Inspiring Interiors

Black walls with black trim.

After some consternation and consideration, I decided to go ahead and paint the trim in the bedroom black, too. I’ll take some photos later (I left my camera at my mother’s house!), but here are a few photos of other mostly Victorian-era houses with black walls and black trim that are really inspiring me right now.

You know, inspiring me to paint my whole house black.

black2-600x379.jpg

Graham Atkins Hughes 3

Graham Atkins Hughes 4

Graham Atkins Hughes 1

These photos are all of interiors photographer Graham Atkins Hughes’ own home, Location78. I know. I knoooooooooow. Seriously, right? Dying. (Thank you, Jo in NZ, for bringing these photos to my attention!)

ligne roset

I’ve posted this old print ad for Ligne Roset before, and I still love the room. I love those blue shoes, too.

Gemma Ahern 1

Gemma Ahern 2

All of these photos are of Gemma Ahern’s apartment outside of London. There was a great sneak peek of Gemma’s home on Design*Sponge last year, as well as a piece in the New York Times. I know this is gray rather than black (I’m fairly certain it’s Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe), but it’s close enough. Love.

AB Chao bedroom

Last but nowhere near least (though not Victorian), this is my painting hero AB Chao’s bedroom. She also used F&B’s Down Pipe. It’s amazing to compare the before and after photos—I mean, can you even believe this is the same room?

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23 Comments

  • Reply Paula October 24, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    Love all these images. I’m slightly obsessing about black/grey walls at the moment too. These are all gorgeous examples, esp the first ones of Graham Atkins Hughes home.

  • Reply calli October 24, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    All my walls are painted dark grey, and know I am rethinking….. I just might paint them all black!! His house is amazing!! completely inspirational!!

    xx
    callie

  • Reply Dori October 24, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    I love the way they kept the crown molding white and painted the baseboards the wall color. Why should baseboard (catching all the dirt) be white?!

  • Reply Dan October 24, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    yes. yes. yes.

    yes yes.

  • Reply carol October 24, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    seriously gorgeous. takes courage but I love the effect.

  • Reply lau October 24, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    gah, that first set of photos is unreal. i can’t wait to see pictures of how your’s looks!

  • Reply Monica October 24, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    Loooove! The spaces in the photos are amazing and I am positive your bedroom (or your whole house…) will look so as well. So happy that you are going for it.

  • Reply Liz October 24, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Can’t wait to see the photos of your room with the trim painted.

    I’ve been planning to paint two walls of my study in down pipe but now thinking it might be a bit too, well, grey. Might try to find the UK version of Soot and do a big test patch or two. Like you I’m planning to paint the details in the same colour – skirting, fireplace etc – but in two minds about the cornice…

    Photos soon… please….

    Liz

  • Reply Sue October 24, 2010 at 6:43 pm

    please go get your camera…….pretty please

    I now am officially in love with black walls and trim

    I’m so happy that you are posting on home renovations again

    now go get that camera!

  • Reply ann hooker October 24, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    I am surprised, but I do like the first shots of varying shades of black. The grey is quite nice, but in no way holds a candle to the all black. It truly creates a certain mood (not a bad mood either) and the furnishings and accessories pop like there’s no tomorrow. I have a picture I should send you of a stylized interpretation of Ernest Hemingway’s lounge (speaking of bad moods – oops). But anyway, the walls were painted either black or midnight blue and what completely made it out of this world, was the striped drury rug on the floor.

  • Reply Joe Shoemaker October 24, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    And then there’s this…

    http://www.behance.net/Gallery/the-black-apartment/123184

    • Anna @ D16 October 24, 2010 at 8:22 pm

      Drama! Maybe I need to invite some models over.

  • Reply Callista October 24, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    You’re right! I was just flipping through the New York Times slideshow on Gemma Ahern’s apartment, and the color IS Down Pipe. Dang girl. I’m impressed.

    • Anna @ D16 October 25, 2010 at 1:19 pm

      I knew I’d read it somewhere—must’ve been in the NYT article! 😉

  • Reply Amy October 25, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    I’m so glad you posted these – I have an image of that apartment tacked on my bulletin board because I loved the dark grey, yellow and hot pink combo! And now I know the exact paint color too!

  • Reply Simone October 25, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    Cool pictures.
    I actually think the white moldings could have worked had you continued the black on the curved wall and kept those moldings white as well.

    • Anna @ D16 October 25, 2010 at 2:28 pm

      It really would have been horribly busy-looking. That curved wall has three windows on it (which are a different height from the door frame only a foot away)—it just would have been a big, fat visual mess.

  • Reply Rose October 25, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    Loving every. single. pic. in this post.

  • Reply mari October 25, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    omg, i love gemma ahern’s apartment! do you have any idea where that mop thingamajig is from (i thought it was a sleeping komondor at first, lol)? i need it in my life. might have to diy one… maybe sew a bunch of mop heads onto a half-filled bean bag chair?

    and omg x 2, down pipe is totally the paint color i’ve been dreaming of! i’ve been searching high and low for a paint color (for my bedroom) that matches gil grissom’s office on csi. i nearly settled on benjamin moore’s gentleman’s gray (even though it’s nowhere near a wet-clay-gray color, like the office), but now i found it! thank you for those photos! 😀

  • Reply mari October 25, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    ah, i found the komondor poufs — abigail ahern sells them:
    http://www.atelierabigailahern.com/products.asp?pid=Rasta-cushions

    £550! D:

    uh, yeah… diy, it is!

  • Reply chelsea November 1, 2010 at 6:26 pm

    wow, just wow. I am so in love with the chalky dark rooms dotted with highlighter-bright neon shades. The room with the hot pink table nearly made me fall out of my chair!! Oh, what I would do with walls I could paint and screw into…

  • Reply renee kristine March 26, 2011 at 8:52 pm

    I love this post! So much that i have featured it here http://babygeisler.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturdays-links-to-love.html

  • Reply Susan Porkovich March 23, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    I love how F&B’s Down Pipe reads teal or khaki depending on the light. I have a difficult Isphahan rug to integrate into a both facing bedroom and I’m really considering painting it Down Pipe.

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