Classic: Black and White Living Room Ideas and Designs

When most people think of a black and white living room, they will imagine white walls and a space decorated with black and white pieces. But there is also the bolder option of going with black walls – just like in the living rooms in pictures (4) (5) and (6).

But to add some style to your living room, you don’t want to just have flat plain walls. Instead try and infuse some design elements.

Making Your Walls Do More in the Room

Here are some ways to avoid flat plain walls:

Use wainscoting. You can either go with white wainscoting and black walls or vice versa. Or have the walls and wainscoting the same color (white or black).
Use trim. Adding trim to your walls gives it some depth and style – just like the black wall in picture (6)
Add textures. Whether you go for white walls or black ones, there are different ways you can add a subtle texture to them. Wallpaper is one idea; find one with a subtle textured pattern. Or use anaglypta wallpaper, which is a 3D wallpaper that can be painted over or left white.
Add crown molding. The crown molding can be a the opposite color of the wall (black vs. white) to create contrast (4) (5), or it can be the same color
If you have shelves on your walls, the backs of them can be painted the opposite color of the walls. Say you have white walls, then paint the back of the shelves black.
If you have a hard time doing any of these remodeling ideas, then a simple alternative is to hang up a gallery wall of black and white photographs just like the living room in picture (1).

Balancing the Black and the White

Some people might want a more white living room, decorated with a few black pieces. Others might want their space to be equally balanced with blacks and whites, and then there are living rooms that are more black heavy.

Below is a list of black and white living room decor items that will help you create the right balance in your space. Use black or white versions of the pieces listed to create the balance you want:

Area rugs
Curtains (black curtains on white walls makes for a good contrast, or white curtains hanging down from a black curtain rod just like in picture (3))
There are different ways you can play with the colors of the seating and furniture (black couch with white pillows, or vice versa. Or have the pillows and couch the same color)
Hang up some black and white photos in black frames (or how about gold or silver frames if you have a black wall)
See how your coffee table could balance out the black and white in the living room. A black coffee table could have a white tray on top of it to group together clutter items, or vice versa.
Have a look at the hanging pendant light in picture (3), and see how the black lamp shade makes a statement in the mostly white room.

Here are some other living room posts to get more ideas from:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6