Some folk are too scared to use dark shades in their rooms. It's not really a surprise when there're just so many things that can go wrong, making your room look unfriendly and uninviting, but don't worry, we're here to give you the best advice on how to nail the darkness without wanting to nail your eyes!

You might be forgiven for thinking that focusing on dark shades for a room leaves you with a limited range of colours, but there's loads of different ways to bring drama and contrast out of practically every colour under the rainbow. Just remember, pure black and inky blues aren't all that's available to you, try and experiment with dark browns, swampy greens, deep reds and plums.

With a base pallet with as much variation as this, it makes it easier to differences in colour when looking around a room. This isn't all you can get out of dark colours though, there's little reason to use dark base colours if you're not going to take advantage of the burst of friendly colour adding just a little splash of something bright can do! In style at the moment, muted yellows and shiny sleek golds against black work a treat for any room! We're loving bright yellow crushed velvet patterned cushions against a matching texture black sofa for a neat effect!