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Monday, January 4, 2010

It's Not Just Plain Black and White

Have you ever heard the saying, "It is just plain black and white." ? Well to me it is never just Plain black and white. Black and white gives a balance in any room, it can actually be a foundation to work off of. Even though the two colors are polar opposites that is where the balancing act comes into play. If a room is all white with nothing to ground it, it can appear to float. If a room is all dark it can appear to be dreary and drab. So by incorporating the darks and the lights you can have balance in your room. I am going to show you some  black and white combinations in this post. See what you think, do you like a little black and white in your rooms?


What if this room did not have a dark table and dark legs on the chairs? Notice the black and white checked valance. If all these elements were in white or even the lighter blue this room would seem to float off the page.




What would this room look like without the dark legs on the furniture or the black fireplace? Notice even the little touch of black on the sconces--without that touch of black you probably would not even notice the sconces and the wall could look boring and uninteresting to the eye.





If this room had white walls would it have the Wow factor or the drama it now has?





Another lovely room that shows how a touch of black grounds this space. Are you starting to get the picture? It is not just Plain Black and White but it is a balancing act!



In this last picture the room is grounded with the dark ebony floor,gorgeous! The table and the darling black and white checked settee give it more balance. I hope that you can look at your rooms and see if they need to do a little more floating or maybe they need to be grounded. By using a contrast between lights and darks you can achieve a much more interesting room. It doesn't have to be black or white but at least a dark and light combination to balance the room. It is all about balance in the rooms of our homes or just in our everday life, I hope this gives you a new way to look at your rooms.
"Enjoy the Process" of: Balancing
Kathysue

9 comments:

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Yeah, I do see it and it is fantastic. I am also able to leave a comment. That is wonderful. I could not click on the title, I had to go over to the archive and click on the #2 and then the post came up. I will try to see if I can figure out what you did wrong. Hugs, Marty

Kat said...

Love these rooms Kathysue! My favorites are the second (love the artwork) and that beautiful living room with the pops of vivid green - gorgeous! Can't wait to see what you'll be sharing with us next. Hugs, Kat

Jeanette said...

I love all of these rooms, especially that beautiful kitchen. I have seen it before and I love everything about it. I am beginning to see that I need to add more of that "touch of black" to my rooms. You have done that so well in your own home. Great post, Kathysue!

La Dolfina said...

Wow, that exercise clearly and concisely pointed out why the balance of dark and light is so essential to good design! I thinks I've inherently learned that through the years but have never actually addressed it's importance so dramatically as you've shown here!!
Bravo! Thank you for a terrific insight!
xo
Terri

La Dolfina said...

I loved the photos you used to demonstrate your point...
Well done!

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

The kitchen was my favorite! I saw some texture, too! :-)

LuLo Designs/Blue Eyed Tango said...

All these illustrations are just marvelous Kathysue! I love black in a room and I'm redoing my master bedroom now. My new bed comes in Tues. Yeah! Upgrading from a queen to a king size. I just bought two new lamps that have black shades and shiny ceramic pineapple type bottom. I cannot wait to put it altogether again....it's driving me nuts! Thanks for showing us it's NOT just black and white! My favorite is the third one down! Luanne

KD said...

All yummy! The kitchen has always been one of my favs! I love and have touches of black through out. I am a color girl but always have my black to bring it all down to earth and make sure it stays there so the eye can rest!

Anonymous said...

I can't remember where i first saw that kitchen but it has been one of my faves....

Nice post,
Kathy :)