I'm going to deconstruct the room pictured here to show you a few tricks that can help solve certain decorating dilemmas and other tricks that can help enhance your decor. You may find that these little lessons can be used to help you in your quest for a great space on a reasonable budget.
One of the reasons I chose this Benjamin Moore photograph was because of the black feature wall. Black can be an intimidating colour (or non-colour, depending upon your outlook) to use in the decor. When well appointed, it can be quite stunning.
This Benjamin Moore living room shows just how using black can help create a vivid focal point in a room. The black fireplace wall is Benjamin Moore Black Satin # 2131-10. Without the strong colour behind the white fireplace, the focal wall would not be as stunning. Yes, another strong colour, like navy blue, would work as well but there is a specific reason for using black in this particular room.
Using black sparingly helps keep the space light. The actual amount of black wall space in this room is quite minimal considering the amount of punch it packs. The fireplace covers a good third and the large canvas covers another large part of it.
Painting the fireplace white and using a light canvas for the artwork keeps the entire focal point from seeming like a black hole. If the fireplace surround and mantle were dark wood, it would be very heavy and uninspired.
Another reason I chose this photograph is because it also offers me an opportunity to show you a few hidden decorating tricks that just might help you create your own stunning decor.
Blend
While the black feature wall is striking, it also serves two purposes, the first being the visual appeal and the second being that it makes the black leather chairs relevant to the space.
If you visualize the room without the black focal wall you can see that the black leather chairs would not fit into this space because they'd have no connection to the room.
Most of us are on a budget. If you want to "use what you have" but aren't sure how to make it work here are a few tricks that will help. As was done in our feature room, try to integrate the colour of your item into the space. This will give it a connection to the room.
If this were your living room and you had, say, a navy blue leather sofa, the navy blue focal wall would work just as well as the black wall did at marrying your sofa with the rest of the room. You might also consider adding one or two throw pillows that have navy blue accents onto the sofa as a secondary measure. Having at least two relative points in the room to the item in question will help blend your unique item into the space.
Blending the styles is also important. The black leather chairs are modern/retro in a traditional living room with a contemporary sofa. By adding the kidney-shaped retro coffee table and cube nesting tables to the room, the black chairs suddenly become germane.
Balance
Balancing strong colour is important. I would probably add another similar but larger canvas to the wall opposite the fireplace to balance the visual weight of the fireplace in the overall scheme of things. Performing this balancing act in your space, whether in a scenario with a strong wall colour or a large, dark cabinet, will keep the room from feeling lopsided.
For example, if you have a large, dark wood china cabinet in the dining room it may overpower the space due to its size and colour. Using a balancing technique on the opposing wall can help keep the space harmonious. You might opt to use a strong, focal paint colour or large wall painting on the opposite wall if adding more furniture is not an option.
The light blue walls (Benjamin Moore Gossamer Blue # 2123-40) and lime green accents are fresh and current. If the green is not to your liking, it could easily be changed out with shades of purple, red, orange, yellow or even hot pink, depending upon your sense of adventure. Using more lively and trendy colours in accessories frees you up to change the accents with ease which will help keep your decor fresh.
Another little trick that can make your decor more interesting is to use asymmetric displays. Hanging the fireplace canvas off centre and setting two small, brightly coloured vases on the mantle beside it makes the entire fireplace vignette in our feature photograph less traditional, which totally suites the furniture in the space.
Kitty corner to the green vases sit two square containers filled with green grasses. The more common artwork in the middle flanked by two topiaries just wouldn't cut it with the funky nature of this room. You'll notice that a similar trick was used with the vignette between the windows in the background of the photograph.
Sometimes it's all smoke and mirrors. You just have to know how to blow smoke.
