Black magic and its powers to transform a room....

Happy Friday! Hope you are well, glad its the end of the week.....looking forward to a busy but fun weekend. I have spoken often on my posts about how much I like black elements in interior design. Black truly has the power to transform a room or space unlike any other.... It offers so much drama, high style, elegance and old world-ness to virtually any room. Whether it be black and white timeless marble floors, a black kitchen, a huge black hutch, dramatic black walls in a dining room, there is no denying the power of black in a room. It also looks sensational next to virtually any other color. So today I pay homage to the use of black in interior decorating, and showcase a collection of different rooms and spaces that underscore my point. Though I realize it might not be for everyone, there is no denying the impact it has in a room. Some of the prettiest interiors I have seen have had elements of black in them, and it is highly effective when used properly....like most things in interior design, its all about scale and balance. I personally will be using black in my kitchen and butlers pantry. Would love to know, as always what you think and if you have a favorite! Do you have any black in your own and if not, would you want it? 

Elegant black dining room as interpeted by Ralph Lauren

Black and white floors and black walls make for a very elegant and dramatic foyer 

hallway, Max and Co.

M Elle designed this beautiful inviting space in shades of soft black and charcoal with pops of orange and reds in the books and throws.

A gorgeous painted black door offers subtle drama and elegance, Jan Showers

Atmosphere Interior Design went all black in this elegant dining room while keeping the warmth of the wood table for contrast

Beverly Ellsley chose black for the beautiful center island and accented black in the floors for maximum impact, and it worked!

Elegant and old world feeling black and white marble checkerboard floors, Elizabeth Dinkel

Love this Parisian bistro vibe at work here...Stephen Shubel designed this stunner of a  black 

kichen....love the floors too!

Rich European feeling bathroom gets a bold rich marble floor with  black, white and gold design

A black runner, black framed prints were used in this elegant foyer with black painted floors, Sherill Canet

Black painted walls and black floors give a dark and dramatic contrast to the white dining chairs, Elle Decor

Black is not only for indoors! Mary Mcdonald went bold and dramatic in this black and white setting....pretty exciting

SR Gambrel created this stunnig black and white marble foyer/hallway...resplendent!

S R Gambrel designed this living room, with a base of black and infused pops of bright colors

Sometimes a few statement pieces in black are all that is needed, Graham Moss

John Jacob achieved the perfect balance here wiht light and dark using black accents

One of my favorites...John Jacobs designed this exquisite  kitchen with black cabinetry

Stunning black cabinetry graces this gorgeous butlers pantry, Arthur Dunnam

A black kitchen works everytime...especially when topped with rich white marble

Sometimes you don't need an entire room to be black, just a few carefully chose black accessories just does the trick, as show here by Beverly Cleare

John Jacobs painted this bathroom wall a soft black and used white for extra punch and wow factor!

Love this tall black and glass cabinet....STUNNING! Mallory Marshall

Candler Lloyd chose charcoal walls and black chairs for punch in this otherwise muted colored filled room

Jiun Ho created this beautiful pared down but dramatic seating arragnement in front of the fireplace, charcaol and black are used here

Jiun Ho designed this drama filled dining room with textured walls and ovesized dining fixture

Gorgeous black Belgian reclaimed floors...fabulous!

I wouldn't think I would like a black bedroom but John Jacob with his trained and talented eye used just enough white to soften this beautiful dramatic room

Gorgeous room trimmed in black ,wtih black floors gets an extra punch with white seating and beautiful crystal objects for light, Decorpad

I love the impact and power of an elegant black painted chest in a foyer or hallway, Nathan Egan

Robert Brown designed this masculine and regal looking black surround tub, love the window treatment which brings in the black but manages to keep them light

Elegant swank looking black painted library...very chic

Ted Yarwood designed this simple, masculine powder room using black lacquered walls

Beautiful, sleek glossy black kitchen is pure drama and elegance...love the white floor as the contrast

A black damask paper in this super elegant powder room is superb looking, Ashley Goforth

Old world feeling black painted kitchen wtih a terracotta looking trim, different for sure!

Mary McDonald created this dramatic black dining room with accents with orange and pale blue

A black library is very rich looking

This beautiful vintage feeling bath with black tub and black walls/window treatments feels wonderfully old fashioned, photo by Melanie Acevado

This black and white bathroom certainly makes a bold statement, Lony magazine

Rob Southern painted his foyer glossy black to match the black door and used white and black marble floors for the light contrast that makes this foyer smashing!

Sensational black foyer accented with white and pale grays...quite beautiful!

Would love to know if you have a favorite and would love to know how you feel about black in interior decorating in general....would you, have you used it? Have a fabulous Friday!

A new twist on an old classic....Butlers pantries!

