From moody blues to smoky greys, here’s why it’s time to embrace your dark side when refreshing fading walls.

Dark and dramatic dining room

5 reasons to update your home with a dark and dramatic colour scheme

From moody blues to smoky greys, here’s why it’s time to embrace your dark side when refreshing fading walls.

“We’d like to modernise our home and are thinking about using darker colours as they’re so on trend at the moment. Is it a good idea, or should we stick with what we know?”

Plucky decorators are overcoming their fear of the dark to embrace deep and dusky colour schemes. Do you dare to join them?

Interior designer Rebecca Davies explains why everyone should give in to the lure of the dark when redecorating tired walls – and why it isn’t as scary as you might think.

Dark colours have a reputation for being forbidding but they can actually be incredibly cosy.

Use dark colour to create a cosy kitchen

1. Dark colours are cosy

Dark colours have a reputation for being forbidding but they can actually be incredibly cosy. You can use them to make a cavernous room feel more intimate, or a small room feel super-snug – it’s a myth that you should only use light colours in small rooms. For a cosy, cocooning feel, paint your walls in a deep shade of blue.

Which paints?

CN.01.23 – 30YY 05/044

Want to add wow-factor to your home without spending a fortune on luxury designs? Paint your walls in a rich, dark colour.

Add drama with dark colours

2. Dark colours add instant drama

Want to add wow factor to your home without spending a fortune on luxury designs? Paint your walls in a rich, dark colour. This look works especially well in rooms that are used for night-time entertaining – a dining room, for example. Go for a dusky, opulent red that will look its best under the flicker of candlelight.

Which paints?

Z9.19.12 – 75RR 06/129

If the finish on your walls is less than perfect but you don’t have the time or money to have them replastered, painting them in a dark colour can cover up a multitude of sins.

Cover up uneven walls with darker shades

3. Dark colours hide lumps and bumps

If the finish on your walls is less than perfect but you don’t have the time or money to have them re-plastered, painting them in a dark colour can cover up a multitude of sins. Whereas light colours show up the shadows cast by uneven walls, dark colours absorb the light and trick the eye into thinking the surface is silky smooth.

Which paints?

S0.20.21 – 90BG 08/075
V7.11.16 – 30RB 07/107

Take a leaf out of the Dutch masters’ book and celebrate the interplay between light and dark. A dark backdrop makes bright accent colours pop out, creating an edgy, urban feel.

Mix dark colour with lighter accents

4. Dark colours work wonders with light accents

Take a leaf out of the Dutch masters’ book and celebrate the interplay between light and dark. A dark backdrop makes bright accent colours pop out, creating an edgy, urban feel. Try painting your walls charcoal grey and accessorising with neon yellow, pink or lime green.

Which paints?

U3.15.11 – 70BB 07/103
S0.20.21 – 90BG 08/075
RN.01.38 – 30BB 16/031

Who wants to be like everyone else? Paint with dark colours and your home – and you – will instantly exude an air of glamour and mystery.

Use darker shades for a glamorous scheme

5. Dark colours are different

Who wants to be like everyone else? Paint with dark colours and your home – and you – will instantly exude an air of glamour and mystery. Throwing in a few metallic accents will only add to the allure.

Which paints?

Z1.08.16 – 50RR 06/057
V7.11.16 – 30RB 07/107
S9.30.40 – 10BB 17/269

Top tip

Worried that dark colour will overpower your room? Paint the dark tone three quarters of the way up your wall, leaving the top quarter the same light colour as your ceiling. This will make the ceiling recede and the room feel taller and lighter.