Black living room ideas: decorating inspiration for daring dark schemes Decorating with black in any room is not for the faint-hearted. But with the right guidance shades of darkness can be chic for all spaces, especially black living room ideas to create a space that intrigues and cocoons. ‘Black can be an incredibly glamorous and sophisticated choice for a living room’ says Patrick O’Donnell, Farrow & Ball Brand Ambassador. ‘Something as dark as this can create a cosy and intimate space – ideal if your room is starved of natural light as it will lend itself to the disadvantages of aspect.’ Black living room ideas ‘Rules in decorating are there to be broken or at least manipulated’ says Patrick. ‘It’s all about experimentation- how will you ever know if something works or not unless you try?’. ‘Don’t be limited to the traditional four walls- the ceiling, your fifth wall is often overlooked in decorating and taking the colour over can add sublime drama’ he advises. 1. Fashion a divide with black and white Image credit: Future PLC/ Darren Chung Create a room divide with a creative living room paint idea, with black dominating the bottom half of the wall with a neutral shade above. This monochromatic scheme helps to fake the impression of a traditional dado rail, where architrave divides the room in two to invite artistic expression with the decor. You don’t have to have a period property to get this look, in fact all you need is masking tape! Simply tape a straight line and paint the two sections of wall in contrasting colours, with black on the bottom half to anchor the wider design element within the room. 2. Welcome warm undertones to soften black Image credit: Farrow & Ball; Paean Black on walls Black paint has many hidden depths, it doesn’t have to mean true black – if you’re seeking warmth from your walls. ‘While the thought of painting a room in black or more nuanced versions of ‘black’ sounds terrifying, it can act as a superb colour choice’ Patrick explains. ‘Think nuanced blacks rather than pure, pitch-black as they appear slightly softer – from the blue-based Railings and Black Blue to the smokier charcoal Off Black and warmer tones of Paean Black.’ Rich Paean Black offers underlying purple tones, to create a cosy and undeniably chic aesthetic. Consider this depth of black to update purple living room ideas. 3. Anchor the bold colour to one wall Image credit: Future PLC/ David Giles If you’re not quite brave enough to take on Patrick’s suggestion of all walls and ceilings, we suggest dedicating just one wall to this daring shade. One wall will still offer a superbly dominant splash of colour to make a statement. Even better if you have a cast iron fire surround that will seamlessly blend into the black backdrop. Alternatively you could paint the fire surround to incorporate it into the black wall. We’d go one step further than this homeowner and pain the skirting boards in black too, to take the colour entirely from floor to ceiling. 4. Cocoon a snug in all-black Image credit: Future PLC/ Veronica Rodriguez In a room with a good source of natural light for day times you can afford to go all in with an entirely black room – leaving just the ceiling in contrasting white. Painting all walls in a deep saturated colour, such as black, creates an all immersive experience – a cocooning atmosphere. ‘Be brave and use the colour on all four walls and even include the skirting’ suggests Patrick. ‘Including the woodwork will elongate your wall height and draw less attention to a sharp contrast of the traditional white trim.’ This ambience is ideal for an entertainment snug, where you are looking to escape into a world of boxsets and movies. 5. Add thoughtful lighting Image credit: Farrow & Ball; Black Blue To prevent this strikingly bold shade from feeling flat look to add living room lightning ideas aplenty, to ensure it’s well highlighted and ambient. ‘Think about the time of day you will be using the room – black absorbs light, so can create a truly, cosseting environment’ explains Patrick. ‘You will most probably be dependent on artificial lighting if it is a room used during the day, especially if the room is starved of natural light.’ 6. Pick out design details in black Image credit: Future PLC/ Simon Whitmore Use Black as a bold accent colour to pick out architectural detail, such as cornicing; fire surrounds and bespoke display and storage alcove ideas. This dramatic hue will add drama to your living room scheme, celebrating the finer details in all their glory. Any neutral living room idea will benefit from this dark colour pairing, especially muted grey living rooms where the black tones are already present. 7. Paint the woodwork in black to frame the room Image credit: Sweetpea & Willow ‘If black walls feel overwhelming, consider another decorative motif such as painting all your woodwork in black or off black with lighter walls’ advises Patrick. ‘This can feel effortlessly sophisticated.’ As this fine example of a sitting rooms shows, with its grey textured wallpapered walls and black woodwork accents. The furniture echoes the powerful tones of black to create a cohesively stylish colour scheme throughout. Grey carpet helps to keep the floor light and offsets the darker tones within the scheme. 8. Zone with a bold feature wall Image credit: Future PLC/ Rachael Smith Give a dividing wall a powerful prominence with a strong shade, such as this black feature wall. The colour helps to cleverly zone the area, making the wall present and purposeful to divide the two living areas within an open-plan space. The strong shade is echoed through the doors frames that connect to the outside, helping to create a flow throughout the space. 9. Make a style statement with true black Image credit: Dulux A true black is as bold as it gets. This colour…

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