If you are unsure about decorating with Monochrome in your home, frightened perhaps that it could look too stark or too gloomy, remember it’s really just about getting the colour percentages right and adding a little texture. Think about the success of Chanel, Jo Malone and The White Company branding and you can’t go too far wrong. You may remember that I wrote about Monochrome last Summer –  Style It Dark For Summer – but my love of it has recently been stoked again.

Paintings in black and white

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of catching the Monochrome Painting in Black and White exhibition at The National Gallery (on until 18th February) in the company of film/TV set decorator Tanya Bowd (Howards End).  We had lots of great film chats regarding projects Tanya has been working on – (I digress but promise I will divulge later in the year)! The exhibition covered 700 years of paintings from the smaller ‘sketches’ that were done for masterpieces through to more contemporary block colour canvases of the 20th Century (which were actually my favourite).

Location, location, location

In the Autumn I came across Monochrome again whilst working on a client’s Spring/Summer 18 interiors catalogue in a location house near Winchester (Light Locations). I quickly took a few shots of the interiors before several crates of spring/summer product were shipped in for our shoot! This location is a really inspiring example of a house decorated with the same palette throughout.

Colour class

BTW, there is no right or wrong way when it comes to how extensive a colour palette you use, it is how you use it that matters (another blog post needed to explore I think!). Rooms decorated in different colours work just as well – as long as the ‘look through’ from room to room creates a pleasing contrast.

Blissful bedroom ideas

Bathroom ideas

Kitchen ideas

Pantry ideas

5 ways to shop the Monochrome look

Fabric and wallpaper

Lighting

Cushions

These ‘Khadi’ cream handwoven cushions with (10% use of) black designery triangular edging, (45 cm sq) are a bargain as are on sale at Habitat at £17.50 down from £25 each.

Tiles

Patterned floor and wall tiles are definitely a thing right now but they can sometimes be a bit pricey.  However, I am rather impressed with Laura Ashley’s new range of tiles. In particular, these ‘Wicker’ floor tiles are more affordable at £34/sq m than some of the handmade versions which are nearer £100/sq m.

Bookage

Monochrome Home is a beautiful book written and styled by Hilary Robertson (a stylist I always loved to bump into at press shows but who now lives and works in the States). Check out all Hilary’s fantastic ideas, £14.91, Amazon.

Thank you so much for reading!  If you need any help styling your own home in Monochrome or any other style please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I have a rather fab edited wallpapers, paint and fabric library which is very portable.

In the meantime, don’t forget to follow the blog to receive email alerts for future blog posts. Just press the large blue ‘Follow’ button either at the beginning or end of a post.

With many thanks, Charis x