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How to decorate with dark colours
As the wise interior designer Christopher Leach once told us, “be brave and decorate with dark colour. It doesn't mean you will end up with a room of Stygian gloom. If a space doesn't receive much natural light, there is no jolly yellow or bright white on earth that will remedy it.” Instead, opt for a deep navy blue, or oxblood and the result will be a room that envelops you. The same applies to dreary rooms with no apparent features; a well-chosen dark colour can be transformative. We've collected our favourite examples of dark rooms done right. Don't be afraid of the dark...
Paul Massey1/21In this Victorian villa by Tom Morris, the bedroom walls are painted in Little Greene’s ‘Olive Colour’ which is the perfect backdrop for the large scale artwork above the fireplace. The dark colour sets off the rich blues of a chair in antique Dutch cloth from Howe London and a Melin Tregwynt blanket on the bed, under which is a Turkish cicim kilim rug from Francesca Gentilli. Displayed in the fireplace is an ash vessel by Anthony Bryant and, on the mantel, an abstract painting by Giovanni Mattio. The Seventies brass light by Florian Schulz was chosen to add interest to the room
Paul Massey2/21Interior designer Nicola Harding uses black tiles throughout this charming riverside house, she has used them across three spaces, in various hues. Here, black bejmat tiles from Emery & Cie provide a dramatic backdrop for a handsome 19th-century table and vintage painted stool. The woodwork in Pure & Original’s ‘Aubergine’ and the old factory light is from Matthew Cox. In this potentially difficult, narrow room, the reflected light draws the eye into the next room, making it feel more spacious.
Boz Gagovski3/21The panelling in Sasha Sarokin's living room – designed by Lucy Mayers – is painted in Du Cane by Papers and Paints. “Colour creates such warmth for me,” says Sasha, “and the choices were on some level intuitive. I love yellow, and I love brown, so I knew what I wanted generally, but the collaboration with Lucy was so helpful. For example I knew I wanted black moulding in the sitting room and dining room, and I might have just gone for black black, but Lucy said no, this is the black you want. And she sent me Du Cane by Paper and Paints, which is this beautiful green-black – she just guided me to the perfect colour."
Michael Sinclair4/21Rachel Chudley went for a deep and inky blue-black (a bespoke shade) in the hallway of a Highbury house project explaining her choice thus: “It worked to enhance the beautifully light rooms leading off the corridor, which benefit from their south-facing position. The dark hallway acted as a sort of portal to take you from the street and drop you off in a sanctuary. Its ceiling is an identical height to the one in the sitting room beyond, but because we painted the corridor walls and ceiling in the same inky shade, by contrast, the sitting room seems higher and brighter. This contrast might sound jarring, but it feels like walking through a deep, overgrown wood and emerging into a clearing flooded with daylight.”
Simon Upton5/21Designer Nicky Haslam's former west London flat is filled with drama. Dark walls are made more theatrical with a jet-black canopy, inspired by a Cecil Beaton drawing.
Paul Massey6/21Art buyer and stylist Annabel Bevan has painted her bathroom in ‘Livid’ by Little Greene, while the Drummonds bath is painted in ‘Persian Yellow’ by Papers & Paints. The deep blue provides a wonderful counterpoint to the warm red tones in the painting above the mantlepiece.
Paul Massey7/21The search for a London pied-à-terre brought Ben Pentreath’s clients unexpectedly to this Georgian house, which he has reconfigured and decorated in his layered signature style. The dining room has walls painted in ‘Bromine’ by Emente, which makes a heavenly backdrop for art.
Paul Massey8/21Ben Pentreath has given each room of this large house its own personality, combining colour and texture with interesting pieces from different periods. The greeny-brown grasscloth in this room is in the colour referred to by Ben as "freshly laid cowpat". ‘I love the richness that grasscloth brings; it has so much more depth than a flat paint,’ he says. ‘You do have to warn clients that the joins between panels are visible, but I’ve never minded the effect,’ adds Ben.
Paul Massey9/21Architect Jonathan Rhind and designer Nicola Harding have helped restore the spirit of an eighteenth-century house in Bath that had been a hotchpotch of student rooms, adding characterful furniture and clever combinations of colour. Here dark walls contrast with the pale stone of the stairs and floor. Several large-filament bulbs at different heights on twisted silk flex hang over the landing at the top of the stairs.
