Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Dark décor doesn’t have to be drab. Two interior designers share how to create a beautiful space in the shade.

BY AMANDA ZURITA

DREARY. CONFINED. CAVE-LIKE. MOROSE. Dark decor tends to get a bad rap, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Interior designers all over are creating dynamic, stunning spaces using shadowier hues. Stewart Horner, principal designer with Portland, Oregon–based Penny Black Interiors, even proposes that this side of the color wheel can be quite cozy. “Dark colors absorb light. They can have a wonderful effect in creating a comforting, intimate, and even safe feeling,” he says. But this style can also be bold and dramatic. Seattle interior designer Michelle Dirkse likes using elements of contrast in her work. “Whether it’s contrast in texture or contrast in value using dark and light colors together, it’s just more interesting to me,” she says.

When choosing to darken up your decor, it’s important to consider which rooms are better suited to these colors. Dirkse suggests choosing rooms that are more closed off—like dens, media rooms, and bedrooms—so that you don’t have to commit to carrying a color into adjoining spaces. “Whereas a living room might extend into a hallway, with these other types of enclosed rooms there can be a finality in your color choice,” she says. And Horner adds that it’s important to consider the room’s function. “Like most people, I enjoy light and bright neutrals,” he says, “but nothing beats a long soak in a beautiful tub and a dark, cozy bathroom.”

WHEN IT COMES TO PAINTING A WALL (OR MANY walls) a dark shade, both Horner and Dirkse steer their clients toward painting the ceiling as well. “Leaving the ceiling white shortens the feeling of height as the eye isolates the wall when it breaks at the ceiling,” says Horner. “If the same color is on the ceiling, the eye doesn’t stop at the join, and therefore isn’t forced to consider the height— especially in a low-ceiling room.” So while it may seem intimidating to carry the shade up and up, the effect actually opens the room and creates spatial harmony.

As for furnishings and accessories, Dirkse recommends using dark pieces as you would any other neutral: to balance out the space’s other tones and textures. For example, in a room with multiple colors and grains of wood furnishings, introducing a black piece of furniture (rather than another wood style) won’t compete with the rest of the decor. “Sometimes we choose to use dark colors not to be dramatic, but actually because we don’t want something to stand out,” says Dirkse.

Overall, whether you have a room fully painted in midnight blue or choose a charcoal buffet as an accent piece, incorporating dark shades adds to your home’s unique atmosphere. “We love to have tonal areas within a home, giving the homeowner a chance to experience light and dark,” says Horner. “Homes should be multisensory and evoke multiple experiences.” So go ahead. Come over to the dark side.