Looking at the different types of monochrome colour schemes and styles

Contrary to popular belief, monochrome design doesn’t mean black and white. A monochromatic colour palette (yes, you can have colour!), simply means you base your design on one simple colour, pairing various shades, tones and textures with it to create detail and dimension. It’s all about creating contrast - but those contrasts don’t have to be black and white.

 

@our_scottish_manse Slaked Lime and Slaked Lime Mid LG

 

Time to go Monochrome? Here’s the benefits!

First off, let’s start with why we love it. Monochromatic style is supposed to have a relaxing effect, making it a great design scheme for bedrooms, living rooms or other relaxing areas of the house. It also makes decorating easier. 

Putting a whole room (or a whole house!) together can be overwhelming; especially with all that beautiful choice out there. If you’re feeling a little daunted about choosing a colour scheme, going down a monochromatic route could be the way to go. One of the trickiest things to do in interior design is match up co-ordinating colours; but a monochrome style saves you the headache of all this. An easy way to create a timeless, elegant style; it’s a trend that’s here to stay. 

One of the beautiful things about monochrome design, is that as colour is dialled down, textures can be dialled up. So if you’re someone who loves to accessorise, it makes total sense to save your energy and budget for the soft furnishings and finer details of the room, and keep your paint choices to a simple monochrome style.

@the_contemporary_apartment NTB228

Monochromatic design: isn’t so black and white

Sure, in its most classic sense monochrome design refers to black and white. But overtime we’ve seen it evolve massively. In fact, monochromatic interior design offers plenty more than just a single shade.

Monochrome is a sliding scale. Instead of jet black, you could opt for a deep grey. You could combine charcoal or slate and a grey-tinted white. And then there’s the off whites… You get the idea; the possibilities really are endless. 

You can create your monochrome style using warm neutrals, cool neutrals, and even bold shades. Yes that’s right, it still counts as monochrome style if you’re using colour. The trick is to select your dominant colour (the temperature of which is really important), then to build your colour scheme using elements from the same colour family. Here’s some examples of warm neutrals, cool neutrals and bold monochrome design schemes. Enjoy!