The House Beautiful Color Institute took place here in Atlanta last week, and the turnout was huge. No surprise, really, as Atlantans are design obsessed...but I think the rest of the country has its fair share of design savvy citizens as well. Stephen Drucker led a lively discussion on color, and when the topic of current design trends came up, Stephen mentioned that dark colors seem to be captivating us today. Case in point...the deep navy kitchen of Windsor Smith and the black entryway designed by Rob Southern (seen above), both of which were featured in the September issue of House Beautiful. This trend is one that has really struck a chord with me, perhaps because I recently painted my powder room navy. All of the talk of deep, dark rooms got me thinking...
Stephen also mentioned that painting a room black is one of the most daring things you can do (design wise, of course). I'm dying to try my hand at this. When I think of black rooms, this one comes to mind:
A room designed by Mark Hampton in the early 1970s. I love the crisp white molding against those black walls. Can you imagine the way this room must have looked at night?? Smashing! (Speaking of Mark Hampton, I am so excited about Duane Hampton's upcoming book on her genius late husband, Mark Hampton: An American Decorator
, to be published by Rizzoli in Spring 2010. This is the book I have been waiting for!!)(Photo of kitchen: House Beautiful 9/09, Victoria Pearson photographer; entrway: House Beautiful 9/09, Victoria Pearson photographer. Giles' den, light version, from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, September, 2007, Erica George Dines photographer; dark version via Giles' website, Emily Followill photographer. Hampton room from House & Garden, September 1971)
Such a great post. I have always had the perception the walls painted black would minimize the capacity but it really looks chic.
ReplyDeleteKaylee, I think that dark walls can make a space seem larger than it is b/c the walls and ceiling seem to recede.
ReplyDeleteJennifer -- I love your Grace Kelly/Liz Taylor analogy!
ReplyDeleteCourtney's room looks great both ways but the dark walls are so appealing right now. Just so sharp.
It used to be Grace Kelly but it became Liz Taylor. I really cannot imagine a better description of the two versions of that room.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, ask Clinton Smith to send you pics of the Living room I did for him in "Bittersweet Chocolate"--it's smashing! Truly makes his furniture and art speak!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect way to illustrate Stephen's point about dark colored rooms - to see a light version and a dark version of the same room.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs. B, the description of one vs. the other is perfect. Some people like the light and elegant 'fair haired' version, and others like the dark and seductive dark version.
It also makes you realize that paint is perhaps the most versatile design tool out there. Taking a chance on a color is really not taking much of a chance - it can all be changed with the flick of a paintbrush.
Great post... saturated colors make rooms so inviting... my personal favorite is deep chocolate. Thanks for the before and after photos.
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on the dark side of the force. I took a very small room and upholstered it in a black matte/satin striped fabric, added expresso bookcases and draperies hanging on each door (3! in small room) plus the windows. It's all a bit of a folly, really. But it is a wonderful place to read a book, listen to music and have a glass of wine at the end of the day. What makes it remarkable is that the two windows are west facing and gets the heat/glare of the midwestern sun. But this room is always cool. It is an ode to my husband's grandmother, a slightly bohemian, on the cusp of Edwardian, and a poet. Her bold stroke was that she did not cook. Period. Makes decorating in black an easy move!
ReplyDeleteLove it....please let me be brave, xv.
ReplyDeleteGreat post....I've been contemplating painting one of my guest rooms Black above the white bead board...I think this is just the encouragement I need! Thanks! I'll post pictures once I've done it. Check out my blog at www.cremefreshforthehome.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteanother one to say-- fabulous analogy. Have been partial to dark rooms for a while, so glad to see them! Would love to be able to pull off a black room!
ReplyDeleteI think that both Courtney and Mark Hampton make dark rooms look so inviting...and so easy to pull off!
ReplyDeleteLoved that you showed the one room two differant ways. I prefer the darker hue. I think we are on the same wave...I did a post much like this today and then came over and saw yours...too funny.
