Flicking through magazines, it’s often the dark and moody interiors that capture our interest. It used to be the bright and white rooms, with light flooding in and oodles of sunshine. But as designers like Abigail Ahern began showing us the beauty of a more masculine colour palette a few years back, we’ve all started to crave them in our homes.

Achieving such a vibe of course, doesn’t always go according to plan. From disastrous black walls to cold and uninviting man caves, getting a room to feel dark and moody while still retaining a sense of warmth and charm is not for the faint hearted.

Luckily, TLC has come to the rescue to show you how to get it right, with some help from these images by Urban Road.

How to Create a Dark and Moody Interior

Consider the following design inclusions and you’ll be well on your way to creating a room that you – and guests – walk into and feel wowed by!

Start with a Dark Colour Palette

We’re flipping colours on their head here, so abandon the concept of using white as your base. Look to darker grey tones and use that on all the walls in a room. Feature walls aren’t necessarily dead, but to create true moodiness, your best bet is to apply a darker paint to all the walls instead of just one.

White will be used as a main accent colour, along with blacks and deep blues to ground the space. You can then bring in softer tones like pinks, yellows and purples to create a sense of balance.

Renters and Scaredy Cats: Can’t paint your walls dark? You can still create mood in a space with white walls. Just ensure there’s enough dark tones in large objects like sofas and rugs, or create a gallery walls with loads of moody art on it (the ones below from Urban Road illustrate this perfectly).

Use Weathered and Rustic Textures

Whether you refer to a texture as masculine and feminine, hard and soft, or heavy and light, the general rule here when it comes to texture is to use large amounts of the former; harder textures like heavy wood-grain furniture, leather chairs and sofas, rustic/battered metals, organic materials like whicker and rattan and even aged glass.

It’s these rough textures – used in larger proportions in the space – that begin to make the room feel moody.

Ensure Clean lines and Considered Pattern

You won’t look at a room with Rococo furniture, for example, and consider it moody and masculine (not in the modern sense, anyway). That’s because this design style has a lot of curved, soft lines and a whole lot of embellishment in its furniture.

A modern and moody interior keeps lines fairly clean, so look for furniture that isn’t too over the top in its style. Simplicity is key here.

You can also create interest through patterned rugs and cushions. Of course, you should steer clear of softer patterns like florals. Look to decor with bold geometrics instead.

Add Soft and Bright Finishing Touches

The space can’t be all dark and gloomy. That’s when the look of the room starts to go pear-shaped. Any truly amazing room is all about balance, so think about things like; counteracting a dark wall with white trim, adding a faux fur throw to a leather sofa, adding a pop of yellow flowers to a heavy coffee table, or introducing art with soft pink and purple tones.

It’s all about keeping the room 70% dark and moody and then adding in 30% of light and bright decor goodness.

Eager to find out more about the new Shaynna Blaze collection from Urban Road?
Click here to hit their website and explore!

>>> Are you on board with the dark and moody interior trend? Share your thoughts in the comments below!