Timeless and elegant, as well as eminently versatile, this power couple is powering its way into homes in a big way -- a trend at the Interior Design Show in Toronto earlier this year and now showing up in shops and design stores.
Despite the new popularity of black and white, good old colour -- bright, punchy, in-your-face colour -- still has a strong fan base. And that's fine. Because the clean simplicity of black and white lends itself well to the occasional threesome with a vivid colour.
Black and white today are showing up plain -- think sofas or chairs upholstered in black or white leather -- or in patterns, including houndstooth fabrics. Either way, they can be paired with chrome and crystal. Think crystal chandeliers with black shades.
"Black is the new black," says Toronto interior designer Roberto D'Ullisse. "It's going to last forever, and it just keeps getting stronger."
One of the big advantages of black and white is that they are neutrals and can be paired with any other colour without competing.
"People are under the illusion black and white are classics and so you don't need to update," says Armin Martiros of Ma Zone (www.mazone.com/index.html) in Toronto. "But people get tired of everything. Just because a colour is neutral or safe doesn't mean you won't get tired of it."
The solution, according to Martiros: bright colours.
"Life is too short to live without colour," he says, adding that black and white alone won't give a room character. One wall, one pillow and one piece of furniture in colour, he said, and pow, you've given a room a new feel.
Fortunately, if you're starting from a neutral base, that's easy to do.
-- Canwest News Service
