Dear Afraid,

Magazines are a great resource to get a sense of style, ideas and inspiration. There are so many out there to choose from depending on your style. Each can demonstrate to you varying techniques to create differing moods for a beautiful room.

Speaking of television, Downton Abbey has many perfect examples of beautiful rooms with dark walls – especially bedrooms and Lord Grantham’s dressing room.

I love rich, dark, saturated color values, too. I love bright colors. I love color.

The use of dark hues can give your room an intimate and tranquil ambience or add drama. You can always use a dark hue to paint an accent wall in a room, but there is a certain richness that can be achieved by painting an entire room.

One needs balance to be able to successfully design a room around the intensity of the wall color. In order to achieve this we use the elements: value/tone, line, color, texture, form and size. Wall color has a major role in the design of a room since there is so much wall space.

Your décor should reflect your taste and personality. I encourage my clients to think outside the box and what may be their ordinary comfort zone if they want to try something different. This doesn’t mean that it would not reflect your personality, yet this expresses it in a way that one is not accustomed. It sounds as though your decorating style can stand the boldness dark colors bring to the table. There should be no negative connotation just because you have an affinity for dark shades.

When selecting a hue for the walls think about how it makes you feel and what it says about you. Consider the house in its entirety, unify and harmonize the rooms selecting from a common color palette. Reflect on light sources and how much light the room gets, at what time of day, and the control of light. Dark walls can be more successful when

a room is not flooded with so much light that it washes out the shade making it look dull instead of rich. Consider also the role the room plays in your lifestyle, a dining room, study, powder room or bedroom. Plan ahead so that you can balance the dark with other components of the room such as furnishings and lighting.

Lighting is key for the success of any room especially a dark-walled room. Without light the room is robbed of the sense that eyesight gives. Lighting, of course, is so important to the color and mood of a room.

Artists and interior designers understand how color can affect moods and emotions. Color is a tool and can be used to influence mood and cause physiological reactions. Certain colors have been associated with increased blood pressure, metabolism and eyestrain.

Blue can be relaxing, but be careful because some dark blue hues might feel sad. Navy would be an exception. Red is energetic yet pink is mellowing. Yellow can be uplifting but some find it irritating. Green can combine the happiness of yellow and the refreshment of blue. Dark purple values feel luxurious and light ones are restful. Orange feels enthusiastic and energetic.

Personally, I usually prefer to use dark color for paint in non-open floor plan rooms or that are used during the evening or rooms that have little to no natural light. I find the best way to highlight objects d’art is through the control of lighting. The dark wall color gives the room a sense of depth while the furnishings and architectural details are emphasized. It is three dimensional art.

Go forth and let your dark-painted rooms speak of moods, personality, and taste. Evoke moods of mystery, intimacy, calm, serenity, romance and perhaps the exotic. Express qualities of personality: confidence, closeness, composure, fearlessness, power. Present a tasteful, well-designed room with interest, suitability and sophistication.

- Joe

Joe Sturgill