How to decorate with Black & White, but make it cozy

Six black chairs are paired with a vintage farm dining room table. Plants line the window behind the table.

How to decorate with Black & White, but make it cozy! I was recently asked for a few tips on this subject from The Spruce. I started thinking about it and it turns out I have quite a few opinions on the matter.

Black & White Decor Doesn’t have to be bold

Bright pink plants are in a black and white striped pitcher. A black bowl has napkins inside of it. And a Scandinavian candle holder is next to them.

Solid black bowls are next to a patterned black and white bowl in the kitchen with white cabinets.

Adding a rattan lamp and ceramic pendants helps tone down black & white in the kitchen

A kitchen features white upper cabinets and black lower cabinets.

Vintage Crates as wall decor + storage & a rattan lantern on the floor

A chalk wall in this kitchen is painted with black and three shades of gray. Vintage crates work as shelves and a large armor has live plants on top of it.

Green house plants next to black chairs.

I think often people hear the terms black and white decor and think of a stark, modern room with bold patterns, or something like that. When I think of black and white, I think of every shade of white, off-white, ivory, cream, beige, camel, oatmeal. I loved adding this rattan lantern to warm up this corner. At night, the glow from a flickering votive looks so pretty! It’s always about the little things.

How to soften the look of Black & White Decor

And the same for black. I love every shade of gray from concrete gray to charcoal gray. I have a modern poster framed in black in my dining room along with black Tucker chairs from Serena & Lily, but there’s so much more to this room than just the bold black and white art. We use our farm table that my husband made from reclaimed scaffolding back in the 1980s. We have an old wooden armoire that was imported from India that we use for dish storage. We re-purposed an old cabinet by adding a stone top for a coffee bar. We used chalkboard paint in four shades of black and gray on one wall in the kitchen.

Use different natural woods to bring warmth to black & white decor

Black granite is on top of a small vintage hutch.

Artwork featuring a black pear and a black apple on white background, hangs on a wall surrounded by green house plants.

In the dining room, we have no less than six different types of natural wood. And that’s not counting the wood floors! We have an Ikea stool with a wood planter on top, crates on the wall that hold various items, the farm table, armoire, and coffee bar that are all made of wood. Adding rattan and sisal instantly adds warmth to a room. It can be done with lanterns, planters, rugs, and even placemats.

Add Plants, Lots of Plants

Add plants, lots of plants, and then when you think you have too many, add one more! Plants bring life to a space. This brings me to the subject of real vs. faux. I always use real plants. You have to dust both, so why not have real? I wrote a post where I showed corners of my home with plants and then the exact same view, without plants.

plants on floor and saarinen table, wood stools

Black & white Bathroom

A black sink stands out in an all-white bathroom.

We added a black pedestal sink in the hall bath of our former home. An ivory black & white shower curtain from Coyuchi warmed up the otherwise basic black and white bathroom. Woven wood shades also helped warm up this tiny bathroom. We now use this shower curtain in our new home. I love to repurpose things!

A Serena & Lily Southseas Side Cart & Cayman Glassware

Handwoven rattan always warms up a space. We use our South Seas Side Cart all over the house and on the porch all summer long.

A black bar cart is a great feature in this living room.

So that’s how I make black and white decor cozy! It’s not for everyone, but we love it in this house. Maybe someday I’ll do a house with a ton of color! What about you? Are you loving neutrals or are you color all the way?