Get the Look isn’t just about real homes; it can also be ignited by design fantasy. This week, Aleksa Brown draws inspiration from Celerie Kemble’s Black and White (and a Bit in Between) to add personality to a duotone living space.
I used to think rooms with black and white color palettes were reserved for chic hotels, Old Hollywood-style boudoirs, and floor-to-ceiling windowed penthouse apartments. Meanwhile, my last place had yellow, red and green walls (all in the same room) with a floral couch and bright magenta curtains. Needless to say, I’m a recovering color addict.
I’m realizing with my current apartment, however, that you don’t have to paint the walls all the colors of the rainbow to change the vibe. By adding a bright vase, textured pillow and a few trinkets, you can convey your point of view and still maintain some tasteful subtlety.
For inspiration on how to take my space up a notch, I turned to Celerie Kemble’s Black and White (and a Bit in Between). She includes a list of eight ways to bring variety to your black and white space, and suggests trying to incorporate at least half to achieve your desired look.
These are the four suggestions I’m going to use in my new space.
Something Slick
[1. Green lacquer headboard from Tweakedhome 2. Blue ceramic vase by Redclayco 3. Poppy end table from Minthome 4. Vintage orange desk from Lavintagefurnishings 5. Yellow ceramic lamp from Georgiainbloom 6. Ceramic rooster figurine from Nashpop]
Something Metallic
[1. Vintage record rolling rack from Taylorvintageco 2. Gold faux deer head mount by Lucyhaus 3. Sputnik Orb from Ilikemikes 4. Vintage gold box from ModRendition 5. Brass lamp from Highstreetmarket 6. Vintage vanity tray from Recyclebuyvintage 7. Black and gold telephone from MattiesMenagerie]
Something Furry
[1. Striped faux fur pillow by Narkelandnorsu 2. White faux fur pillow cover by Thepillowcollection 3. Mid century fur chair from Llcooper202 4. Vintage sheepskin pelt from Castandcrew 5. Mongolian lamb pillow by Manifestenterprises ]
Something Crystalline
[1. Clear candelabra by Urbananalog 2. Vintage lucite cookie jar from Saltandginger 3. Vintage lucite globe from Justsmashingdarling 4. Lucite floating clock from Mistertrue 5. Vintage dayglo lamps from Ilikemikes 6. Vintage lucite chair from Ccduexvie]
Celerie’s list also includes something leather (faux or real), something matte, something woven or something glimmery. Which four would you use?
For more home interior ideas check out Celerie Kemble’s Black & White (and a bit in between) available from Amazon or an independent bookstore near you.
142 comments
pipapiep from pipapiep said 8 years ago
nice style!
totalradness from totalradness said 8 years ago
love the picture wall- would love to have something like that on my lounge wall- just need to save up for all the frames! :)
Feltoza from LinenPearls said 8 years ago
mmm, good decor.
Kim from RiverHomeVintage said 8 years ago
Great ideas...wonderful picks...love the mix!!!
Megan from MegansMenagerie said 8 years ago
Such beautiful ideas! I love pops of color!!!
Jody Ball from PansyRoadVintage said 8 years ago
Fun shapes and textures here! Interesting stuff!
Judith and Raymond from AnnaOliveDesigns said 8 years ago
Interesting, eclectic choices. Well done.
rosebudshome from rosebudshome said 8 years ago
Beautiful black and white choices!
park from carlossantiago said 8 years ago
Happy Oscar Sunday!!!! Love love the metallic section!!! I have seen a lot of black and gold lately. I think it looks fantastic!
Jess from volkerwandering said 8 years ago
Beautiful!
Jurgita from PassifloraBloom said 8 years ago
super!
Matejka Max from NattyMatty said 8 years ago
Great finds!
Marietta from blueroompottery said 8 years ago
Beautiful article!! Love the furry and the crystalline!! thanks :))
Kirsti Joy from KaiceJoy said 8 years ago
Great!!!
trixzstreasures from trixzstreasures said 8 years ago
Beautiful ! Love it all !!!
