Looking for creative black and white decor ideas? Here’s how we transformed an upstairs space with black and white furniture and accessories.

There is one truth that’s constant in decorating.

Whatever is old eventually works it’s way to becoming new again.

I still remember my first house. It was full of khaki and black and white. Everywhere. They were my signature colors. I bought the entire contents of my house at a yard sale and then spray painted it black and white and khaki.

And then?

One day I decided I was NOT ABOUT black and white anymore.

Instead? I was all about blue and white. And then I changed my mind a couple of years later and went with bright colors. And then neutrals and grays.

And on and on and decorating on.

And now?

I just redid the upstairs television room in guess what? BLACK AND WHITE.

See what I mean?

Full circle friends.

Here are some creative black and white decor ideas for the circle of decorating life.

Can we go back just a little bit for some context before we get started?

This room is at the top of the stairs and it has a checkered past.

It used to be a playroom when we were little and then my mother made it into my college bedroom when I was home for the summers and then it was a television room and then a playroom and now it’s back to being a television/hang out room for the twins.

(total aside: I can hear you asking—where’s the television. It’s around the corner on the right. It swings out so you can sit on the couch and watch.)

We made several changes to the space.

First, we added these built-ins from kitchen cabinets on the outside of the room on the landing.

You can see that project here.

Next, we added built-ins on either side of the couch that we created from bookcases.

The room is pretty small and the built-in’s help with the space.

You can see that project here.

Can you mix black and white furniture?

Not only can you mix black and white furniture in a room, you should. That’s where paint comes in. My favorite black paint is Tricorn Black SW 6258 and my favorite white paint is Extra White SW 7006. I’m about to paint the sideboard in this space SW Tricorn Black. For your largest pieces in a room, I do recommend neutral though. You don’t want to get tied down to too much pattern of a particular color (please refer to the first paragraph for an explanation of why you don’t want to marry a color).

For example, the sectional in this space was one of the first things I bought for the house.

It was SUCH a splurge—but it’s the perfect furniture piece for this room. It’s actually two chairs with rolled arms that sits on a platform. You can pull them apart and make two chairs with an ottoman or have it just be a couch with the ottoman. The pieces all sit on these white platforms and it’s held up to zillions of parties and pillow talks and general laughter and conversation.

You can see it here.

What color looks good with black and white?

Truth?

Any color works with basic black and white decor ideas. Whatever you can imagine is possible. I’m actually using gold accents in this space, but here are some other color suggestions to pair with black and white:

• turquoise
• lime green
• hot pink
• lemon
• orange
• blush
• fuschia
• silver

What type of rug works in a black and white room?

I think you can go different directions.

If you really want to ground the space, you might choose a rug that’s mostly black with colored accents.

If you want the room to appear bigger, you might choose a rug with a lighter background.

Me?

I just wanted to have fun.

This is a small room and I wanted to give it a little personality, so I chose this rug for the space.

It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but it’s so cozy.

Your feet kind of sink into it when you walk.

I love the feel of the rug and the coziness of it.

What kind of curtain rods work in a space like this?

Y’ALL.

I am so excited about this!!!!!!!

These curtain rods are the FIND of the century. I have never really been able to find gold curtain rods that were affordable before. Mostly, I just bought inexpensive curtain rods and spray painted them like I did with these curtain rods here.

But these curtain rods were at Target.

Not all the stores have them, so you can also find them online here. They are so much more substantial then they look in the pictures and they are the prettiest shade of gold. We had to buy 66″ to 120″ and they are on sale right now for only $27.99.

SERIOUSLY.

But wait. That’s not all. I also found the CUTEST gold curtain rings at Target, too. They are actually flat on the edges instead of round and look super current and fresh.

You can see them here.

The curtains came from IKEA. They are not lined (although you could line them with this simple tip) and they are 98″ long.

You can see them here.

What type of black and white decor ideas can you incorporate with accessories?

Ummm.

HAVE FUN.

Decorating is meant to be joyful.

This is a hang-out room, so I just added accessories that created a fun space for conversation and creativity.

Most of these accessories came from yard sales or Hobby Lobby.

If you decorated with black and white like me before and you are lucky enough to still have some of your pieces up in the attic?

Tell yourself that you are brilliant and pull them down today and dust them off.

Because like a wise sage once told me….

….what goes around comes around.

Especially in decorating. 🙂

PS Please note that affiliates are used in this post.

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