Room Ideas
If you think decorating with black is dark and dismal, think again. Black interior design has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but if you ask most interior designers, a bit of this color is a must in every room. Whether it's a black and white geometric rug, a sleek and modern black couch, or a black picture frame, this versatile color can be masculine, feminine, elegant, serious, fun, or even romantic. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite black living room ideas to help inspire you to revamp your space. There's no need to feel intimidated or hesitant to add black decor to your living room—it's all about how you use it. These black living room ideas are stylish, dramatic, and grounding--perfect for enhancing your space. So, keep reading to get inspired.
Decorating with black lays an excellent foundation for a cozy, calming living room. But you need accessories to give your space life. Think of ways to add visual interest to your room, from a statement chair to wall art. Here, you see an intricate living room area rug, a gallery wall-style display above the sofa, and a tasteful selection of ceramics in black and white. The throw pillows, blanket, and lamp make the sofa feel more inviting and begs guests to sit down and stay awhile. As seen here, you can also use charcoal and dark grey to create a dramatic effect in light spaces if black feels a bit too harsh for your tastes.
For another shade option, browse grey living room ideas
When you’re decorating with black and white, the black gives your eye a place to rest in the room, effectively anchoring the rest of the decor. Adding a blend of large, medium, and small-scale patterns gives the design depth and interest. This living room uses touches of black beautifully, and from the rug to the throw pillows to the art on the wall, the blend of patterns makes it more engaging.
For more pattern mixing ideas, browse living room rug ideas
When you have a black accent wall, or black is the dominant color in the living room, try adding eye-catching details and architectural flair. The built-in shelving and black window frame help this space feel intentionally moody and polished while adding an attractive display zone. The addition of a faux cowhide rug with glinting silver details breaks it up while grounding the furniture with a touch of black on the floor. And the furniture lightens the mood while adding inviting textures to the space.
Love the look? Check out more Cowhide Decorating Ideas
You’ll notice several black and white monochromatic color schemes in these designs, and with good reason. Experimenting with one range of color, from light to dark, can create a polished and modern look in almost any space. Here, the black and white theme dominants most of this display area. The area rug gives it an intentional and cozy appeal, while the stark contrast on the gallery wall keeps things visually interesting. Try starting with a monochromatic area rug and gallery wall to get this look in your living room.
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From the textured area rug to the velvet sofa to the stone detailing on the wall, this living room has a lot going on. The large black wall hanging in the back adds an artistic flair that ties everything together and keeps it from feeling too chaotic, though. It also frames the chandelier, creating a focal point that instantly captures the eye. Try adding a large piece of dark-toned artwork to a room that feels busy to ground the aesthetic a bit.
Every room can benefit from a touch of black. This dark color gives the eye a place to rest—if you have too many bright and light colors with nothing to anchor them, the room can almost appear to "float." Or, in other words, it can be confusing to look at. You don't need tons of black decor, though, just a bit. Here, the rug adds most of the black, with the curtain rod, dark vase, and some accents completing the aesthetic.
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If you're in love with the black living room look, try starting from the ground up with a black and white area rug. This beautiful rug adds texture and pattern while defining the seating area and setting the tone for the rest of the space. The black in the decor continues up the wall with the frames for the wall hangings—if you add black nowhere else in the room, try introducing it with black picture frames. You can then use dark-toned furniture, like this sofa, to complete the aesthetic.
A large grey-toned area rug creates a soothing and gentle foundation for this stylish living room. With otherwise bright decor and excellent lighting, this space needed a touch of black or dark grey to avoid the floating effect we mentioned earlier. We love the textures in the seating and the natural dose of color added with the potted plant. And don’t forget the light-toned decor on the bookshelf in the back, allowing the grey area rug to remain the center of attention.
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This living room features a vintage-style rug and a bright palette that's soothing and modern. But it wouldn't be the same without the black accessories scattered throughout. Because black draws the eye and gives it a place to rest, using it in accessories is the perfect way to guide the gaze around the room. As shown here, accent chairs, coffee tables, chandeliers, and other lighting elements offer excellent opportunities to accessories with black.
