bit - as it can feel a bit overwhelming with one big block of dark colour. This is where the gorgeous gallery trend comes into play; invest in some beautiful gilded frames, and fill your wall with light wall art (mainly white backgrounds if possible), to balance the heaviness of the dark background.
If painting isn’t your thing, thankfully wallpaper has come back in trend - which is usually less messy, less risky, and easier than painting. We are head over heels with this dark floral design from Ellie Cashman Design:
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Black really isn’t as scary as it sounds. Technically as a neutral colour, it’s such a versatile shade that you can style it according to your taste - luxe it up with some gold and velvet textures, keep it fresh and modern with white creating a pure monochrome palette, or cosy maximalist with mixed patterns and injections of other colours.
We’d love to see what you come up with. Tag @whisper_sleep on Instagram so we can see your designs and re-post on our account. In the meantime, enjoy an exclusive Black Friday discount on all our bedding until midnight on Monday, 2nd December 2019.
