There’s the age-old interior design rule that light walls make a room look larger and dark walls make a room look smaller. Well rules were made to be broken and someone quite wise once told me that you have to learn the rules first before you can break them and know how to get away with it! Dark walls can create a warm and cosy atmosphere or can be bold and dramatic, it all depends on what you want the end result to be. I’ve been wanting to redecorate my fiance’s bedroom for a while, and now that I’ve moved in and it’s also my bedroom… it definitely needs a new look… any look at all quite frankly as it’s just quite, well, dull!
Architects are well known for their all-white interiors. They’ll probably tell you because it accentuates the building’s features or something else along those lines… but really it’s because they’re used to working with Interior designers who take the lead when it comes to interior style. I wanted our bedroom to reflect both of our styles and be a place where we’d both feel comfortable. So I wanted to stay away from white and pastel tones (which I used a lot in my old home) and I went for Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue – the most awesome shade of moody blue ever!
In all honesty, I thought I’d have real difficulty convincing my fiance on the interior concept I had in mind – but he loved it! In fact, he was more confident it’d work than I was! I found an image that I loved of a bedroom decorated with Stiffkey Blue dark walls and instagrammed it (above), the popularity it received spurred me on to try to go beyond my comfort zone and go bold! Visiting Decorex 2015 last week gave me further ideas on our bedroom and I noticed how dark walls really accentuate the furniture, art and accessories placed against it.
Dark walls can make the most beautiful of light spaces – and it’s all about the furniture and accessories that you use. Mirrors in warm metal tones such as brass, bronze and copper look so striking against a darkly painted wall. The mirror will also reflect light around the room making it feel lighter – and so this is number one on my list for the bedroom. I also bought a fab mid-century light fitting on eBay for £25! The warm brass tones will suit the new bedroom scheme and the etched glass will cast some fab shadows across the ceiling. I’m going to pair it with an Edison squirrel cage light bulb and add a brass toggle switch for a real mid-century modern style.
So with the fiance on-board and a trip to Decorex 2015 giving me some ideas – I was still not very confident with painting the bedroom in such a dark colour. A few people said to me things like ‘oh which wall are you painting?’ or ‘really?’ or ‘that’s brave!’, so no wonder my confidence was knocked! But in my mind, I was convinced that painting all the walls a dark colour would make the room look striking and elegant as well as bright, rather than small and dingy. So I thought I’d try to do an interior design sketch to put my imagination on paper. Now, even though I’m an aspiring interior designer – I’ve not yet learned technical drawing or hand-rendering. I know my drawing style is more Roald Dahl than Kelly Hoppen, but I wanted to get the essence of the room on paper in my own style.
Check dark walls – light spaces part two for the final reveal!
Natalia xo
