‘Tis the season when our thoughts take a darker turn. Halloween’s spooky, yet fun attitude leads us to consider bold ideas for everything, even apartment decorating. If your tastes have always run towards the dark, mysterious and elegant, you’ll love one of 2010’s biggest interior design trends: black walls. Interior design blogs are full of gorgeous ideas available for anyone bold enough to go all black, from AOL’s Shelterpop to Apartment Therapy to Trendey. Black is a calming color, and a great way to show off lighter design elements, like natural wood or light carpet flooring, or light-colored furniture. But are Houston apartments the best places to rock this trend? Maybe. Maybe not. Here are some tips to help you decide.
Ask First
We’ve said it before: planning and courtesy are the keys to getting your security deposit back when you finally move on. Before making any change to your apartment’s interior, check the rules in your lease, then run your plans by your landlord or manager. This is a must-do when painting with any color, but especially with black, which is the most difficult color to paint over. Your landlord may not be hip to the idea. Don’t worry! Even if you can’t paint an entire room black, there are ways to add a taste of the trend to Houston apartments. Try negotiating with the ideas below, and point out that, when it’s time to re-rent it, a beautifully painted apartment may fetch higher rent than a boring, white-walled one.
It Doesn’t Have to Be All-or-Nothing
Apartment decorating is a personal choice, so you don’t have to follow the trend full on. Entirely black rooms may not be the best plan for Houston apartments, since dark colors on all four walls will make the room feel smaller than it is. Consider painting just one wall black, and leaving the others white or other colors for contrast. One area of black paint, or a black motif on a lighter-colored wall can be quite striking. If your landlord still won’t go for it, or if you don’t feel brave enough to paint it black, try decorating with black accessories. Furniture, free-standing screens, linens, frames and wall trims in black stand out beautifully in contrast to lighter-colored walls.
Try Other Deep Colors
If you’re set on making a bold statement, but your landlord won’t sign off on black paint, try negotiating on the color. Deep jewel tones like red and purple are strong statements in apartment decorating, but are less frightening to landlords. Houston apartments in deep, elegant colors contrast beautifully with our usually warm weather.
Looking for a Houston apartment to make your own? Houston Apartment Insiders is here for you every step of the way. For apartment hunting help, or to answer your questions, call us at 713-581-1055 (866-918-4022 toll free) or contact us online.
Posted by Melanie Belasco Levy on 10/26/10
