Monochrome Home E-Book

Hilary Robertson

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Decorating in black and white is perennially popular and eternally chic. Hilary Robertson demonstrates how, whether used alone or together, these contrasting shades can create dramatic effects at home, from the classic to the eclectic.

Leseprobe

monochrome home

monochrome home

HILARY ROBERTSONphotography by Pia Ulin

Designer Paul Tilby

Senior Commissioning Editor Annabel Morgan

Production Manager Gordana Simakovic

Location Researcher Jess Walton

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Publisher Cindy Richards

First published in 2015 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 East 116th Street

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Hilary Robertson and Ryland Peters & Small 2015

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2015

ISBN: 978-1-84975-613-6

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-391-9

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The authors’ moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for.

Printed and bound in China

Contents

Introduction

MONOCHROME PALETTES

In Black and White

Grey Matters

Shades of Pale

Dark Looks

In the Mix

Let There Be Light

The Dark Room

MONOCHROME HOMES

Shades of Pale

Five Shades of Grey

Luxe, Calme et Volupté

Round Midnight

Dark and Stormy

The Concrete and the Clay

Perfectly Balanced

Night Owl

Light Touch

Sweetness and Light

Lofty Heights

Neutral Territory

The New Black

Sources

Credits

Index

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I have an embarrassingly voracious eye; I want it all. I love colour. I love texture. I love combining both. I also believe that more or less anything can be beautiful in the right context, the right juxtaposition. And yet… as I write, I am staring at an apple green plastic laundry basket. I am wishing it were black. Or white, for then it wouldn't look so out of place in my pinky taupe bedroom.

Years of absorbing so many images, of desiring so many things, of flirting with trends and decorating fads have made me understand how helpful rigour can be. How freeing. Several decades ago, I met a girl who only dressed in black and white; some days all white, others all black, and she would also mix the two. She always looked wonderful in her self-imposed uniform; elegant, crisp, classic, like an MGM movie-star publicity shot. She stood out. And I’ll bet my Farrow & Ball paint chart that getting dressed was easier for her than it ever has been for me, with my magpie approach to clothes. I’m sure she would look just as smart today. She might have changed details and silhouettes, but her no-colour edited wardrobe would always ‘work’.

Scrolling through hundreds of stylish monochrome interiors on Pinterest convinced me that applying the same black and white formula to the home was an approach every bit as chic, effective and timeless as the Uniform Girl’s wardrobe. Should I consider a colour cleanse? I’ve always veered towards large doses of white or grey but could never resist adding a dollop of turquoise, chartreuse or pale pink somewhere or other. What would it be like to eschew colour completely? How do people do that? And why do they resist the siren call of the paint chart?

Marzio Cavanna’s Milan apartment combines shades of grey and numerous textural layers; linens and velvets in related neutral tones. In the living room, Marzio installed a dark metal box resembling a fireplace and painted the lower section of the wall the same colour (opposite). A black woodburning stove in a London studio merges with the walls (left); brick painted very dark green with a top coat of black (above).

In Giorgio Deluca’s classic loft, the dining area is stationed beside two graphic black metalframed windows that become a decorative feature in such a rigorous space. Curvaceous black chairs by Norman Cherner add character and definition around the glossy white table.

After much research, I’ve discovered that the reasons for limiting a scheme to neutrals are almost always the same. Monochrome interiors are restful, timeless and practical. By restricting the colour palette, any number of eclectic elements can exist happily together, inexpensive or simple things look more sophisticated and decorating decisions are made easier. Creativity flourishes within the boundaries of black, white, grey and all the shades in between.

Monochromists seem to divide into two camps: those who err on the brighter side, preferring shades of white, light-flooded rooms, pale or bleached floors and a smattering of black for details; and the others, who would happily swap day for night, veering towards darker neutrals and unafraid of the liberal use of black, creating rooms that are enveloping retreats. Both tribes understand how to shift the balance of light and dark when needed, reserving black for a bedroom or white for a kitchen, where light keeps the mood energetic rather than soporific.

Committing to a monochrome scheme might sound restrictive, but it affords the decorator considerable freedom to experiment with mixing pieces from different decades, adding pattern and layering texture. If it’s all neutral, it all works together; there’s a flexibility that allows you to change your arrangements without having to wonder ‘Where can I put that chartreuse upholstered chair now that my living room is turquoise?’ It might take some discipline at first, but once you start editing, decisions become remarkably simple. Those hours spent contemplating paint swatches, combining them, imagining a way for all the different spaces in a home to flow visually, creating a cohesive whole are over.

There is a sub-tribe of monochromists who have not abandoned colour altogether but who opt for grey in all its variety. That might mean lilac-tinged feminine shades, a rich brownish grey the colour of dried mud and beach pebbles or a greenish sea-grey and so on. Grey is a softer, more subtle option that works best when combined in several different tones and saturations.

