I had coffee with a local home reporter, Stacy Downs, this week and we were talking about design trends from 2009 (be on the lookout for Stacy’s article in the Kansas City Star; she is rocking the House and Home section.) Stacy noted the preponderance of black walls which sent me digging through my files.
I have several features from the late 70’s with walls clad in inky black, many including punches of white.
One of my favorites is a Kansas City home designed by Tom Britt that appeared in Architectural Digest in November of 1978. Just as I had finished scanning the images I heard the mail drop in the slot. Thunk. Heavy and hard, I knew a magazine would await. And, then whose work appeared in Vogue December 2009?
Mr. Britt, again. This time using black and white as accents in Alexis Swanson’s and Trevor Traina’s drawing room. Old dog. New tricks.
Photography from AD, Russell McMasters. Photography from Vogue, Francois Halard.
Aren't the charming Hovey sisters black wall addicts also?
Mrs B-
Wonderful post.
Thanks for showing Trevor and Alexis's interior in their San Francisco house.
They are magnificent–with about a million ideas and concepts, all superbly completed.
I love their art collection–bold and brave for a house with young children. Brilliant
cheers, http://www.thestylesaloniste.com
After seeing so many rich black walls lately, I am only wishing I had a room to paint the walls black. Alas, I will have to dream about this one. I see a flat matte black juxtaposed against white high gloss…
pve
Tom Britt really is brilliant and I think tremendously undersung.
Toad = they are indeed! Charming and black wall addicted both.
Diane – they are incredibly inspirational – the house is fantastic.
Patricia – I'm in the same already-painted-boat. We can watch from the side lines.
Aesthete – so nice to see him on some different pages. I just had the pleasure of having him here – lots of direction, lots of exclamation points. Other than painting my dining room table and chairs white, I've followed every word.
* PS~ From the first time I saw a black-walled kitchen (yep, "to-die-for stunning!), accompanied by crisp white ALMOST everywhere else, I've been a huge fan… problem w/ incorporating it tho, is that it DOES demand a certain kind of space/amount of light/ style, etc… (but ohhh, it is SOOOO chic!!!). Guess I must admire from afar!!! (Orrrrr, we COULD build a new home, w/ Steve Giannetti designing it & making sure there's at least ONE SPACE where all the black would work! If anybody could "make it happen", HE could!)~~~
Thanks for the fun & joy of letting my imagination FLY while I tried, ONCE AGAIN, to find a space in our desert home here where that would work! (Deep, dark brown has "worked", so maybe, just mayyyyyybe………..)
Warmest blessngs for a beautiful holiday!
Linda in AZ *
I noticed in several magazines over the past days that indeed black is "in"!
And today I visited the website of Nicky Haslam and saw he used black for a kitchen, and black for entree doors,… Maybe we will see more of it in future!
Greet
Completely off today's topic but had to say that I visited Steve Rogers's Prize on the Plaza the other night and want to thank you for sending us there. It's a fabulous shop full of everything to love. And Steve is the most charming and gracious of hosts. I hope he has all the success he deserves — and that finally the Plaza is on the right track returning to local retailers.
love the queen = that's great! wish I had the nerve to hang something like that. makes me feel good and secure to see the queen. I wish i was kidding.
The 70s rooms really stood the test of time.
Yum!
A friend painted her walls black last year going up her stairwell. I couldn't decide what I thought about them, but apparently she is a bit of a trendsetter for this year! I always enjoy your blog. Thank you.