Decorating with black and white

Classic, clean and inherently chic, nothing quite makes a statement like black and white. From floors and walls to furniture and accents, you can have as much or as little of black and white as your heart desires.

While black and white decor easily coordinates itself colour-wise, this simple decor scheme is still far from fool-proof! The look of black and white can range from minimalist chic to wild safari. First do some research and decide what kind of style or effect you want (modern, art deco, rococo, minimal, etc.) and plan ahead to avoid an unconnected, chaotic look.

To help get you started, STYLE AT HOME's Senior Design Editor Margot Austin offers her top three tips for decorating in black and white:

1 A black and white themed room always has more impact when you add in a third accent colour. My top picks: aqua, coral, kelly green or canary yellow.

2 If you want to jazz up your bedroom with black and white, add it to the pillow shams or the wall behind the headboard -- a high-contrast scheme like black and white is busy and not conducive to sleep, so it's best to use it on surfaces that you don't see while you're trying to fall asleep.

3 When it comes to accessories, buy pieces that are all white and/or all black, rather than covered with a black-and-white pattern. (The exception: allow yourself two black-and-white patterned cushions.) That way you can choose to mix them, or switch out your displays for all white items sometimes and all black items other times -- which gives you three different looks. Also, when you tire of the black and white theme -- and trust me, you will -- the white items will still be fabulous and blend with any new scheme.