SacredandProfane from SacredandProfane said 8 years ago
Amazing selections!
Angela Holman from GingersGirl said 8 years ago
Great selections! I love the gold deer head.
Laurie from BirdinHandVTG said 8 years ago
Fabulous feature! Now I want to pick up the book. I'd love to know more about those "table sculptures" in the very first photo.
messinabella from BandBEstate said 8 years ago
Great ideas!
France Gallery from FranceGallery said 8 years ago
Some really interesting decor!
Alison Herr Scates and Chuck Scates from ACESFINDSVINTAGE said 8 years ago
Super Cool Inspiration! And great Etsy picks too! Thanks so much for sharing~ Peace~Alison :)
southernladysvintage from southernladysvintage said 8 years ago
Bold and beautiful! Great ideas!
Sharmila Dabare from TopponcinonMore said 8 years ago
Great Ideas... Love the black and white options...
TheGildedTassel from TheGildedTassel said 8 years ago
Love this....nice picks:)
TheEverlastingPosy from TheEverlastingPosy said 8 years ago
The rooms are lovely!
mazedasastoat from mazedasastoat said 8 years ago
With two Great Danes & three cats, I really don't think a pure white sofa is the way to go... in fact, life would probably be easier if all my decor was mud coloured! :-)
Sharon Challand from Challand said 8 years ago
Very pretty rooms!
Megan Morris from MadebyMegShop said 8 years ago
These rooms are gorgeous! Beautiful selections!
Alexandra Simons from BlueMoonLights said 8 years ago
Great ideas! Thanks for the post!
wwchloerunning from LeadBasedInsults said 8 years ago
love, love, love that orange desk! http://www.etsystalkers.com/
TheIDConnection from TheIDconnection said 8 years ago
Love this!
Emily from VitaNostra said 8 years ago
It is all gorgeous! I am in love with that Something Metallic room... so dramatic and elegant.
iammie from iammie said 8 years ago
Beautiful!
Frances Royal from franstradingpost said 8 years ago
Wonder4ful feature and ideas. Love eclectic decor!
Frances Royal from franstradingpost said 8 years ago
WONDERFUL
Jeanne from stuartroadvintage said 8 years ago
Great ideas-keep it coming!
Rita Van Tassel from RitaVanTassel said 8 years ago
Absolutely one of the best curated decor posts in a while - fantastic!
Cat from VintageBeach said 8 years ago
Love it!
Peshka from Peshka said 8 years ago
Lovely!
Elena Fom from Attractive1 said 8 years ago
Aleksa, waiting for Your posts with impatience! Thanks!
goodbeads from goodbeads said 8 years ago
Great,love it.
Joe and Elizabeth Veres from JETypographyPrints said 8 years ago
Lovely!! Wonderful items here! I would love to see more of 'Get the Look Decor' posts! :)
Terry from Parachute425 said 8 years ago
That went well with my morning coffee. Thanks.
Indira Villalobos from snugglyugly said 8 years ago
nice.
Gabriele Cavender from specimenboxshop said 8 years ago
Love it!!!!
evey and sara from nashpop said 8 years ago
Really awesome blog post. Thank you for featuring our red rooster!
NICOLE Dotto from DOTTO said 8 years ago
daggone, I love a huge wall with black and white photographs.
GeorgiaInBloom from GeorgiaInBloom said 8 years ago
Thank you so much for featuring my yellow ceramic lamp in your blog post! I didn't even know etsy had a blog, so finding out by having one of my items featured is quite the compliment!! Thank you, again!! All the selections are just gorgeous! I need more rooms in my house! :) Cortney
Vintage Nelly from vintagenelly said 8 years ago
Love the feature and especially the black and white photo wall! I'm a big fan of color, but black and white allows you to use color in other ways. Thanks for sharing!!
Natalia from KMalinkaVintage said 8 years ago
Awesome idea!
Tania from chiquiita said 8 years ago
I am so neutral, even my house is!.... my daughter will say I am kind of boring. But I do love color, is just that I am afraid of it!! Seeing this article helps my creative side....I have a piece of furniture I could paint in a bright nice color and that way introduce color in my family room, (like the top picture with the black, white and hint of red here and there).......thanks so much!!!
