In interior design, black and white uphold the integrity of clarity and sophistication. Some may find it a boring color scheme but its combination is the monochromatic duo that brings the living room to life. Regardless if you want a simple or extravagant style, these two have their way of adding flavor to your sense of style in interior design. These examples will prove that black and white is far from being boring. With that in mind, here are 12 black and white living room ideas to serve as an inspiration for your next remodel project.
- Modern Neutral Tones
Black and white are comprised of different tones. In this case, we have off-white and bold black. This inspiration from Behance gives us a view that monochromatic is not stuck on pale black and white. There are several ways on how to spice it up in terms of texture, pattern, and finish. We love how the designers opt for a canvas-type of textile for the upholstered seating furniture. Even if it is clean off-white, the texture is highly visible. This is perfect if you are not fond of relatively flat colors. To balance the use of textures, pick which ones you think will be more visible in your layout preference.
- Clean Minimalist
If you are a fan of light and airy designs, you can opt for a clean minimalist design in black and white. In this case, black is the predominant color that was used to define the details. Thanks to this design inspiration from Stylecaster, a black and white living room looks neat and clean. In spite of the use of a massive sectional couch, it does not look like it has taken up most of the space. White is a great option for a small living room because it makes the area look spacious and airy. This is ideal if you have a limited space designated for the living room and you want to spice things up a little. Opting for black and white is the best way to go.
- Best in Black and White
If you have a shared space for the living area, dining area, and kitchen, we highly suggest opting for a black and white scheme. In this case, even though there is limited space for the dining area, they still managed to squeeze in the living area without looking too compact. The best way to do it is by using wooden wall cladding on the walls. Instead of dwelling on its width, it emphasizes its vertical opportunities. In this case, its ceiling height is more than the average. Using white to fill the entire area and black to define the details. It would be best to use complementary colors and patterns too. In this case, they used it for the throw pillows.
- Monochrome Living
It is not always an option to settle for less in terms of opting for a monochromatic scheme. Thanks to this amazing inspiration from Archify, the heavy combination of patterns allowed the room to be brought to life. Instead of settling for plain surfaces, the designers chose an impacting set of patterns in black and white. The goal of using these patterns is to define the plain-colored elements. In this case, it is the couch, armchairs, and floor. To accentuate the entire living room, you better opt for building materials that would suit the style you are trying to achieve.
- Accentuating Colors
If you are on the extravagant side of monochromatic, one way of achieving your desired design is through adding metallic touches. It is up to you what to use. Thanks to Lux Deco’s inspiration of a monochromatic living room accentuated with metallic finishes. In this case, they opted for a warm gold finish. It highlighted the curves and edges of the lighting fixture, couch, coffee table, and chair. This is best if you want to touch up things a little considering that black and white often seem to float next to the background. Using metallic-plated finishes is the best way to define the sophisticated and elegant details of the design.
- Substance and Simplicity
If you want to keep it clean and simple, black and white is the most popular color scheme for minimalistic design. Thanks to this amazing inspiration from Interior Design Ideas, you can get an idea of how the clean white wall complemented the different hues of black. To add a little character to the design, hang monochromatic portraits. This helps in blending with the color used for the design. In using black and white, always remember that it is important to complement the use of each color. In this case, white is the dominant color as seen on the walls and floor. Add texture by using a rough textile material for the carpet in black. Not only that it overlays with the white floor, but it highlights the edges alongside.
- Bold in Black
In cases where you want to keep your design simple but resourceful, you can opt for a bold industrial design. Thanks to Interior Design Ideas, they have given us an idea of how industrial design in black and white works. It is the perfect combination to work with considering the exposed structural elements of the design. In this case, we love the wooden palette upcycled into a coffee table. It is finished in glossy white paint to make it look sleek and sophisticated. There are not many accessories used but you can see how stylish it has become.
- Scandinavian Cave
Scandinavian is another design concept often found dominating in black and white colors. There is nothing to deny since this inspiration from Elle Decor just proves how Scandi complemented perfectly with the color preferences. The best tip to give in this kind of design is to explore different finishes of the same color. In this case, the walls, couches, and floors are of the same color but variating in finishes. We love the glossy leather two-seater couch overlaid with a fluffy charcoal black blanket. In spite of using dark colors, the designers still manage to use black to add layers to the living room.
- Warm Monochromatic Style
If you are not a fan of the light and clean type of white, you can opt for a warm off-white color paired with acid black. We love the homey vibe off-white color brings. Black and white can also work well in a warm setting. It is still identified as monochromatic because of the dominant colors. We love how Decoholic used wood as the predominant material that gave away this cozy and comfortable ambiance. This concept of black and white is perfect for those who prefer a modern farmhouse design.
- Mono Magic
Monochromatic in black and white often acquire the most natural light. Take that as an opportunity to arrange your living room according to the distribution of light. We love this amazing inspiration from Interior Design Ideas where they used a sectional couch in an open plan common area. Apart from setting boundaries, the carpet managed to define the space designated for the living area even with the absence of walls. Using the acid hues of black added details and texture to the textile used. It highlights the points of perfection in this sophisticated design in spite of the limited color preferences.
- Open Plan
The key tip in working with open plans is keeping the color scheme and design style consistent throughout the room. In this case, we can observe the uniformity of color and design. With the walls colored in pristine white, opting more on curvature rather than edges defined the details and character. To complement the sectional couch, the designers included a textile pattern that will define the horizontal length of the blanket and the pillow. If you think there is too much white used, take time to experiment on the amount of black you are planning to use to prevent the room look plain and boring. It is the monochrome color scheme that made the room look spacious rather than compact considering that it is an open plan.
- Less is More
This amazing design inspiration from Est Living exhibits sleek modern interior architecture boasting subtle edges. It is a design combining simplicity and extravagance considering the elements and accessories used. We love the bold black sofa with seven to eight maximum seating capacity. In spite of using white as the predominant color, they opted for different finishes to define details and exhibit sophistication in design. The designers focused on highlighting the darker side of the living room. But, it is the warm hues of black that highlighted the cozy identity a living room upholds.