Good morning...the situation in Japan sadly is evolving, to become an even more catastrophic one than what was originally suggested. I had a feeling that the death toll and level of destruction would be great, with such a devastating earthquake. All we can do is pray for the people of Japan and ask God to look over and protect them and help them with the recovery process. On our end, we should all take the time to give thanks for even the smallest things.....if it shows us one thing, it is that life is more precious than we can possibly imagine and we must covet and cherish what we have.I came across this short, to the point list of ways we can help through Time's newsfeed....click click here for more information......                             

I love the look of a beautiful old world butlers pantry. Especially if the ceilings are nice and tall and the cabinets are taken straight up. Butlers pantries have made a comeback and a big one at that! Once used in larger, grander traditional homes, they are now being put into all styles and sizes of homes, more than ever. They were traditionally used for storage, for things like silver, linens, china services,etc.....now they are used for everything from storage to prep to serving. And it has been told that this is one of the most requested rooms in new construction since the mid 1990's.....interesting, how the old eventually becomes the new again.Pantries can be as small as a single hutch or as large as a kitchen..but suffice to say there are so many fabulous things one can do when designing a butlers pantry..... whether to go all the way up to the ceiling with the cabinets even if it means creating smaller boxed cabinetry on top that might never get used. Whether to use all wood, glass or metal screened doors or a combination of the three. What kind of counter tops to use..I am always a huge fan of marble. What kinds of appliances, sinks,etc..you might need and of course establishing what the needs are of the butlers pantry. Will this really be used as a smaller prep kitchen or is it just another beautiful space to store and display gorgeous things? Beautiful things can come in small packages as is evidenced by the gorgeous spaces in today's post. i think its all about scale, execution, texture, and of course the finish. Lighting helps as does the selection of counter tops and back splashes. So many variables..no wrong or right away..it all comes down to personal taste, budget and style. I love each and every one of these......do you have a favorite? How do you like to use a butlers pantry? Would you want one?

Tish Key designed this stunning dramatic black stained butlers pantry

Morgan Creek designed this attractive green glazed pantry with lots of glass

I like the glass sliding doors leading to this pantry with plenty of open shelves

This is neat, a door leading to the open shelved pantry has a chalk board application...what better place to jot things down! Atticmag

Gorgeous gray butlers pantry, belongs to Gina of Willow Decor..love how it goes all the way up to the ceiling and of course all that glass makes for a dramatic space!

You can get funky, here an interior barn door against a chalk board wall is the entrance to this pantry...atticmag

Crown point went all the way up in this attractive small butlers pantry

Wow this is dramatic...a blue lacquered butlers pantry, tons of space and really different! Colleen Fox Interiors

Beautiful tall creamy white butlers pantry, love the water German water glass, Maurys Place

Beautiful dark wood stained butlers pantry topped with luxurious white marble..a winner!

Beautiful dramatic all lead glassed doored pantry, by Morgan Creek

Something about a white pantry topped with dark counter tops and lots of glass that is classic

Habersham created this black distressed butlers pantry/hutch

Incredible pantry lined with glass fronted cabinets...an abundance of space with a small island!

Dransfield and Ross designed this cozy old fashioned feeling butlers pantry

Love this rich dark navy butlers pantry in all its glossy finished glory!

This gorgeous pantry in all its creamy white glory used brass hardware to dress it up

Apply green pantry..love the ladder, the glass cabinets and the open plates for shelving...not sure about the color though...Colleen Fox

Cozy and traditional painted butlers pantry, love the checkerboard floor, photo by Bill Leddon

Fabulous creamy colored butlers pantry with pretty leaded glass, Morgan Creek

A multi purpose pantry with pull out shelves and lots of storage by Superior woodcraft

Lots of open shelving in this country feeling butlers pantry

Habersham designed this distressed green glazed pantry, interesting scroll work on the doors

A butlers pantry that doubles as a pretty decorative hutch

Beautiful art deco feeling butlers pantry, gorgeous teak countertops, Willowbrook

One of my all time favorites, the color, all the glass, the marble and the hardware...all beautiful

Elizabeth Kimberly designed this pretty gray painted hutch/butlers pantry

Kitchen Lab created this small pantry off the main kitchen, love the black walls and marble!

Morgan Creek designed this fabulous gray/green butlers pantry..love the dimaond leaded glass...beautiful!

This is a mega pantry! With another set of full appliances, it is the ultimate prep pantry.

A small set of glass french doors leads to this small pantry....lovely

Morgan Creek designed this gorgeous pantry with a heavy glazing and lots of glass doors for displaying....nicely done

This large European feeling pantry was painted in a pale blue with white hardware

This is different, a wall of books leads to a glass doored pantry full of open shelving!

So what do you think? Anything you absolutely love? Do you think a butlers pantry serves a real purpose beyond a pretty display room? Would you want one? Would love to know! Have a wonderful day!