Incorporating a Dark & Moody Room into Your Bright & Sunny Home
Incorporating a Dark & Moody Room into Your Bright & Sunny Home
A new interior design trend is creating a dark and moody space that tips toward mystery and romance. Bohemian and retro designs are softening the edges of harder minimalist looks, we've seen a wave of mixed metals and natural materials in recent trends, but by far the most striking interior decorating trend of 2021 is the increasing preference for dark paint colors combined with color-rich accents that really splash out against the dark background.
Of course, this dark & moody trend also directly contrasts with the light & airy design of the last several decades. How can you design a dark, moody room that blends beautifully into your bright, cheery home? This is a question that we have been pondering, and with a little creative thinking, we think we have come up with a few beautiful answers.
The Dark & Moody Design Trend
Dark & Moody design has been on the rise since blue gray overtook a warm greige in favorite neutral paint color. The shift into the cool color palette for home decor has also brought a darker and moodier sense to the design table. Accent walls became splashes of navy and sapphire, while basecoats became darker and darker grays. Deep charcoal became a leading color for a striking yet neutral wall color and soon the kitchen trends embraced dark blues and grays in bold inverted cabinetry designs.
Today, we embrace the moody approach as a stylish form of comfort. It feels safe to have a little dark space to envelop you, whether this newly designed space is your kitchen, living room, or even a moody bathroom space.
Examples of Dark & Moody Room Designs
The dark and moody trend brings both bold design and elegance to the modern styles popular today. The current trend favors the luxury look but with an eco-friendly twist to material selection and building techniques.
- Regal Kitchen in Black & Gold
- Black cabinets with crimson, gray, or navy accent colors
- Gold or polished copper cabinet handles and sink fixtures
- Ornate retro appliance design
- Detailed backsplash in moody colors
- Moody Bathroom in Moss and Bronze
- Moss walls with dark stained wood cabinets
- Antiqued bronze fixtures, drawer pulls, and wire stands.
- Natural materials like bamboo and woven mats
- Mood lighting and soft music
- Impactful Living Room with Mixed Hues
- Dark gray walls with a rich navy accent wall
- Navy furniture carries the theme
- White and navy throw pillows and blue-on-canvas wall art
- Blue glass shaded metal light fixtures
How to Bring a Dramatic Moody Room into a Cheery Bright Home
If your home has been following the interior trends of the last ten years, there's a good chance your walls are close to white, perhaps with a vibrant accent wall or bold cabinets. Designers have been favoring big sunlit windows and airy, open spaces. Many homes have vaulted ceilings and open-plans, which is why a new moody design will need to blend with your entire home interior space. Don't worry, it's not as challenging as it sounds.
Transition with Rich Wood Grains
Dark wood grains are the perfect way to tie in both cheerful spaces and dark, moody spaces. A dark wood floor can carry the eye from a warm and cheerful living room to a dramatically moody kitchen and make the transition feel natural. Dark wood furniture looks rich and inviting in a lightly decorated space and perfectly at-home in a darker, moodier design. Dark woods are beautiful in any light and they spotlight how a single grain and wood shade can appear in different lights and with different highlighting colors nearby.
Tie It Together with Accent Walls
Your accent walls are the perfect tie-in when combining dark and light themed rooms into a single space. Connecting accent walls are the perfect solution when your two decorated spaces share the same open plan 'room'. A deep mauve accent wall can bring out the color in your throw-pillows while also highlighting the rich undertones of your dark cabinet colors. Choose accenting gray walls that share the same base color so that the entire room emphasizes shared highlights in a full-range palette. Then choose your accent pieces to bring the colors in your walls to life in every space between the two rooms.
Carry Dark Themes Through the Room
You can carry your dark-design themes through an open room or shared design. If you add a dark aqua to your color palette, mix it into the accents you use in other rooms. Repeat the dark & moody theme throughout your home and let it take over in rooms that make the most sense. For example, you might design a moody kitchen and the same colors repeat in each bathroom vanity design with matching cabinets, pulls, and sink fixtures as the theme repeats. Use your dark color as a bold splash in brightly decorated rooms and then reverse the image in different rooms to tie the threads together.
Remember to Use Some Contrast
You don’t want your space to be too dark. You will want to break up the heavy, dark space with some contrasting colors. If you choose to do dark walls, try lighter flooring. If your floors are dark, perhaps a light-colored rug would work, or a light-colored accent chair. You can also add bright/light pops with throw pillows and metal accents. You could add mirrors, brass tone light sconces, or gold/brass metal art pieces to the walls to break up the dark, moody colors.
Lighting for Both Moody and Bright
Don't forget to customize your lighting for bright and for moody spaces. Even if your home office is decorated with 'dark and moody' design, you still need a bright light for cleaning or illuminating the corners on some days. Likewise, your cheery living room might benefit from some dim and cozy mood lights. Layered lighting and smart lights make it possible to install both bright and mood lights in every room to best compliment your contrasting yet unified interior design.
If you are ready to transform one of your rooms into a dark and moody revel, contact us today! You can have cool mood lighting and bright efficient lighting in the same design when you work with us to create a beautiful dark & moody design that also blends perfectly with your existing warm and open living space. Let us know what the perfect dark and moody space is for your unique personality.
