Things are never really black and white are they? A lot more grey I reckon….and hopefully a splash of colour here and there!! I have never made a secret of my love of colour but I don’t mean crazy colouring – I mean dark and moody with glam, gold and pops of colour. I rarely do black and white. But I have to admit in many areas black and white is actually fabulous and sophisticated and probably makes more of an impression than other colour combinations.
My personal black and white style icon is Coco Chanel.
” Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.”
I can think of a couple of other black and white style icons and images prevalent in my world. Growing up they would mainly be ‘coloured’ by my mothers choice of films; she would make us watch black and white films on TV on Wednesday afternoons with the heating on full blast. We would be bribed to watch with tea and cream cakes. I have fond memories of those days but think the only reason we put up with the black and white films was because of the cream cakes. It is only now that I can appreciate them and realize what an impact they have had on our interiors and style today. Audrey Hepburn would be one of those style icons we would watch; her impact is noticeable in both fashion and interiors. Simple elegance….
Enough said, here are some pictures of the clever use of black and white in interiors. You have to watch out for boring and predictable tendencies and ensure they don’t creep in, but here are some good examples of black and white done well……
Below the first photograph combines furniture of different eras. Classic vintage chairs combined with the black and white Egg chair and floor which makes for an eclectic (rather than boring) and stylish interior .
The second photograph is slightly more conservative and simply combines black and white rugs and cushions with classic furniture but with the added mirrored wall – very spectacular. My favourite items in this room are the bamboo chairs – very Hollywood Regency (Jonathan Adler does some nice ones).
The third photograph just casually combines black and white art with dark painted doors and shelves; very effective yet easy to achieve.
And some of my own styling projects:
- Zebra rug, one of my favourite black and white style statements, combined with black lampshade and black and white framed artwork
- Black leather Thonet chairs (used to belong to the Court of Justice in Amsterdam), with a white sheepskin and wooden floors spray painted with white lacquer
- Black mantlepiece and dark walls combined with black and white accessories (art deco white phase and lamp base and 60’s black bottle, combined with white shell)
Rather than styling your furniture and accessories in black and white you can also go for a spectacular mural.
This one is by Milan-based Studio Pepe. www.studiopepe.com
Rebel Walls make great murals, this one is the Bellewood Black Toile Mural from the Greenhouse Collection, looks pretty spectacular here, I reckon! www.Rebelwalls.com
Finally a glimpse of my black and white tiles in the hallway – I cheated as you can see….I’m sure you’ll forgive me