Shop Black DecorAn out-of-the-way seating area is a perfect spot to add a touch of black to the decor. Here, the black-bordered area rug helps define the nook, giving it the feel of an escape. Of course, it's not the only touch of black in the room, but it instantly draws the eye. The play with texture continues from the rug to the pouf, chair, and wall hanging. And the wall hanging uses a dose of black to catch the eye and create a sense of flow in the space.
This beautiful living room features a palette of greys and browns, largely defined by the expansive area rugs creating the foundation of the space. The addition of black in the artwork and accents adds a touch of dramatic flair, making the styling seem confident and elegant. Notice how the house plants add a much-needed natural texture and color to the look, adding the finishing touch to the room’s design.
With rosy walls, a marble fireplace, and a comfy, light-toned accent chair, this soft and feminine space is the picture of comfort. The large area rug grounds the look and gives it a sense of drama with the bold, black border and pattern. If you have a space that feels too light and gentle, try adding a rug with a black-based palette to mix things up.
Charcoal walls create a modern, moody atmosphere that can add drama and glam to your space. Here, the living room uses an understated, ornate area rug to lighten the look while relying on a neutral palette for a contemporary feel. We love the texture added throughout the space, from the brick wall to the faux fur pillow and the accents on the fireplace. Notice how the rich wood tone stands out against the dark walls, creating warmth and depth.
For more modern inspiration, browse modern living room ideas
This bright, mid-century living room features a textural rug and a beautiful, soothing color palette. The side table by the chair adds a touch of black, as does the rug, but the focal point of this space is the daring artwork on the wall. Placing a large swath of black above the mantle with a wall hanging can give your living room a sense of dramatic flair--perfect for keeping things from looking flat.
This living room is full of color and texture, from the gallery wall to the sofa and coffee table. Notice the large area rug setting the color palette for the throw pillow arrangement, adding black into the mix for a grounding effect. Try picking a large area rug with a colorful pattern that relies on black for contrast and then basing your throw pillows around it for a cohesive look that doesn’t dominate the space.
To create the look, Shop Throw Pillows
Black walls work well with white architectural elements, like the white floorboard just visible here. We love the texture of the light velvet sofa, faux fur lumbar pillow, and warm-toned area rug. The play with texture continues with the coffee table and even the side table and lamp by the sofa. Finally, notice how the addition of a vase of flowers against the dark wall brightens the mood to create a cozy haven.
For more coziness, browse cozy living room ideas
This elegant living room uses a sophisticated palette to create a relaxing and inviting space. The black, white, and gold area rug sets up a dramatic, glam design. The rest of the room follows suit, keeping the color palette consistent throughout the decor. Notice how the large pattern on the area rug and the medium pattern on the throw pillows add aesthetic appeal. And don’t forget the faux fur throw on the sofa to add much-needed texture to the space.
If you have a living room with a built-in black element—like the fireplace shown here—embrace it! The white walls and light-toned wood throughout the space call for a grounding color, and this modern black living room design delivers. Notice that the sofa adds the only large swath of black to the decor. The rest is introduced through the furniture frames, which is a practical and subtle approach for those who don't want a black-themed space. We love the ornate, vintage-style area rug tying everything together.
Black walls may be intimidating to some, but they can create a truly cozy and modern space with the right furniture and colors. With a black-dominant space, you generally want to pick one or two stand-out accent colors to break things up. While those colors can be anything you want, from orange to purple, this room keeps it earthy with rich browns and metallic accents. The light-toned abstract area rug brightens the look, pulling everything together.
Pro tip: Lighter rugs are usually best for rooms with dark walls and floors.
It's hard to argue with a well-designed monochromatic color scheme. This living room's palette plays with black, white, and greys to create an aesthetically pleasing modern design. The plant life and wood grain add natural color to prevent a monotonous look, while the art on the wall keeps things interesting. But our favorite part is the eye-catching lighting, which adds texture with the promise of visual contrast when the light is shining through.
