When I see designers forecast home décor trends for the coming year, I’m always curious. Did I miss something all the gurus know? Will my house feel outdated? No worries! This year’s effort by Architectural Digest promised to explain what's coming for 2016. Instead it delivered ongoing themes and gentle swipes at the continued popularity of what Elissa Cullman called … [Read more...]
Black Room Power
Living with a black room takes conviction and confidence as in “don’t be afraid of the dark…” Especially when the choice for wall color is black. In my mind, doing a black room is a strategic decision. Some might consider it to be like perpetual Halloween but I see it differently. Black rooms go back to Roman times and there’s a reason they’ve been a choice over several … [Read more...]
Dark Kitchen Drama
Dark kitchen cabinets range from deep blue to black with touches of white only for accent. More and more often I’m seeing kitchens with such dark kitchen cabinets they seem designed for people with reverse lives -- like rock musicians whose days begin at 4 or 5 p.m. And the high contrast and dramatic effect of extra-dark kitchens is almost upstaging the white and black … [Read more...]
Dark Bedrooms
Dark bedroom walls make for dramatic sleeping spaces. I always believed that dark bedroom walls work best in small rooms, those in need of visual downsizing, or places with little natural light. But using a “night-life” hue in the bedroom makes real sense considering all the light-blocking strategies we tend to employ in the bedroom. Lately, I’ve been trending on dark -- … [Read more...]