BLACK + WHITE
Absence of colour creates blank slate to help your decor pieces stand out
Dramatic black and ethereal white are longtime favourites in interior design for the blank canvas they provide.
“For me, black and white are both neutrals so you end up with a blank slate,” says Jennifer Scott, principal designer at design firm A Good Chick to Know. “So whatever style you’re trying to emphasize or put forward in your home, that’s what gets noticed.”
It’s a misconception, says Scott, that painting the walls black makes a room feel smaller, with many designers now using black or dark navy on the walls for dramatic effect. Though Scott is partial to “whitewashing” the rooms she designs, she says a good place to start for those interested in trying black on the walls (but not game enough to paint the entire living room with it), is a powder room or a bathroom, where there are light elements to contrast it.
“Tubs are almost always white, and sinks,” she says. “But if you were to play that against black taps or go for gold taps — we’re seeing a lot of gold faucets and hardware these days — it looks so amazing.”
In this environment, says Scott, features such as an amazing mirror or piece of artwork will really stand out.
“It takes on a different energy,” she says.
Scott advises going with either black or white for the walls or floor — not a combination of the two, believing monotones do make a space feel bigger — and then mix in accessories.
“I’ve seen a couple of beautiful big white rooms with all blackand-white photography,” she says.
When it comes to photography, Scott says, people often go for landscapes or city scenes, but oversized black-and-white, highfashion photography creates a tasteful dramatic statement.
Sadly, so much of living room design these days is based around the television, says Scott, and more often than not they’re black. Using black elsewhere in the room helps offset them.
“Unless you’re working with a hidden cabinet, you have to find a way to incorporate that,” she says.
“So a gallery wall or piece of furniture or a shelf or something you have to bring in, otherwise your TV is going to stand out as your main focal point, which is really the worst-case scenario.”
An incredible piece of artwork should rival the television for anyone’s attention and Torontobased Troy Seidman, founder of online store Caviar 20 (caviar20. com), that specializes in “delicacies for your home,” only deals in such.
The black-and-white pieces in his current collection are great examples of the magic of these two “non-colours” combined.
“There’s definitely a preference for very neutral, understated colour palettes and interiors, so black and white generally work well with a lot of people’s decor,” says Seidman.
“Something like pastels or teal or what have you — that’s a lot more challenging.”
South African-born artist Marlene Dumas, known for her provocative artworks, is “one of the few living contemporary female artists whose work has sold for over a million dollars at auction,” Seidman says.
A black-and-white silkscreen, Faceless, he is selling through Caviar 20, works well in residential settings because it is smaller in size, he says.
“It’s great to have artwork that is thought-provoking but having it in a smaller scale (this one being about the size of a regular piece of paper), means it’s not so overwhelming,” he says.
The absence of colour in blackand-white artwork perhaps has us paying more attention to the details and the “ambience” of the piece, Seidman says.
“Because we don’t see in black and white, perhaps it stimulates more imagination in that sense,” he says.
David Keeler of home decor shop Provide (providehome.com) says though their customers love colour, they usually go home with black and white. “When they actually purchase things for their homes they’re kind of conservative,” he says.
“Black, white or grey are very very popular.”
He and Provide co-founder Robert Quinnell love neutrals, too, Keeler says, especially when it comes to ceramics, because “you’ll have them forever” and neutrals are timeless — they never date.
The black, cast iron ornaments by Japanese brand saikai, which they carry at Provide, are all the more sculptural because of their darkness, as are Martha Sturdy’s black resin creations for the home.
Carrying more Canadian and B.C. brands, Provide also stocks candlesticks made from black steel.
“The candle matches the darkness of the base,” says Keeler, so it’s kind of this continuous shape.