Black and white advice for monochrome styling

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Luxury Bathroom , Studio Hooton Studio Hooton Modern bathroom
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Black and white. It's a partnership that's as classic as it is beautiful and timeless and it makes for a strikingly stunning interior design scheme. The only problem, is knowing how to use it in your home in such a way that it still feels warm and inviting and not so starkly modern that a house is prevented from becoming a home.

Take a look at our tips for integrating monochrome styling into your home and see if it could become one of your new favourite colour schemes.

Bathroom

A room that naturally lends itself to drama and self-contained design schemes, we think that a black and white bathroom could be a great way to start your foray into monochrome interior styling.

We love this bathroom, from Emma Hooton, that has taken the unusual step of making black the primary colour, with white being added as an accent. For homes that want to try colour schemes that are a little more daring, smaller or more private rooms, such as bathrooms, offer the perfect testing grounds, without breaking the bank or having an impact on the wider house, until you're ready.

Hallway

Imagine walking into this fabulous space every day! The monochrome checked floor is the perfect jumping off point for a classically styled and dramatic hallway, such as this one and we just don't think that colour schemes get much better than this!

A sleek radiator, wall mounted lights and eye-catching main light all combine to create a space is both welcoming and dramatic and by including a large, simply finished mirror, it feels twice the size. Even the picture frames are made from simple black wood, making this more than just a cohesive spot; it's one that has been thought through to even the smallest details.

Kitchen

When cleanliness and hygiene are the orders of the day, what could be better than a black and white design scheme? We think the use of a white countertop, contrasting against the dark black wooden cabinets is inspired and looks so crisply clean and bright that it's hard to imagine any other colour schemes working so well in a kitchen.

By keeping necessary installations theme coherent, so cabinets and worktops, extra additions can explore the option of an accent colour, should a purely monochromatic look be too overbearing or a step too far, too quickly!

Bedroom

The bedroom is the room that you spend the most time in and as such, naturally takes on the personalities and tastes of everyone that sleeps in there. In the case of suitable colour schemes for a restful and relaxing bedroom space, there really are no rules, so we dare you to go bold and be a little different!

We love the use of black for the majority of furniture items, with walls and smaller accessories finished in white. Though heavy and dramatic, it's surprising just how homely the room still is and we can imagine that with some subdued lighting, it would feel wonderfully snug and calm come bedtime.

Living room

When you think of monochrome colour schemes, we bet you are picturing huge, plain slices of black and white that are almost overbearing, but don't forget that you can branch out and make the most of some funky patterns and styles too!

We love this living room that almost looks to have an underlying jungle theme and thanks to the multitude of patterns, it doesn't feel over the top or too heavy, only stylish and envy inducing! The addition of some green helps to break up the space a tiny bit, but the overarching dominance of black and white remains and looks incredibly beautiful.

Study

Even your most practical and serious areas can make good use of colour schemes that add a little drama and classic styling, so we think a study is the perfect host for some black and white!

This is a great room that has put high end executive furniture, finished in white leather, to good use, especially as a contrast to the gloss black wood work and delightfully dark wider design scheme. We actually think that a study is the natural choice for a monochrome scheme as it lends itself to more grown up and serious interior decor, so as to minimise distractions for busy at home workers. We have to say though, even if our study wasn't our place of work, we could easily be tempted to adopt a scheme as stylish as this one.

Dining room

White spaces always exude a naturally high end feel, but add in some well placed black accents and what was high end, suddenly becomes classic and unbeatable. Preventing an all white room from tipping the balance and becoming cold, clinical or impersonal, the addition of black warms a space and gives it more dimension.

We think this dining room looks incredible, especially as the black has been kept to a minimum, but still does enough to bring a little depth. Looking fantastic in every room of the house, we really don't think that colour schemes get more adaptive, beautiful or elegant than a simple black and white.

For more colour inspiration take a look at this Ideabook: Choosing An Interior Colour Scheme.

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