I LOVE BLACK AND WHITE. Since my last blog post was about the black and white “trend,” I wanted to make it clear that black and white is not really a trend; it is a timeless combo experiencing a turn again as the “popular girl.”

I was recently at a new construction home in Greenwich with a beautiful black and white checkerboard floor in the foyer. The buyers bought the house on spec and I was delighted to see the builder had selected this flooring. What a good choice. So dramatic but classic! Here are a few examples of beautiful checkerboard (harlequin) floors. You can see the same type of floor taken in different design directions:

Black in a kitchen? Absolutely, but notice it’s judicious and the countertops and cabinets are timeless white and white marble. Also, if you introduce black, repeat it (but not too many times!) Here the trim is black, the range, and the coffee maker are black. That’s about it. And these are things easily changed down the road if the homeowner doesn’t want it anymore. (I have a feeling the owner of this beautiful kitchen could probably afford to gut-renovate in 10 years, however.)

Traditional herringbone wood floors, brass and butcherblock warm up the black and white below:

Nate Berkus’s kitchen featured in Architectural Digest— I love that he put a picture light over the upper cabinet, above the fridge.

Careful to be judicious and balanced with black, or it heads into late 1990s territory. Sorry, that white ceiling and trim (and pantry door) aren’t balancing the black hole under the cabinets there. And all this similar wood is the kitchen version of a Canadian tuxedo.

Looks a bit like my high school biology lab…

Black and white bathrooms are a good choice if you want drama and contrast. But sometimes black and white are surprisingly relaxing. What about this masculine one? It might be too moody for many people, but it’s balanced and, arguably, calming at the same time because of the strong forms but lack of color.

This powder room floor (below) will never be “out.”

Houzz (ignore the photographer in the mirror, LOL)

Black and white gets playful here….

I hope this clarifies that often trends are actually a resurgence in popularity of an atemporal concept.

Until next time!

Dana