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Home Decorating Furniture Design Dilemma

How can I mix white and black furniture?

4 years ago

I am moving out of my campus dorm into my boyfriend's apartment (yay!), but I'm having issues with the decor.
My boyfriend's apartment has primarily black furniture, whereas all of the furniture that I am bringing with me is white.
The main problem is with the bedroom and workspace- the dresser, nightstands, shelving, and desk that my boyfriend already has is all black, while the dressers, desk, and shelving that I am bringing in are all white. We have black and white bedding, decorative pieces, etc, in an attempt to make the furniture work but I am worried that putting my white dresser next to his black black dresser/ my white desk next to his black desk will look out of place.
We are both recent college grads, so money is tight at the moment and I need to be able to use whatever I have already rather than buy all new furniture!

Featured Answer

Nelly Bluth

4 years ago

Do you have pictures? I don’t think mixing black and white furniture is problematic. Yes, I do think a black dresser and a white dresser side by side might look odd, but not necessarily. Pictures of the pieces would be a great help.

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Comments (11)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
IMO you do not need to have all the furniture brought in . We for sure need some pictures though.
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njmomma
4 years ago
Not a Pro.

To start, if you have a white headboard, use black nightstands, or visa versa.
Taylor Baxley thanked njmomma
PRO
Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Black & white work together. What might be more of an issue is the style of the furniture. nj has a good idea of using a white headboard with black nightstands, IF the styles work together. If the styles work with each other you can end up with an eclectic mix that works. Use pillows, art, rugs, etc. to bring in pops of color. If everything is black & white it might get a bit monotonous.
Taylor Baxley thanked Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader
Taylor Baxley
Original Author
4 years ago
The style has definitely been an issue- more than the color matching at this point! I have a lot of older furniture that I've inherited, while both my boyfriend and I have more modern furniture that we have had to purchase since attending college/moving into our new place. We are going for a more modern look, so I'll likely just need to sell my old things and get new pieces eventually. The color mixing is working though- I took the advice of the black nightstands with a white headboard, and in our living room we have black end tables with a light grey couch and it is looking good so far! The pops of color we've used with other decor have helped, too! Thanks for the suggestions!
njmomma
4 years ago
Not a Pro.

Please post pictures of the rooms.

The stuff you inherited can be painted and repurposed.

Why buy more stuff if you don't have to.
Taylor Baxley
Original Author
4 years ago
I currently don't have the majority of my own furniture from home moved in yet- my college and apartment are four hours away from my home so I've been moving things piece by piece. This quarantine situation hasn't been much help either since I'm working more than before both as an essential employee and an online tutor. I've been able to manage with the lack of furniture because I've learned to pack fairly light after living in a dorm room for nearly 4 years. Plus, I plan on using some of my white furniture in my future classroom (I'm an education major), so a decent amount of what I have with me currently won't stay in the apartment. That's why I haven't posted any photos yet! I can post photos of individual pieces (that I have here and that I'll bring from home) if that would be helpful!
njmomma
4 years ago
I would wait until your in the apartment.
hbeing
last year
Why are dudes so often into black (leather) furniture?
PRO
Norwood Architects
last year
A black and white color scheme is pretty classic. Sounds like you are potentially having problems balancing your pieces out. You might have to keep shifting things around until you get a nice balance and a look you want. Also, there is always paint. If you can't get pieces to work in the current color you and always paint to achieve the look you want. Good luck!
tracefloyd
last year
last modified: last year
Use a pop of just one color, BW red or BW yellow. It will look intentional. The different periods of style in your furniture will be a plus.

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