INTERIOR INSPIRATION
BY KATE KINGSTON
Kate Kingston , Managing Director of Kingston Shaw , an award winning interior design company with offices on the Wirral , London and Dubai , shares with us the latest trends for creating the perfect home .
IT ’ S BLACK AND WHITE !
I am a designer who is confident of her choices and I have often been described as being a ‘ black and white ’ person , and by that if they mean you know where I stand on any given matter than yes I am black and white , but when it comes to interiors I have never been that comfortable designing monochrome spaces , except for one brilliantly beautiful client who allowed me to live out my John and Yoko ‘ how would they live now ’ fantasy in her fabulous home .
I have been an advocate of shades of grey and indeed a pop of colour is richly encouraged in all our projects , but recently I have noticed that my preferences have been for black and white objects and so I thought is this the time to rediscover the elegance of a monochromatic scheme ? Here is my guide to keeping it up to date and interesting when designing in the darkest hues and the purest shades !
3 . A small room is a great place to choose to use black and white as the main colour scheme .
A powder room or small bathroom looks elegant with a black marble countertop , white sink , and antique brass accessories and fixtures .
Trim lush terry towels with black ribbon or braid for a custom look without much work .
1 . A black and white floor is a good place to start decorating with monochrome . The ultimate choice would be beautiful black marble set off with tall white baseboard mouldings .
Short of that , try white ceramic tiles with a black border , vinyl tiles laid in alternating black and white squares , or a painted black floor with white border stencils or white with black stencils .
2 . Walls painted stark white or a soft , ivory white serve as a perfect background for framed photographs , prints , and other artwork . Choose dark wood or painted black frames . Select stark black and white matting for your artwork .
4 . Accent pieces of black iron are extremely popular and easy to find . Use a black metal table base with a glass top and black iron candlesticks and light fixtures in a dining room as well as black iron bookends in the family room or home office .
5 . To create a striking table setting , look for blackand-white china . All white or all black works well . Choose plain white china for greatest versatility . Add table linens and accessory pieces in black or any accent colour .
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