If you want to create a touch of drama or manipulate the proportions of a room, interior designers have an easy trick you can use: laying a white or light floor with dark walls. The light floor will give your room an airy feel and make it appear larger than it is. Then you can add vintage, second-hand or modern furniture to create a space that truly reflects your personality. This approach creates contrast and a touch of luxury to a room, so it’s perfect for bedrooms and living areas, but it can also be used to clever effect in kitchens and bathrooms. The only limit is your imagination.

If you’re not quite ready for full drama just yet, you don’t have to have full white floors and dark walls. It’s easy to dip your toe in for a touch of drama with a dark feature wall or a large cream rug on the floor. Choose light coloured fabrics to anchor furniture to the floor, or choose darker pieces to give the impression of floating. This approach creates contrast and a touch of luxury to a room, so it’s perfect for bedrooms and living areas, but it can also be used to clever effect in kitchens and bathrooms. The only limit is your imagination.

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You can also use various combinations of dark walls and light floors to create different effects, for example:

  • Use light colours on three walls, and a dark colour on the back wall to make a room look smaller and more intimate
  • Use all dark walls with a light floor to make the eye follow horizontal lines and make the room appear broader
  • Frame a light wall and floor with dark side walls to make a room seem narrower, deeper and higher
  • Keep your floor light and paint all walls and the ceiling dark to give the room a shapeless, almost space-like look.

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If you’re not quite ready for full drama just yet, you don’t have to have full white floors and dark walls. It’s easy to dip your toe in for a touch of drama with a dark feature wall or a large cream rug on the floor. Choose light-coloured fabrics to anchor furniture to the floor, or choose darker pieces to give the impression of floating.
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