In the fashion industry black is considered elegant; in the automotive industry it radiates power. But it has a different status in interior design. Although a popular choice for furniture and home accessories, as it is easily combined with other colours, black is still considered too strong and undesirable for walls. Owing to these characteristics, black should be used carefully in spaces.

Just a border

A big advantage of black is that it fits seamlessly in different styles of interior design: modern, classic, rustic, vintage, industrial… If you dare to add black to the walls, be thoughtful about the quantity as this is a strong and intense colour.

A simple but lovely idea that can be implemented quickly is the application of a continuous black strip of any width across all the walls of a room. This attractive and elegant decorative element is also really easy to implement. Use masking tape to mark the strip, apply the paint in two coats and leave to dry.

Get creative – you can draw one thicker strip or two thinner parallel strips under the ceiling or above the end slats. Frame the intended strip with masking tape to ensure the lines are straight and painted correctly.

A black wall

Big, bright rooms or open floor plans can take larger amounts of black on their walls. In the living room, for example, you can paint the wall behind the sofa, the wall next to a side table or bookshelf, or you can paint just part of a wall. For dark shades such as black and dark grey, use SPEKTRA Latex Matt, which is suitable for loaded wall surfaces. For the best possible effect on very loaded walls, apply SPEKTRA Domflok over the paint in the desired gloss: semi-matt or matt.

With black, there is no need to worry about matching other shades. It goes well with practically any colour or shade: white, grey and more vivid shades, and of course earth tones, especially a natural wood. The main concern with black is how much of it a space (wall) can take without being ‘suffocated’ and optically made much smaller.

It is of course possible to swap the black with a lighter colour if you change your mind after some time. You can easily paint the surface in a new colour; it might simply be necessary to apply additional layers for better coverage.

Black elements

Although it is easy to combine black with other colours, black on large surfaces is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is a completely different case when black is introduced in smaller quantities on furniture and home accessories; this brings a sophisticated, elegant and dramatic element to the space. Have you ever considered painting the window frames? Or the banister? Perhaps the bookshelf or coffee table by the living room couch? Or refreshing the kitchen cabinets? A small creative procedure can transform a piece of furniture and with it the whole feel of a space. 

Protect the area around the chosen surface and start the preparation for painting. The elements must first be cleaned with an antisilicone degreaser, then sanded and cleaned of dust particles. Only then can protection be applied, using the TESSAROL ACRYLIC PRIMER UNI for metal or wood, followed by the water-based top coat TESSAROL ACRYLIC ENAMEL, in gloss or satin (semi-matt). It is intended for the quality decoration and protection of both wooden and metal surfaces: for windows, doors, fences, wooden panelling, simple constructions and interior furniture. Once the paint has dried, sand the coat and re-apply the paint, either with a synthetic brush or a microfibre roller. 

A modern bathroom

Ironically, the benefits of black are best taken advantage of in a small space – the bathroom. Black and white tiles are modern and elegant. With a few black accessories and a black wall painted using the interior wall paint SPEKTRA Latex Matt, your bathroom will be fit to feature in an interior design magazine. 

Adding texture to paint

You can use the DENIM decorative technique to add texture to a wall in addition to the paint. We recommend that two or more people carry out this procedure, depending on the size of the surface. Add 20% SPEKTRA Latex Matt in the shade of the substrate to SPEKTRA Domflok Matt, and use a roller to apply onto the pre-prepared surface in a uniform thickness. First, it’s the turn of the person applying the varnish to the surface; they are followed by the person applying the pattern. The distance between them should not exceed one meter. After the first two meters, check the surface to see if the pattern is uniform and make corrections as required.

Then create a pattern using a decorative trowel. Start painting the pattern in a corner, using the trowel to make a medium-strong vertical stroke on freshly applied SPEKTRA Domflok varnish. The vertical stroke will create a fabric pattern. Finish the stroke at least 50 cm above the ground; make a stroke from the bottom up to join the two together and create a beautiful pattern across the entire surface. When finished, wash your tools immediately with water.

In addition to the DENIM decorative technique, another interesting effect is achieved with SPEKTRA Decor Topaz (gold/silver), a coating suited for both small and large wall surfaces, where other decorative techniques may be harder to implement. This water-based decorative coating produces metallic reflections that creates a mix of antique art and modern design in the space. The final appearance of the surface largely depends on your own inspiration, and how you apply the coating with a wide brush in a crisscross technique in all directions, to ensure an even overlap of rough and smooth surfaces with a metallic reflection.

You can find more ideas and useful tips on how to apply decorative techniques in our Decorative techniques brochure.