Dark and rainy outside, cosy and snug inside that’s the thing about dark interiors they are so snuggly you never want to leave. Apart from Paris of course which is where I head for the rest of the week so no post tomorrow but back Monday.
Last year I joked somewhat about converting people over to dark side, this year it’s a full on campaign – if Heston Blumenthal loves my interiors (see them on his new show How To Cook Like Heston, Channel 4 8pm Wednesday evenings) I’m thinking world domination is just around the corner! Soon everybody will be embracing the dark side (let me dream)! As we speak our website is being overhauled and rather soon there will be a section called ‘dare to go dark’ where you guys can post images of your pad and we can all respond, be inspired and generally chit chat as to how life changing it is. There will be prizes also for some of the best spaces – who knows before long we could have our own magazine, TV channel, 500 stores around the world (OK now I’m dreaming)!
Recently I converted a pastel lover over to the dark side by painting a wall with black board paint. First of all it was only a wall so they didn’t flip out ‘we can paint it back’ they said (which is what I generally here) – but hey ho they liked it so I if you are dabbling with the idea of converting but don’t know where to start blackboard paint a wall and the doodle away. Fabulous in kitchens, halls, loos, kids rooms, offices on and on I could go. Just to prove my point check out these two images of Olaf Hajek’s pad (artist and illustrator) taken from The Selby – pretty darn cool no?
Oh and don’t let anyone tell you with Spring around the corner we should all be embracing light, bright, pastel shades. Nonsense to that, the contrast between a dark interior inside and a bright sunny outside is even more tantalising in Spring and Summer months, so ignore. Zoom across the road, quicken the pace, get out of ear shot and totally and utterly ignore at least that’s what I do!
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You’re so right! Black walls are addictive… I recently moved to a new house and am pining for the black picture wall I had in my last apartment. The darkness framed the art making it pop and the light hitting the frames lifted the whole effect. I’m breaking that black paint can out as soon as I get a chance!
Yay very exciting
avoid frogs legs
Dont worry I will, steak, frites and red wine for moi
I recently fooled my landlord into letting me paint a wall grey. I may have implied it would be a light neutral grey when it’s actually a very dark grey. Mwhahaha! I’m sure they’ll love it if they come round to inspect. Love the idea of the blackboard wall, would look fab in my craft room.
Well done you its such a shame landlords are so silly about paint colours – congrats x
Just painted our hallway and wood work downpipe and love it! Just debating whether the doors should be painted too? x
Yes doors should really be painted as well hate to say otherwise you are drawing attention to them and unless they are amazing its far better to paint them out I would say so that they just go aaway x
To funny this is your post today. I posted last night on my blog how you are always talking about inky sludge colored walls and how you have inspired me and my unknowing obsession with rooms that are painted inky sludge colors.
They truly are yummy!
Thanks!
Ciao,
Francisca
Beeandmason.blogspot.com
Love the Dare To Go Dark posting idea – our newly dark gentlemen’s clubby sitting room has been life changing
For a long while I have been wanting to paint my garage with chalkboard paint to keep all the storage items organized.
I’m “Daring to go dark”. Next week. You have totally inspired me!!! Painting the whole of the bedroom the darkest grey. My mother who was visiting (she’s 68), was totally horrified when I informed her of our decision to paint what is already a small and dingy room, a dark colour. I told her we’ll avoid prison cell chic, with our acid bright accessories, but she so doesn’t get it. Her house is head to toe magnolia. Need I say more? Our bedroom is such a depressing dingy room anyway, and we never spend time in there during the day, so we’re hoping to sexy it up a bit, in an attempt to make it an Alfie (who’s 4) free zone, and spend more time in there of a night!! Wish me luck!!!
You won’t need luck I promise it will look amazing just remember to add flashes of colour and oodles of lighting and then you will never look back, I promise.
I am so with you on this one. I love the ‘dark’ side. Winning clients over is not so easy!
What do you think of usin paint to divide multi-purpose rooms? Can it work? I have a room which is at the same time my bedroom, my living room and houses a lare cupboard for my clothes and bits and bobs. Yesterday I divided one wall with paint to make a separate living area. I think it looks quite nice, but should I paint the whole wall? I know it is next to impossible to say without seeing a picture, but just your general opinion is much appreciated. Like I said, I am now contemplating whether to leave it, to paint the whole wall, or to leave it as is and paint a similar area on the diagonal end of the opposite wall to define my sleeping area… Of course the best way might be to paint the whole room, but that is out ofthe question for now. Choices, choices…
I say follow your heart if you want to divide different sections with different paint colours give it a go. Paint is one of the most transformative things you can do to an interior and its easy to paint back if you hate. You can easily zone it just make sure the paint colours work beautifully together and then you’ve nailed it.
Thanks Abigail. I did do it, but now I love the new colour so much, I think I will have to paint the whole room… I am just somehow scared to, not because of the darkness, but because I fear that something of what I fell in love with in this apartment will be gone. I loved the atmosphere here right from the get go. However, the paint should not mess that up, right? I mean the dark background should only enhance the good in an apartment, should it not? Sorry for the torrent of questions, feel free to ignore
Did It! painted my office in down pipe and I love it!!! don’t know why it took me years to do it. Finalising the deco and will be happy to send photos for your ‘dare to go dark’ section. Thanks for the inspiration!