ReplyDeleteWishing I were that brave. When someone arrives at the front door with supreme interiors confidence, then maybe - but it would really have to be someone I would follow into battle without a helmet!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous post - there is something utterly romantic about a rich, deep-hued library and I think the before and after of Courtney Giles' den does a great job of representing it. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds DO think alike. I have used the black entry in one of my posts!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to paint our powder room black and the DH said no...he usually doesn't say too much, so I listened. I went and found the darkest gray/green I could find and it looks almost black! Tall ceilings, white moldings, looks great!
Blessings...
GREAT POST!I must say both are gorgeous but it's amazing what dark walls can do to this room. It went from a family room kinda feel to a real cozy study. Makes me want to sink my teeth into those colorful books for hours!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could live with black or dark brown, yet I am very drawn to aubergine and Prussian blue, both deep colors.
ReplyDeleteLove that black glossy entryway. Love Mark Hampton! and the before/after of Courtney Giles' den -- WOW. It really makes you think about how much color can make an impact.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Grace vs. Liz room, I wonder how it would look with brown walls but white bookshelves? I think that would have been my inclination, but I'm not a professional.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
Wish I could have come down for the event, it sounds like it was fabulous. I too am intrigued by dark rooms and love a high gloss navy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post ! I love dark , for me it is brightful
ReplyDeleteDo agree, the trend is dark colors with white decorative accents. The Met Home Showtime Showhouse proves that point.Each designer was given a space and a Showtime show, none of us really communicated with each other as to our design plans for the house and as the space came into their own, most of us opted for dark color which created a great flow throughout the Showhouse. I used the latest Benjamin Moore Aura paints, for a black bedroom/cocoon lounge, and dark brown,grey living space, i believe dark walls make the room and furnishings come alive.
ReplyDeleteThese days, black rooms are considered trendy--to some, too trendy--but, twenty years ago, when I first painted my bedroom all black--walls, trim, floor, the whole shebang--black rooms weren't trendy, they certainly weren't cool, they weren't even 'daring': they were just plain weird. People wondered if I had become a Satanist. Then again, we're talking about Peoria, here, so that might have something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I didn't let the fact that other people (including all my pals) thought that it was weird stop me from going all-black, and I'm glad I didn't, because when I finished, I loved the look. So, it turned out, did a lot of my friends. Or, at least, their wives did. OK, One wife did. Anyway, since then, I've had at least one black room in every place I've ever lived. Right now I have two of them, both small, boring interior hallways with nothing else going for them.
Black rooms can be really handsome, but because they throw everything else into such strong relief, everything in them has to be really good. In his book Colour in Interior Decoration, Basil Ionides says that pale woods like satinwood aren't good against dark walls, but this winter, I'll find out for myself whether or not he's right, because when my current living room goes from its current dark Canned Spinach Green to Celadon, my dining room with its bird's-eye eye maple furniture will go from Blinding White to Wet Coffee Grounds Brown, to maintain the existing value balance between the two rooms.
Will it work? I don't know. Are lots of other people painting their rooms dark, too? Yes. Is doing so still onsidered 'daring'? Hardly. Are dark rooms trendy? Yes. Will they soon become a cliche, like deep red dining rooms did a few years ago? Maybe. Do I care? No. Why would I?
No, just as there's no reason to hesitate about doing something simply because no one else is doing it, there's also no reason to avoid doing something simply because everybody else seems to be doing it, too. There's no shame in being different, but there's no shame in being the same, either. Mies Van der Rohe said it best: "We can't invent a new architecture every Monday morning." Sometimes, going along with the crowd is just fine. Me, I'm going dark. Except, of course, where I'll be going pale.
Magnaverde- Gosh, so well said. First, I agree. If you like dark- whether it's in vogue or not- then go for it! The whole point of your home is being surrounded by things you love...and if that means a black room, all the better. From time to time, I'll be drawn to certain fabrics, or colors, or accessories, and might think "Is it too trendy? Is it too gauche? Etc...etc..". Well, really, who cares? If it makes me happy, isn't that the point? And re: your point about everything in a dark room being really good- I totally agree. Don't you notice the furnishings in Courtney's library more in the dark version?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how much more the painting stands out in the Liz Taylor version of the living room. It becomes the focal point rather than receding into the background. I love a good dark wall. I still have daydreams about a gorgeously dark marine blue and white kitchen I had back in a L.A. townhouse.
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