Colour Focus: Monochrome
Monochrome is one classic colour combination that you just can’t go wrong with. Or can you?
Did you know that the pairing of black and white, which we regularly refer to as ‘monochrome’ actually isn’t called that at all? In colour theory (stick with me), the combination of black, white and anything in between (i.e. grey) is actually called ‘Achromatic’, where no colour is present, just a pure mix of black and white.
An Achromatic interior design scheme can have that classic, strong, powerful effect that we see in anything from black and white photography, to checkerboard tiles, to nature’s monochrome Queen, the Zebra (all good colour inspiration can always be tracked back to nature, I promise you).
Bright and modern achromatic kitchen
Credit: Noreststudio via Architizer
Classic achromatic bathroom design
Credit: Pinterest
So, what is monochrome and why are we doubting everything we once thought we knew?
Monochrome is actually varying tints, tones and shades of a single colour. In other words, one colour with added black or white.
This is quite a bold move in interior design. You really need to love that colour and it’s essential that it works well with the light in your room - if you want a truly monochromatic scheme, even the whitest colour used should have an undertone of the chosen colour, so there really is no shying away from it!
But it’s the addition of the black and white that can give you some of the most surprising monochrome schemes. You probably wouldn’t look at this striking room designed by Juan Carretero and describe it as monochrome, but start with the yellow and add a tonne of white for the walls, and add a touch of black to reach the grey, play a little with the saturation to achieve the deeper or paler shades of pure yellow, and there you have it, a monochromatic yellow and grey colour scheme.
A yellow monochromatic interior scheme
Credit: Juan Carretero via House Beautiful
The bold combination of red and pink is another perfect example of a monochromatic colour scheme. Not what springs to mind when you think of ‘monochrome’ but red + white = pink, so…
Red and pink monochromatic bathroom
Credit: Plutarco, via Domino
While it’s not the easiest scheme to work with in the home as all of that colour can become wearing on the eyes, monochrome can be the most striking design technique for commercial spaces, especially when taken to the extreme, demonstrated perfectly in this bold single-shade design by Appareil Architecture (red being the single colour with plenty of added white).
A bold monochromatic commercial design
Credit: Appareil Architecture via Archello.com
So, tips for achieving a monochromatic scheme in your own home? First of all, choose the colour you want to base it on - remember to think about how you want to feel in that room and whether a warmer or cooler colour would suit the light in there (more on that in this post about the impact of daylight on colour).
Paint colour cards generally group together colour families, so stick within the colour group to make sure everything is as monochrome as possible. The Valspar stand at B&Q is set out in very handy colour groups, so if you’re looking for a white with a green undertone, for example, look only at the shades of white within the green section of the Valspar stand. Simple!
Break up the colour with pattern - within a monochromatic scheme this could be shades of your chosen colour with black and/or white, which should have undertones of your colour, but essentially they can just look black and white. Pattern and texture will be key to avoiding a flat feeling when so much blocked colour is used.
Try not to veer into another colour family if you want to be truly monochromatic. Green can easily become teal which is a slippery slope into blue, and if you start mixing green with blue then that’s no longer monochrome, you’re now creating an ‘analogous’ scheme which has a completely different effect. More on that in a future post!
If you have a colour challenge or would like any advice for design in your home, I’d love to hear from you so please get in touch and lets see how I can help!
