In a world gone white or beige, there’s room for change. Color is the answer, of course, but many hesitate to go dark. “Dark” may suggest a light or bright issue to some when it can mean deep and rich.
Contemporary interior paint comes in more finishes and better quality than ever. So, your dark palettes open new worlds for design. If you reluctant to do walls and ceilings in dark colors, you might consider the value in at least one wall to start the visual conversation.
If the idea of going dark intimidates you, you might start with a small room like a powder room, office, or library. Another starting point is to darken architectural highlights like alcoves, molding, or setbacks.
If you don’t know where to start, you should opt for a color and its palette. You might select something deeper and richer than flat tones. Selecting something unusual avoids the ordinary. If you think cranberry, plum, tobacco, eggplant, charcoal, ash, and seaweed are all options. And, each has its palette with tones, hues, and shades.
If you choose the dark colors for design, you assert yourself, a sense of confidence and control. You have the psychological strength to make a statement and do something bold. But, you must control the drama with a careful, thoughtful, and limited selection of patterns, metals, leathers, stone, and more.
Dark walls draw a room together repeating the color in other elements like upholstery, window treatments, and design features. Dark colors invite contrast and balance. Dark is a canvas against which different things pop.
Take the Palmer modern pendant lighting fixture, custom-prepared in oil-finished bronze, for example. Its simple architecture has a slim elegance. White faux linen panels fill spaces between vertical lines that highlight its tubular design.
Sleekly modern and minimalistic, it is clean without fuss and fancy. It throws a light throughout the column softened by the shades. It’s only 8-inches in diameter but hangs a slender some 70-inches from the ceiling. In a dark colored room, the Palmer fits comfortably with its darkened metal yet dramatically with its intimate lighting.
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Much bolder and confident, the Parkes floats above a room with a circle of LED-lit crystals. Opulent and stunning, the acid black metal hoop hangs from thin threads meant to disappear as the crystal light a dark palette.
Parkes sweeps across 47.25-inches to define a sitting or dining area. Floating almost 40-inches from the ceiling, this chandelier reinforces the confident statement of the dark palette. Impressive as the fixture is, its cool white light is a perfect balance for a room dominated by a dark palette.
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A single vase of white or red flowers, a contemporary painting, or a metallic sculpture is all a room needs to make a dark palette perfect. With paints available as lacquers, jewel-toned, and
textured, your dark palette room becomes a cozy haven or proud statement to visitors and friends.