Without the right lighting, accents, and strong silhouettes, dark interior design can be dull or just downright depressing. With thoughtful accents, a dark decor scheme is mysterious, exciting, and deep. Thoughtful lighting puts focus on feature points in the room, creating glowing vistas of style and wonder. To illustrate, we’re featuring inspirational home interiors that offer two contrasting alternatives to setting up a deliciously dark decor scheme. Home design number one is a saturation of ebony black with luxurious introductions of mood lighting where you’d least expect it. Our second tour takes us to a smaller abode, where the decor is lightened slightly to a charcoal and graphite combination that builds a cosy cocoon.
In our first inspirational example of modern dark interior design, a large modular sofa arrangement forms an island of deep comfort at the centre of the shadows.
One side of the sectional sofa composition is faced towards a projector screen, which lights up an entire wall when in use.
The dark, projector-friendly living room gives an authentic cinema experience with low-level lighting and a hushed atmosphere. Light strips thinly thread around the edges of the room and up a small staircase to guide safe footfall.
A unique lounge chair stands opposite the sofa to round out the furniture arrangement. Its designer form is highlighted under the glow of the projector screen; a prominent shadow is cast at the foot of the neat chair, which enlarges its presence in the spacious room.
In front of the modular sofa, a modern coffee table has book storage in its base. Part of its surface is finished in white marble, which highlights the piece within the moody black surroundings. A decorative tray lays dark contrast on top.
A modern fireplace is unusually situated at the side of the room, where it blazes beneath an eye-catching lightbox feature. A unique floor lamp carries light into a dark corner nearby.
Small table lamps dot the black decor scheme with brief moments of illumination.
Intense dashes of light fall upon black wood grain panels to form an illuminated feature wall. The attention-grabbing installation aptly balances out the glow of the fireplace opposite.
A side table slots conveniently into the modular sofa arrangement.
In contrast to the rest of the shadowed interior, glass blocks bring glorious natural daylight flooding onto a modern staircase design. Black treads appear to float weightlessly up to the second floor.
A glass wall separates the living room from a chic tea room design.
Inside the tea room, a solidly backlit wall presents a pristine collection of tea paraphernalia.
In the kitchen, a white island countertop lies brightly in the black scheme beneath focussed spotlights. Brown dining chairs add notes of welcoming warmth.
In our second dark interior concept, the sectional sofa divides the lounge from an open plan kitchen dining space.
Behind the gray sofa, a bright red smeg fridge makes a boldly colourful statement under the kitchen island.
The bright flames of a modern fireplace are moodily contrasted by a luxe grey marble hearth.
A small side table slides tidily up alongside the grey couch, where a mature indoor plant adds height, texture, and colour relief.
Grey drapes pool onto the dark herringbone floor.
The modern fireplace merges into a floating tv stand.
A large area rug lays a lighter tone against the rich floor treatment.
A linear suspension light spreads even illumination along the full length of the dining island.
Underneath the island, the kitchen floor treatment stands out in a lighter tone than the rest of the room to create clear zoning.
Black kitchen units form a commending frame around a dark marble backsplash and countertop.
Integrated appliances and black accessories meld into the shadowy kitchen design.
LED strips crisply call attention to open kitchen shelving.
The dining table extension is executed in a wood effect finish, which is complemented by the living room flooring and dark brown upholstered dining chairs.
A modern fruit bowl makes a simple and functional table centrepiece.
The grey granite tile that underlines the kitchen area is repeated in the home entryway to segregate the open space.
A backlit full length mirror lightens the small entryway.
A plush entryway bench sits in front of the mirror to fashion a dressing area opposite a row of built-in coat closets.
The bedroom is a cocoon of charcoal grey upholstery, grey stone, and dark wood grain.
The shadowy scheme is thoughtfully lit with low mood lighting to promote rest and good sleep.
A linear pendant light and a rotatable wall sconce provide reading light.
A grey bed and matching bed set melt away into the dark bedroom decor.
The grey bedroom rug makes a textural interlude between the solid grey upholstered bed and the smooth herringbone floor.
The lengthy linear bedroom pendant light complements a wide bedside unit.
The neater modern wall sconce is suitably paired with a small bedside table.
Recessed LED strips highlight the perimeter of the grey bathroom design. A black wall-hung toilet casts a disconnected shadow that emphasises its floating effect.
Instead of bathroom vanity lights, an additional ribbon of LED glow is emitted below the large vanity mirror to fall upon the bathroom sink and countertop.
The atmospheric lighting scheme continues inside of the walk-in shower area too, where matt black shower fixtures sink into the shadows. A black-framed, smoked-glass shower screen perfectly complements the dark aesthetic.