design by David Hicks
there are rooms- and then there are dark rooms- not of the photographer's sort- but the living, dining, bedroom kind.
Dark colors do work- a coffee, a plum, a black, Yes, black has its place. No matter the naysayers. I wrote in a post about some of the rooms Lady Diana Cooper decorated- her first as a young girl was black.
Portrait of a young Diana by James Jebusa Shannon
The first room she decorated on her own was her bedroom at the family's ancestral Belvoir Castle. She must have been very much as she( at left) is drawn in this National Portrait Gallery work by her mother Violet-(on the right, a self portrait) Duchess of Ruthland - an accomplished artist.
Here- she describes the room:
He gave me a narrow four-poster bed. for my now room at Belvoir, which was to be painted black. The bed was upholstered in red damask. An alcove was scooped out of the wall for my jug and basin and painted by me with stylised sea waves...The black walls were hung with swags of everlasting flowers a la Crivelli. The table and chair were Savonarola-esque and the window, granite fireplace and coalbox solid Victorian. There were four coloured reproductions of Madonnas in gold Italian frames and the candlesticks from Florence, regilded... I thought it was beyond compare, but greatly feared criticism. My mother never damped our taste-she who had so influenced it.
My money collected for months, went on church candlesticks (cheap because the gilt had come off, which I could later home-gild-myself with gesso, size, gold leaf and a burnisher), tassels and braids, anything to make my new room at Belvoir more like Carpacccio's idea of St Ursula's.
Carpaccio's The Dream of Saint Ursula, 1495
Carlo Crivell's Renaissance Saints with intricate fabric details
So- now you have adjusted to darkly painted rooms, and read with the details the 14 year old Diana lavished on her first interior decoration- She referenced Art, shopped well & took on diy.
a Sister Parish- deep Prussian Blue Living Room
an incredible bedroom at Blake's Hotel in London
Created by Anouska Hempel
I wonder if Anouska Hempel was inspired by Crivelli as well?
Now-what do you do when you find your own young ones wanting to decorate on the dark side? My experiences with most children & teenagers in decorating rooms has been exceptional. Two clients called me in specifically to work with their children directly- No input from the parent- Perfect projects resulted. In most cases a parent works through the details of a room with me for smaller children and then later imput comes from the parent and teen. One teen Lady wanted to channel an Anne Boleyn room. I was willing- I was even into it. Unfortunately, she had Anne's temperament too-and we all know how Anne's story ended-same story with the room.
A recent trip to a plumbing & fixture showroom with a client and her Lady 5 year old-proves the point- Children can be taste makers at an early age. So just know. Lady She asked to show me the sink and fixtures she favored -
I follow her to the most perfect in the showroom. Inside a special display- in black I might add - I found Lady 5 standing at a Czech and Speake vanity with fixtures. I had to agree. We've also discussed tubs, tile, paint colors and fashion. She has good taste & at some point her Mother will cut her loose to decorate her own room I have no doubt.
What happens when IT happens?
think of Purple? as PLUM.
Brown? as COFFEE.
Black? as MIDNIGHT.
Sit them down your Aesthete with ART- give them research to do before they paint or decorate.
Have them ask why?
How will their DREAM ROOM look ? Have them find their inspiration.
Not a literal translation. No copying- it's not creative or cost effective-
But It will Inspire & that's what you want to do- Remember Diana's words:
My mother never damped our taste-she who had so influenced it.
more of Carpaccio's work here
more of Crivelli's work here
Mile's Redd here
David Hicks here
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