Red and black make a bold combination that creates warmth and contrast. Here, the room’s focus on dark colors gives the living area a dramatic flair. But the beautiful red area rug with an updated southwestern design steals the show. If you love high-contrast combinations like black and red, create a neutral-themed space around a bright red rug to really make the rug stand out.
This bright room uses black intentionally to create contrast and character. The subtle touches, such as the picture frame, lamp, table, chair, and door, could have been enough. But the room comes to life with the addition of the throw pillows, pouf, and area rug to add a variety of patterns in black and white to create depth. And the painting on the wall plays with the palette of the entire space, including black, white, grey, and a subtle hint of brown and tan. When creating a similar feel, make sure to tie all accessories into the color palette.
A large black area rug can quickly establish black as a dominant color in your living room. Here, we see the effect of the sizeable black area rug in a bright space with large windows and sheer curtains. The black and white theme of this space is broken up with house plants and tasteful accents. Notice the range of patterns in the throw pillows to create visual interest in the monochromatic color scheme.
Love the look? Shop Large Black Rugs
Neutral color schemes, like the one you see in this living room, call for a grounding touch of black to anchor the space. But it doesn't always have to be in the furniture or area rug. Here, the inkblot art on the walls adds bold black, instantly drawing the eye to the center of the room. The fireplace we see to the side of the space is also black, further grounding the space. Try wall hangings with a black-dominant design to put the finishing touch in a neutral living room to capture a similar effect.
Black, white, grey, and gold make for an elegant color palette that can bring almost any room together. With its dark grey walls and black architectural accents, this room calls for dramatic design. And the black and gold furniture throughout does not disappoint. However, what brings it all together is the central area rug that captures the entire palette in one sophisticated textile. Try adding a large, neutral-toned area rug to the center of a dramatic room and base the color palette around it to capture a similar style.
Modern and elegant, this small living room makes excellent use of a black and white rug, and grey accents to create a clean and calming space. Notice how the use of an accent color—in this case, blue—keeps the look from becoming too stark. Try adding artwork over your couch and a matching throw to an otherwise monochromatic space to recreate the look.
With a textured area rug and a bright window, this living room has a calming appeal that seems to invite you to read a book in the sunlight. The semi-sheer curtains allow light to filter in, creating a glow in the rest of the room. We love the gentle addition of black with the cozy throw on the sofa, complementing the greys in the room's color palette. Try adding a dark-toned throw to your living room for a touch of this soothing and grounding color.
This cozy little living room is built around a buffalo check area rug that sets the tone with a dose of black to anchor the seating area. We love the all-neutral palette, ranging from white to grey to black with tans and browns in between. It’s hard to go wrong with such a pleasant color palette, but adding a few large, medium, and small-scale patterns in the mix is a safe bet for visual interest. We love the display of white blossoms to add plant life and natural texture without deviating from the space’s palette.
This beautiful living room sets the tone with a charcoal sofa and a black lampshade, creating drama and visual appeal. The light-toned rug continues the aesthetic while brightening the space and introducing a large pattern. The throw pillows pick up the slack by adding medium and small-scale patterns, keeping things exciting and intentional. Notice the subtle addition of blue and tan hues in the throw pillow arrangement and the emphasis on natural elements from the accents. And don’t forget the addition of metallics for a bit of glam.
We hope you’ve found a few favorites from these black living room ideas. This stylish color has a grounding effect that most interior designers consider necessary. The trick is to use this color intentionally, and one of the easiest ways to pull that off is by basing your design on inspirational decor pictures like these. Whether you’d prefer to pick one image to recreate in your space or add elements from several black living room ideas to your design, you’re sure to build an inviting and welcoming space. For more ideas on adding black to your living room’s color palette, check out our selection of black area rugs. Here, you’ll find thousands more beautiful photos to browse for inspiration.
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