Anne-Marie from BlackBowHangers said 8 years ago
Black and White is the new style! I love how the decor in these pictures offer a modern edge while still giving off warmth of home. :)
Miosotis Merchan from chanel30 said 8 years ago
Very nice! I love this color>
Kimberlee from GracefullyGirly said 8 years ago
Love this! I love gray and white or chocolate brown and white to the same effect. I have one of each of your suggestions in most every room. Furry blankets, crystal lamps, metallic finishes and glass tile back splash and quartz counter tops in the kitchen for the slick element. It's moderated in some rooms with aqua shades of paint to lend a homier touch.
Marilou from MissMarilouStudio said 8 years ago
I just love the first room with the red. Wow!
Erika from ErikaPrice said 8 years ago
Gorgeous, gorgeous colour schemes! I'm a neutrals fan, but black and white can look so elegant!
Cristina C from GiftsWithCharm said 8 years ago
absolutely beautiful!
Angela Cotton from CottonBirdDesigns said 8 years ago
Great article!
Shannon from JustSmashingDarling said 8 years ago
I love these home decor blogs. Thank you for including my globe.
Barbara from PDXfabricdeli said 8 years ago
Cool lacquered industrial ! I love it....thanks for sharing.
Enterprise Americana from EnterpriseAmericana said 8 years ago
Slick with lot's of character, just like a like it. Love the juxtaposition of new and old in the first photo.
Gracie from TheBeautyofBoredom said 8 years ago
"Recovering color addict" haha. Color is great, I wish I could match them with neutrals better. I also tend to link blue a little too much. It was interesting to see what you came up with.
rhapsodyattic from RhapsodyAttic said 8 years ago
Fun article, beautiful!
Zane Saracene from Zalavintage said 8 years ago
Great tips, color is more than a statement, also adds energy and emotion to a space.
keren from GRAVITYjewels said 8 years ago
Wow I love colors and I think black and white has so many colors and shades with depth in it! Great article, thank you for sharing!
Olga Savchenko from Ukrainiangift said 8 years ago
Gorgeous combination! Thanks for article! The first red room especially impressed me!
Melissa Mulder from VyntageBlooms said 8 years ago
My SIL has the prettiest black and white bathroom. White in the bathroom with little kids! It is made possible by the unique wall paper! The paper pattern is actually white with black hand written saucy little quotes like " how are you" is greeting not an invitation to tell your life story" so on and so forth. You spend most of your time sitting ;) reading the great wallpaper grafitti that your eyes don't wander in to the hairy corners. Every time I come by she has a different feature colour in their, blue towels, hot pink, green. It makes it so easy to switch it up! Now I must come up with my own version of a cool black and white bathroom.. Great article, it will help. Blessings, Melissa
Vivianna Pena from viviannapena said 8 years ago
I guess you can say I'm a color addict. ;) (My old room is red, green, and yellow!) Black and white with a pop of color sounds very scary to me, yet it looks so beautiful, and you can change that pop of color very easly. Great tips and suggestions
maggiemaevintage from maggiemaevintage said 8 years ago
love black and white with splashes of red!
azie from verdigreen said 8 years ago
loving the crystalline look! great article.
Jillian Carmine from JillianReneDecor said 8 years ago
Slick, metallic, woven + leather. There's nothing like spicing up classic black and white! Fun read - thanks so much for sharing!
Christy from Vintagology said 8 years ago
Such ecletic rooms bursting with personality! Thanks so much for sharing these amazing items!!!
Star Stanford from Gypsydazzle said 8 years ago
I LOVE the orange desk. Great ideas, thanks.
orangeonbroadway from orangeonbroadway said 8 years ago
Love it!!
L2Country from L2Country said 8 years ago
Aleksa, ...you did a great job on this article. ...Loved it!..."L"
easasa from easasa said 8 years ago
Eager to learn more about color match!
