Decorating with dark brown

Dark brown has gone from being something people painted over to one of the most widely used colours in Nordic interiors. It brings warmth where black brings severity.

What brown does to a room

Brown draws a room in and makes it feel more enclosed — in a good way in bedrooms, dining areas and libraries, but more demanding in small halls without daylight. The colour reads warm and can carry large surfaces.

Combinations that last

Brown with off-white feels soft. Brown with greige feels sophisticated. Brown with black needs something light left in the room, otherwise the result becomes heavy.

Materials to look for

Dark oak and walnut in furniture, wool and bouclé in textiles, brass in hardware. A natural-stone surface breaks up the brown and stops the room from feeling monotonous.

Common mistakes

• Brown walls and brown floors with nothing light between them.
• Cool lighting, which pulls brown towards grey.
• Choosing brown in a room that already has very little daylight.