BACK to BLACK

"Every room can use a touch of black" is so true and is something to remember when it comes to interiors.

Bright colors are taking a back seat to black.

Back to Black, the name of Songstress Amy Winehouse's soulful vocal, is enough to inspire the return to

classic, forever black.  Amy's song (listen to it here) is my inspiration for The Return to Black, in fashion as well as in Interiors.

Think style, think sophistication, think timeless.

  

The little black dress,or LBD as it is known in fashion shorthand, is an timeless classic. 
Tory Burch left   Philip Lim center   Vince right

Amy Winehouse 

A room needn't have a total makeover to make a statement with black - punctuate a neutral interior with a sleek black table lamp.

A TOUCH OF BLACK in a room can act like a punctuation mark!

This gourd lamp with black silk oval shade is from the stylish Porta Romana lamp company in the UK and is a timeless classic. 

 

The Night Hotel (pictures above and below) in New York is a study in black and is decorated in "Modern Gothic Gotham"

 
A bold black stripe down the back and seat of these mid-century chairs creates added interest. Popham Design 

 
Black & White photos line the walls of this stairwell, and the black geometric "David Hicks" inspired carpet
adds drama and lots of glamour.  Eric Cohler 

 

Hollywood Glam - black patent headboard & bench - InStyle 

 

The black marble floor is another timeless classic (left) Jamie Haydon / Kitchen with black slate floor (right)

 
Black & white dishes (left) / an iconic Chanel tray (right). 
When I think of Chanel, I think Black, I think timeless, I think classic, I think unforgettable!

    

Timeless black sofas add drama and are a grounding element in the above rooms.
(left) Mary McGee / (right) Suzanne Kasler 

Want to add drama to a room quickly and inexpensively, try painting or wallpapering a feature wall black.

 

 

Paint your house black.  My favourite black paint is Benjamin Moore Black Beauty - photo NY Times

Black can act as a neutral because there is no color it doesn't go with.

Accessorize with these buffalo horns from Z Gallerie 

To see more posts on colour trends click here

 

 

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design, architecture,
and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

Hot or Not? Sarah Palin’s Alaskan Office Décor

Are Grizzly Bears and King Crabs going to be the new trend? I certainly hope not!!

Take the reader survey in the right hand column. Poll closed see results below.

This image appeared in The New York Times, accompanying the story Sarah Heath Palin, an Outsider Who Charms.

November 5, 2008
Here are the statistics of the Poll

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design.
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New and Hot Interior Design Books

"You are the same today that you are going to be five years from now except for two things:
the people with whom you associate and the books you read."  -- Charles Jones

Check out some of the new books on Interior Design below in the new Amazon Widget at the bottom of this post. I am a lover of books and images and I can hardly wait to receive a new batch of books hot off the press. I am most excited about Michael Taylor Interior Design which hasn't been released yet but is available for pre-order on Amazon. I have done a post on Michael Taylor's work, which you can read here: Michael Taylor - Good Design is Timeless.

The James Dean of decorators is how Diana Vreeland described West Coast designer Michael Taylor.

I was a student in Design School when the picture below of Michael Taylor's work was published in Architectural Digest . I was totally in awe of his work. Nothing had been done like this before. It was revolutionary and very fresh. I became totally mesmerized by all things "Michael Taylor".  He is still a big influence in my work.

Consistently denouncing the cluttered and pretentious, he had a simple ethos: "When you take things out, you must increase the size of what's left." This spawned the widely emulated California Look, which in the latter part of his career was characterized by oversize furniture and signature elements, including Yosemite slate and fossilized stone; plump geometric cushions; logs; wicker; and lots of mirrors, all against a muted backdrop of white on white or beige on beige.

This is a room Michael designed circa mid 1950's in Modesto, California

Syrie Maugham, the British decorator who helped create the all-white look popular in the 1920s, provided another source of inspiration to him which can be seen in the above picture of a living room Michael Taylor designed. "Schiaparelli sofa"

 

 

Taylor rivaled the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland in his use of maxims - "Red and green should never be seen!" was one of his favorites. "If in doubt, take it out!" was another. Taylor believed that white was the most efficient color for capturing natural light.

 

"I cannot live without books."
Thomas Jefferson

What books are you going to be reading??

 

 

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.