Nicole Risinger from SoSewOrganized said 8 years ago
I would use something furry, something crystalline. something glittery and something slick! What interesting ideas, I never would have put those things together, but they look fab the way you've demonstrated them. I am in. love. with black and white, which is probably why one of the tote bags in my shop is black, white and teal. The top picture makes me want to make one in black, white and red! Hmm.....you've got my wheels turning! Thanks!
VintageNChic from VintageNChic said 8 years ago
I love the vintage statement pieces!
Katrina from saltandginger said 8 years ago
I adore the inspiration you've taken from each category & love how each adds another layer of visual interest - beautiful. Thanks so much for including my lucite cookie jar!
Amy Wilens from ModRendition said 8 years ago
I love the contrast between the white marble fireplace and that fantastic wallpaper. I also love those knobs on the red chests . . . so amazing. And of course, all of the items featured in "Something Metallic." Totally my style.
baconsquarefarm from baconsquarefarm said 8 years ago
Enjoyed my persuse down the page feasting my eyes on each group of photos, thanks for the article, very well done. :)
VogueVixens from VogueVixens said 8 years ago
Great modern pieces.
kirstenann from kirstenann said 8 years ago
I love the elegance of black & white paired with modern shapes and textures it can look sophisticated and modern love this article great read!!
Tianna from tcollor said 8 years ago
Great modern pieces,thanks for the article;)
Vickie Moore from WingedWorld said 8 years ago
I love the variety of these pieces!
Dotty Walker from SewThoughtfulBlanket said 8 years ago
It makes me want to redecorate!
EphemeraAndMore from EphemeraAndMore said 8 years ago
I really enjoyed the story and the imagery! Thanks!
Shannon from FreshlyFallenDesigns said 8 years ago
Love this article!
FauxFurPetBakery from FauxFurPetBakery said 8 years ago
Beautiful designs and ideas! Way to go Aleksa!
Kelly from PalomaAccessories said 8 years ago
Lindas Ideas! Great Ideas!
riricreations from riricreations said 8 years ago
Love that photo wall, working on something like that in our home~great ideas!
Images By Tasia from ImagesByTasia said 8 years ago
Beautiful! What wonderful ideas, I can wait to redecorate this spring
Ashley from AntiquesAsh said 8 years ago
Amazing! I love the pop!
Heather from HBoydStudio said 8 years ago
Great finds! I loved the crystalline section...
LivingVintage from LivingVintage said 8 years ago
Love it! Great picks.
Holly and John from ZCreateDesign said 8 years ago
Ooooh - This is my style of decorating all the way! I love the 'Something Metallic' room!!!
Unique Fabric Gifts from uniquefabricgifts said 8 years ago
I love black and white decoration! Beautiful room designs, fantastic ideas and great selections!
CaliforniaSweetPeas from CaliforniaSweetPeas said 8 years ago
Good tip. Love adding splashes of color.
Donna Thai from PetiteCuisine said 8 years ago
Beautiful ideas, thanks.
Victoria Baker from LittleWrenPottery said 8 years ago
Great picks, I love how texture in the furry choices can add real variety to a room!
Zoui from XZOUIX said 8 years ago
nice ideas, except the dead animal skins/furs.... go vegan,
Zoui from XZOUIX said 8 years ago
nice ideas, except the dead animal skins/furs... go vegan,
JJMOSSIEM from JJMOSSIEM said 8 years ago
love!!
Ever So Lovely from EverSoLovely said 8 years ago
That headboard and desk are amazing! Great picks!
Sharon Moores from slathered said 8 years ago
Gorgeous post! I'm the complete opposite -- I have a ton of color in my house, so I use black and white to calm things down a little. :-)
Maria Cruz from BabyLoveknitting said 8 years ago
Great :)
katherine norton malek said 8 years ago
How convenient! I was just considering doing my large master bath in predominantly Blk & wht, wondering if it would be too 'over-the-top. Great ideas from this blog. After this, I found the courage. Going for it with confidence now.