In a historic apartment in Lyon, the contemporary kitchen is lit by an atrium. Its design is discreet and economical, with a simple white island containing storage and sink, and a bank of tall black units concealing appliances.

The bathroom in Adriana Natcheva’s monochrome mews house is covered in tiny black and white mosaic tiles, giving the minuscule room a distinctive character that continues the theme of the whole interior.

MONOCHROME

PALETTES

Choosing a monochrome interior is a minimalist stance, a refusal to get caught up in the drama of colour with all the attendant complications of what goes with what. For a monochromist, the rainbow is not an option, but there are infinite nuances of black, white and that colour in between, grey. While some elect to balance white walls with shots of black, others prefer a subtly calibrated scheme where each shade sits next to a sibling, the decorator carefully modulating the intensity used to add depth and interest. And then there are those temperamentally suited to darkness who cannot resist the striking effect of light on dark.

Out of a dark backdrop, a still life emerges. Materials are key here: the gilt interior of a metal bowl, a glazed ceramic bottle in gold, a square of Dutch metal stuck to the wall behind. Darker pieces have varied surfaces too: an acorn squash, a wooden rosary, a ceramic vase and a patinated metal carafe.

In Black and White

White loves black. Black loves white. Exploiting their symbiotic relationship builds an interior that is timeless, flexible, practical and liberating. The interior that combines both black and white is greatly affected by the balance of each, the percentage of one extreme to the other. The white envelope approach (with both pale walls and floors) that wraps a space in light demands some defining characteristics if it is to be anything but a blurry snow scene. Mixing black furniture, black and white photography and a lamp or two adds punctuation to a room, and a rug combining both colours will ground it; there is something awkward about a room where objects float, offering nowhere for the eye to rest.

Given that paint companies offer so many temptingly named versions of white or black and a variety of finishes from matt to shiny, the monochromist has many choices to make: chalkboard paint is a softer black that works well with vintage and antique pieces, while gloss and lacquer suit crisper modern spaces. Brilliant whites have a more contemporary feel than softer shades, which sit well next to objects with some patina and age. Texture is all important in the monochrome interior, which relies on the tension created between hard, soft, rough and smooth to add character.

A black and white scene mixes an angular white console table by Uhuru Design, a 1960s stool and a textural braided basket with a diverse group of ceramic pieces from different eras: a traditionally shaped Wedgwood vase, a layered plate by Mondays and an Eric Bonnin jug/pitcher.

Does white equal light and black the absence of it? There is debate as to whether black and white can be called colours at all. White is defined by its lack of pigment, while black is the result of mixing all primary colours together. Each can be used in a warmer or cooler tone. Employing a mix of finishes and materials, from matt paint to glossy lacquer, will give a monochrome room depth.

Grey Matters

Welcome to the middle ground. The uninitiated might accuse the grey interior of a tendency to blandness, of being as dull as the proverbial dishwater, neither one thing nor the other, a cop-out for the undecided or those that prefer to play safe. But as every Farrow & Ball paint chart aficionado can testify, there is much more to grey than a politician’s conservative flannel suit. Fashionably complex greys with names like Pigeon, Down Pipe or Plummett are far from a basic mix of black and white. The most successful execution of a grey-on-grey scheme combines several paint shades (with green, blue, brown or violet undertones) and naturally grey materials such as slate, zinc, steel or wood weathered to a shade of silver.

The éminence grise delights in it for its mutability; grey may be warm or cool, it plays nicely with other colours, tones down brighter shades and illuminates softer ones. It is calming and restful and, when used judiciously, far from boring. Dutch master colourist Axel Vervoordt uses the most sophisticated range of greys in the soothing interiors he designs: shades that veer towards green or brown, letting light, texture and scale operate as the decorative elements completing his sober colour schemes. In Sweden, 18th-century Gustavian interiors employed a pale blue-grey as both the backdrop and the shade used for painted furniture popular at the time, a device which produced some pared-down but atmospheric interiors that made the most of the available light.

Naturally grey materials like weathered wood, patinated metal and bare branches bring textural interest to a room. A painter’s canvas tarp marked with spills from many palettes breaks the rigid cube of the console table, bringing some chaos to temper all the right angles.

A stormy sky depicted in a vintage painting is a starting point for decorating alchemy. Greys with warm brown undertones mixed with creams the colour of ironstone plates evoke a monochrome scheme that teams with rustic, raw materials like bleached wood, tweed, corduroy, natural linens, horn, pewter, rusted metal, patinated copper, weathered cedar, rattan and seagrass.

The sophisticated use of greys combined in a graphic pattern demonstrates how effectively closely related shades combine. An interior that employs the same device — tonal variations of one colour brought together in one space — cannot help but have a soothing effect on the eye. Take inspiration from modulations found in nature: rock, sea and sky are perfect references.