How to Add the Black Design Trend in Your Home
It doesn’t take a lot of black to make an impact in home décor. Houston interior designer Renea Abbott of Shabby Slips likes to use it on stair rails and risers, pairing it with natural wood when she can.
From sexy bedrooms to jewel-box powder bathrooms, black is making a bold statement in every style of interior design. Homeowners almost never ask for it up front; it’s their interior designers who urge them to consider adding a little black for updated, bespoke rooms that tap into one of the hottest home design trends right now.
“Black can dress up a room immediately, just like in fashion,” says Renea Abbott, an interior designer and owner of the Shabby Slips showroom on West Alabama. “It makes a bold statement, and you don’t have to use very much of it for that. I use it from matte black to lacquer—I go from one extreme to the other.”
We asked Abbott and two other designers, Jana Erwin of Nest Design Group and Missy Stewart of Missy Stewart Designs, for tips to add black to any room in your home.
Touches of black
If you have to look at 1,000 images on Instagram before deciding whether you like something, you might want to start with small steps. The simplest options include adding something organic, such as a porcelain or ceramic vase with greenery. Changing out linen lampshades for black shades is a clever and easy swap. A side table in a living room or nightstand in a bedroom are also good options, the designers say.
Abbott loves the high contrast of a black and white floor, as shown here in a kitchen she designed.
When you’re ready for more, use black paint on cabinets or black stone counters in kitchens and bathrooms. Abbott loves flooring with squares of black and white marble or mixing black marble with creamy honed limestone. You can also paint library bookcases black, then line the backs with black grasscloth for texture or a different color of paint for contrast so that objets d’art stand out.
“Black is sexy,” Stewart says. “It can be an anchor for your eye, adding contrast and depth, and can highlight other colors.”
Painted cabinets, a black stone–topped side table, and black patterned fabric on a pair of swivel chairs add contrast and texture to this living room.
Black slabs—marble, granite, quartz, or soapstone—are often a first choice for counters in a bar, butler’s pantry, or powder bath, spaces where designers and homeowners want the drama of black marble with rich veining. Erwin recently used black marble tile on the walls and floor of a wet room in a master bathroom, then finished the room with white walls and white counters on black painted vanities.
“I really do love black marble. It’s so classic and timeless and beautiful,” Erwin says. “I like to use a warmer black with a little bit of brown in it.”
Going all in
For a bolder approach, think of black as a focal point in a room. In a kitchen, use black paint on an island or perimeter cabinets, then use black stone on a range hood. Or, pair a fancy black range with a black range hood.
In this kitchen, interior designer Missy Stewart of Missy Stewart Designs paired black paint on an island and the inside of an exterior door with white-veined black marble for the range hood.
Stewart likes to use three-dimensional textured paneling on fireplace walls and then finish the room with simpler neutral colors. For one homeowner who had dated black granite on a fireplace, painting the wall around it to match gave the granite an updated look. Another added bonus: with all of the black, the TV above the fireplace seemed to vanish when it wasn’t in use, she says.
Two things Abbott almost always does in home projects is use black satin paint on interior doors, then repeat it on railings, moulding, and risers for staircases. This approach falls into the use-it-sparingly category, and it’s a beautiful finish when paired with light natural wood stair treads, she says.
Black paneling with a 3-dimensional surface makes for a bold focal wall in this living room by Missy Stewart.
When using black on bathroom shower walls or on cabinets, all three designers like to use unlacquered brass hardware and plumbing fixtures, though Abbott says that polished nickel can also be beautiful. In a bar or bathroom with black marble counters, try a gold-framed mirror or brass sconces for accents. Another option is to use fixtures that combine matte black with another metal, such as brass.
The universal favorite black paint color for Abbott, Erwin, and Stewart is Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black, a true black that works beautifully on walls, trim, and cabinets. Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore, a deep charcoal, and the brand’s slightly warmer Black Magic are other smart choices, they say. For those who love the rich hues of Farrow and Ball paints, try Railings (No. 31) or Off Black (No. 57). The designers recommend using a flat, matte finish on walls, and shifting to a satin finish for shelving or bookcases.
The black exterior on this home fits nicely with the organic color and texture of stained wood, says Houston interior designer Jana Erwin of Nest Design Group.
Erwin notes that the exterior of her design studio is black; she worked through 20 paint samples, unsatisfied with all of them. She ended up with a custom mix that Sherwin-Williams staff jokingly called “Jana’s Revenge.”
“If leaning into black is too scary, think of a nice dark charcoal color. Keep it warm and don’t go too harsh or stark. Gradually pull yourself into it,” Erwin says.
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