Maria Cruz from BabyLoveknitting said 8 years ago
Awesome:)
Discord Vintage from DiscordVintage said 8 years ago
Everything is so sleek and polished - looks amazing. A few of those pieces could really brighten up my own place :)
Kristina from SoapLab said 8 years ago
Great ideas!
WestU from lillysshoppe said 8 years ago
Great finds!
Lauren Rose from LaurenRoseJewlers said 8 years ago
I abosultly love the first pic! Great Ideas, I am also a color addict, my room is orange and yellow but I threw in some whites and beige's to not make it so brightt! but I love the idea of the black and white!
Liz B. from GossamerandQuill said 8 years ago
You can never go wrong with black and gold. Absolutely gorgeous!
aristocratandthat from aristocratandthat said 8 years ago
love all of it !!
emir hepoglu said 8 years ago
i like that all...
accentonvintage from accentonvintage said 8 years ago
Gorgeous selections! Great decor!
Sharleen from ElmPlace said 8 years ago
Wonderful design. Love the balance and composition.
flamingfuchsia from flamingfuchsia said 8 years ago
Like it.
Georgia from JewelMeShop said 8 years ago
Great tips for a sophisticated and stylish space! Thanks for sharing!
Melanie from melaniegracedesigns said 8 years ago
Super!
sevim modelci from modelknitting said 8 years ago
i like that all...
Kathleen from myvintagecrush said 8 years ago
Beautiful interiors!
Angelique Ellerton said 8 years ago
Stumbled upon your site. Very welcoming and well planned. The idea was , very well developed and strong.
Pine from GoodOldVintageOnline said 8 years ago
Big fan of using black in home decor. I have a black and white rug and a black sofa with white curtains in the living room. It allows me to constantly redecorate by incorporating other colors.
VaLon Frandsen from thevicagirl said 8 years ago
I so wish that people understood that black and white design can be cool. I get in so much trouble because that is all I seem to wear. But I love it! I also love the design of a clean white room, which can work so well. I totally agree about the four above points, my favorite being metallic (or anything shiny.) I love it. I may just have to go get that book.
Maria Cruz from BabyLoveknitting said 8 years ago
Great:)
www.BlairBarbour.com from BlairBarbour said 8 years ago
Amazing!
Susan from LiseVintageLighting said 8 years ago
Love it all! Great post!
Sarah from CopperheadCreations said 8 years ago
Oooo yeah. I want to climb inside the metallic and crystalline room photos and live inside them. Beautiful! Black and white and pops of color: surprisingly simple to do, and stunning results.
Michelle from MishaGirl said 8 years ago
I am loving that green lacquered headboard!
babydolldressup from babydolldressup said 8 years ago
Love the different ideas to give black and white some pizzazz!
AJ Marsden from OnlyOriginalsByAJ said 8 years ago
Great ideas! I love all of it!
liddy sopretty from liddysopretty said 8 years ago
Wow! Wonderful ideas!
Jennifer Beaudet from JBeaudetStudios said 8 years ago
Gorgeous choices!
gabrielle lundy from GreenFolksStudio said 8 years ago
You chose wonderful accessories and you have a great eye for details which is what kept everything in balance. Gabrielle who is color addict
gabrielle lundy from GreenFolksStudio said 8 years ago
you scored 10 out of 10 with the details, Room had energy but enough balance to make it a very comfortable room. Kudos from another color addict
Kim Baldwin from lifeaccessories said 8 years ago
I love all the gold!
margaret roach from featheroriginals said 8 years ago
I love mixing colors!!!! Whwn I.m working with my feathers i sometimes just mix some in a basket and look inside and see what fell into each color. Sometime amazing results. I love feathers easy to work with and very versital. Love your reds and dotted fabrics!!
Hilde from hildes said 8 years ago
Great!
Andrea Robinson from MissCrackleberry said 8 years ago
I love the decor!
Joy from JunkStoreAddict said 8 years ago
Oh! I want everything posted up there!...and then a housecleaner to keep it all organized for me. :)
Julie W from pbteen said 8 years ago
wonderful collection and information like etsy finds so much