Back in the heyday of  Hollywood Regency style, I was allllll about high contrast black-and-white. I loved the glamorous look of it, and definitely used it a bit in my own home. But in the past five or six years, I banished black from my life. It was too heavy amongst my pale oak finishes and seagrass baskets. Too contrasty for my soft, coastal vibe. Well, guess what babies? Black is back in my life, and better than ever. the return of a softer black | amber interiors dining room

As I’ve been putting the finishing touches on our home, I realized I was really missing something: depth. I had eliminated darker tones so entirely that my eye wandered, but didn’t land anywhere. Now, in some places, I’m ok with that. But most of the time you really need that grounding element.

The secret – I’ve discovered – to adding black back into my life is to keep it low contrast. Which actually works out well for me, because as much as I love ‘white’, the white tones that we have throughout our home are actually pretty soft. For the record: I think another trend in itself right now is (dun dun dun) BEIGE. But I’m not gonna go there today.organic black accessories and creamy white walls | athena calderone

The other way in which this look is being done right (in my opinion anyway) is that the black is coming through in a more organic way. In furniture, it’s being applied more like a stain or treatment that allows the wood grain to show. As a trend, it’s showing up in natural materials that we’ve been loving for a while now, like cane, seagrass, linen and clay.

Pair those elements with warmer wood tones and a more laid back style (quite the opposite of glamour), and you’ve got yourself an easy way to welcome black back into your life: the return of black | amber interiors bedroom

For the record, my recent obsession with black came with me hunting for the pair of perfect black nightstands that won’t cost me my entire current savings. This style from Amber Interiors is pretty much exactly what I’m looking for, but at about twice my budget. Needless to say, I’m still hunting!

In the meantime, though, I’ve found a few other ways in which I wouldn’t mind adding some organic black accessories to my home… organic-black-accessories-and-accents-for-the-home

1. black & wood oversized bowl | 2. black basket pendant light | 3. ebony box | 4. black serving board | 5. wicker wall sconce| 6. cane and black media console | 7. black dinnerware | 8. black seagrass basket | 9. japanese print | 10. charcoal links decorative object

 

Full disclosure: I purchased that oversized bowl about a month ago for our coffee table. It’s perfect for corralling magazines and remotes! And I’m about to go pick up a pair of those (extremely affordable!) sconces today! See guys? The talk is real. And I could find a way to incorporate that black basket pendant light into my life, I would!

Site Design Oh Sierra
Site Development Alchemy + Aim