Boz Gagovski10/21Lucy Mayers has wrought an impressive transformation on her tiny Kensington flat, taking it from boring ‘standard student rental fare’ to a space full of personality and packed with surprises. The kitchen is painted in ‘Du Cane’ by Papers and Paints. The tiles are Fameed Khalique's ‘Urban Gold’ design. It was designed to resemble a bar, with a glamorous splashback in tiles that appear to be brass but are actually porcelain. In an interior that shouts, like this one, Lucy notes that it helps to have repeated themes throughout that provide a sense of coherence; colours can work in this way, and deep blues, greens and warm reds recur in each room. Motifs can also help; bamboo is one motif that crops up on the brass handles of the kitchen cabinets, on the curtain pole in the drawing room, and in the Pierre Frey wallpaper in the gold room.
Helen Cathcart11/21Once pokey and disjointed, Isabella Worsley turns this village cottage into a coherent and expansive house for a young family moving from London to the countryside. The study doubles as a TV room, with a dark colour scheme based around the antique kilim from Susan Deliss on the ottoman. The wall paint is Little Greene's ‘Livid’ and the bespoke sofa is covered in Rose Uniacke's ‘Jumbo Corduroy’ in garnet. Isabella has created a plain blind in Lewis and Wood's ‘Oaksey’ linen, but made it feel richer with with Susan Deliss' embroidered Temera braid on the leading edges. The slipper chair is covered in Claremont's ‘Ikat Stripe’.
Paul Massey12/21This unusual gothic revival house in north London has a dramatic interior by Maddux Creative, who used Morris & Co’s ‘Compton’ wallpaper to envelop the space in the spare room.
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James McDonald13/21Taking on the decoration of a nine-storey townhouse for clients based in America would faze some, but Bryan O'Sullivan and his studio saw it as a place to experiment with colour and work with a host of artisan makers to create something unique and full of character. To transform the front parlour into a technicolor space, Bryan designed a new library and painted it in a rich shade of teal and commissioned Matthew Bray to lacquer the ceiling in a golden mustard hue. The hanging vintage light fixture is by Paavo Tynell.
Paul Raeside14/21Self-Portrait designer Han Chong’s London home is a serene sanctuary. The five-and-a-half-floor concrete space in Shoreditch offers a fresh spin on minimalism. Chong transformed an extra bedroom into a library (he mostly reads art books) with a wraparound walkway and staircase. A yellow Gerrit Rietveld chair adds a pop of colour against the custom terrazzo floor, contrasting the dark details of the bookshelf.
Michael Sinclair15/21The interior designer Pandora Taylor has made a former wreck of a house in southwest London into a showcase for her witty, unconventional approach to decoration. The sitting room opens off the kitchen. Pandora created the curving sofa, while the footstools are her own 'Humbug' design. "You always want to put your feet up on the coffee table," she says, "so I prefer using these instead."
Christopher Horwood16/21Rachel Allen has put her stamp on a Spitalfields' coveted 18th-century Huguenot weavers' house, lightening up and playing with dark spaces, adding soft colour through paint and textiles.
The first floor drawing room walls are in the same blue that they were when the owner bought the house in 2019, because they work so well. It's a moody backdrop that Rachel has layered with red, blacks and some lighter tones.
17/21In the main bathroom of his home, designer Robert Moore has painted the walls in a deep blue 'Basalt' by Little Greene. The applied mouldings form a framework for the French empire wall sconces and a Fifties French mirror.
Chris Tubbs18/21Designer Adam Bray transformed this typical Eighties conversion in east London for a young client to create an environment that is 'dark, exciting and sexy' using a combination of oxblood red and olive green paint from Papers & Paints. 'Murrey Red' from Papers & Paints has been used in this room; light gloss finish bounces the light around, while the 19th-century alabaster light was chosen to impart a grown up mood.
Simon Upton19/21Deep, oxblood red paint provides a rich backdrop to a Thirties portrait by Spanish-Cuban artist José Segura Ezquerro and a lampshade made from an antique sari in this flat by Douglas Mackie.
Simon Upton20/21Deep cupboards surround the door in the study, which is in a lovely deep plum colour. The highest ones and the topmost bookshelves are accessed by a sliding, bronze ladder. The Howard chair, with gilded legs designed by Douglas, is covered in silk velvet by Holland & Sherry.
Simon Upton21/21A hallway or landing is a prime location for a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. 'Never be afraid to scale up; rooms can be theatrical and comfortable at the same time,' says Emma Burns, design director at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. The lesson was gleaned from legendary designer Roger Banks-Pye and executed at The Dovecote, Emma's home in the country.
