Film Noir

Unless it escaped your notice, let me state that I have a habit of barging into people's lives and dropping a shitload of color into them. I do truly believe that unless a room has color, it has no ownership, individuality or personality. It's just your stuff in a room, freshly delivered and arranged at random. You, with the white walls - your home is just a storage container for items. One of the things that most amuses me, while I am standing back and surveying my handiwork, is the frequent comment, 'Wow. It's great..although I'd be too scared to do it myself.'
Would you care to review that comment? You just said, I AM AFRAID OF A COLOR. You have also stated, unmistakably, that you like to blend in with people, you hate to stand out, you are comfortable with invisibility. Your presence is enhancing my life experience as much as that sticky thing that binds a plastic loaf bag; a minor annoyance, but life goes on. It gets worse though. I have the mental equivalent of a jaw drop when a woman has the gall to utter, 'I like that, but my husband would never allow it.' Never say those words, unless inviting a look that would wither Japanese Knotweed.
Right then. For the brave, bold and stylish, a feast of decadence that will have you agreeing, wow, that's great. And maybe inspired to overcome fear and embrace stunning.
I really love black when it makes wood and leather tones really stand out, as in the next two pictures. It actually is rather surprising how good a backdrop black is for creating a dramatic contrast to whatever you want to showcase. With vintage leather:

With Art Deco wood and a few exquisite prints.

Birds! How amazing do they look on a black wall! What a statement. 

A genius pairing of an atomic age clock standing in for a moon.

And here, a brilliant backdrop, defining a dining area. Hitchcockian. I really like the written carpet as a design feature and the chair backs with individual sepias. One very creative mind at work.

Luxury at Blakes Hotel, by Anoushka Hempel. I always loved staying here and soaking in her mono themed rooms of ultimate opulence. Often she imbues her decor with the kind of Oriental expense not seen since Yves Saint Laurent was making Opium commercials. I, for one, was sold. I used to smother myself in it.

 

Look how chic it is in a glossy texture. These are by a company called Walk In Tile and are enough all by themselves to make a room magnificent.

Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, home of artistic masterpieces, this antique facsimile gives the room great character. It's like being inside a painting and every piece in the room takes its cue from the austerity of the portrait. Very cool indeed.

Why should it be that a conservatory is only for worshiping the sun? If you are a rain enthusiast, like myself, this would be the perfect place to enjoy a good storm while dry with a book. And I'm not talking about a summer paperback.

 

I want to go out with a flourish and share with you some fabulous wallpaper that would look incredible just about anywhere it was employed.

And also my favorite brooding roses by the artist Christos Tolera. This piece is titled 'A Perpetual Possibility'. When the possibility of me winning the lottery comes to fruition, this man will be commissioned to paint an entire room for me. Fact.