Fabulous can’t wait to see the images x
I did this in my bedroom last Fall after finding your site! Thank you! My place is an old flat with 12ft ceilings and lots of molding and wainscoting. The bedroom has big south facing windows and I chose a dark brown color, painted out the wainscoting but left the ceiling and chair rail white. It’s fantastic, thanks for the ideas!
Question: It’s time to do the living room which is connected to the bedroom via two big pocket doors. But, I am unsure whether its best to stick with the bedroom color or can I pull off painting the living room a different dark color? It’s not a huge place and you can see every room standing in the entry/hall way, would switching colors room, by room get confusing?
You can totally have a different colour – as long as they work well as a team – an deep dark inky blue springs to mind (Hague blue by Farrow and Ball is fab) and would work wonderfully with your brown. It wouldn’t be at all confusing – tantalising more like!
Agreed ! I have fallen in lopve with Farrow & Balls down pipe color and nearly my whole house is down pipe colored. The doors, and frames, windows etc is all down pipe full gloss ! So cool !
Yay isn’t the dark side way more interesting!
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement! I’ll post some pics when it’s said and done. Best,
last year I changed home…I bought your book and with your help also looking at your blog I created my new home all dark….no white around…the majority of walls are light grey and dark grey…some rooms are also coloured but no light colours…I love it and friends,among them also italian architects and interior designers have been positively surprised….thanks a lot abigail….marta
Fantastic thats so lovely to know thank you for telling me x
Hi – just discovered your website and blog and feeling inspired by your style! Going to paint our kitchen diner dark, but is the F&B downpipe colour what you used for Heston’s kitchen?
It is indeed downpipe
Hi I have painted my living room down pipe and am looking for a dark colour for my dining room is there another equally ‘neutral ‘ dark colour you can advise on I am finding it hard to find one the same shade and not too dark ?
Other dark colours in no particular preference but all fab Hague blue, Railings (almost black but intoxicatingly beautiful, London Clay) all Farrow & Ball. Dusted moss by Dulux code 1 its the darkest and yet not a particularly dark colour, and my latest newest find bullrush by Sanderson its a soft buttery brown. heaven on a plate!
Hi, hoping for some advice please. Long south facing kitchen/ dining room running the whole width of the house with big glass doors on to garden. High gloss white kitchen with chunky white corian top. Large, High gloss off white floor tiles. Afraid it’ll look like a glacier and so wanted some off-black walls maybe on chimney breast under vintage Venetian mirror, and on dining wall where I’ll hang all kids’ pictures. V modern kitchen but with antique furniture dotted around. Is down pipe dark enough in south facing room or f and b railings? Thanks!
Personally I think I would opt for railings. Down pipe is lovely but its at its best when it doesn’t have the hugest amount of light hitting it. I’ve got down pipe downstairs (also have large glass doors) and railings elsewhere and prefer the intensity of railings, but swatch a big area and see what you think.
Hi, we just picked up the Australian Real Living magazine and have finally taken the plunge with the dark walls, starting in the hall. The problem is the rest of the house is quite daggy so if we paint the doors will it look odd if the other side is a different colour? ie: the 90′s bathroom is white and blue and won’t be renovated for a while so the door will be grey on the outside and white on the inside is that OK?? Also in the hall we have some sliding doors to our 70′s sunken lounge, so kitsch! The doors are panelled with paper a bit japanesy and we have no idea what to do with them as we can only paint the frames grey but will have the creamy paper panels on show…we thought of covering the panels with something, photos??? any ideas on what to do here, oh and what are your thoughts on painting floor tiles a big no? Looking forward to your sydney masterclass!
Congrats and welcome to the dark side. I really wouldn’t worry that everything isn’t going to be renovated in one hit and no I’ve got doors painted one colour to the match the walls in the bedroom one side and another colour to match the hallway. I’m wondering if you can put a panel of thin wood like ply of mdf over your japanessy paper and then paint the paint the whole thing out, the trouble when doors are one part one thing and one part the other is that they tend to look rather ity bity and its far more impactful if they treated the same. In terns of painting floor tiles certainly not a big no no – I’m actually doing something myself like that for my second book.
Thanks! We have completed phase 1 of the painting and have gone a dark grey as close as we could to down pipe the importer listed in Real Living magazine said he can’t get it as there is a restriction on importing paints. Think we are going to knock out the japanese sliding doors to the living room they will open up the space, now for the tiles! We have 2 types – the people before us had strange taste One lot exactly like this http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=81765 and one like this http://hhe.boiseremodelingguy.com/tiled-bathroom-floor.html AND they are in the same room, half way through there is a little step and it swaps surfaces! My husband is convinced painting them would look cheap and nasty but I’m keen to give it a go.
What a dilemma, you can paint floor tiles there is all sorts of stuff on the web about it, sanding it first and so forth. Personally I think it would be a better option than what you’ve got now – two different flooring styles in the same room never really works it breaks up the space too much. Once you’ve painted it out you could skim with a really cool rug, it I were you I would go for it but that is purely my personal opinion