A Dynamic Duo: Black & Gold

When it comes to high-voltage drama, few colour pairings manage to inspire awe quite as successfully as black and gold. Inherently luxurious, seductively sexy and unquestionably daring, the pairing of sober black with audacious gold pushes elegance to its limits. With all its moody turbulence, winter seems like the perfect season to expound the virtues of this palette for interiors, with a few cautionary tales for good measure.

Achieving success with this pairing, whether in fashion or interiors, can be tricky. The lusty pursuit of gold shimmer can become a slippery slope towards tackiness if it isn't tempered with restraint. We've all recoiled, at one time or another, when faced with a room full of tawny brass baubles or an individual drenched from neck to finger in gold 'bling.' There is something to be said for understatement, even when dealing with a palette that is anything but.

Because it is a metallic, gold is usually the culprit when things go awry. Black, the darkest of neutrals, is safe because of its flatness and can be used generously. Gold gets randy and shouts to be seen, which is why it should be used as an adornment, like jewelry, brilliantly capturing light and warming it against the coldness of black, which creates the gorgeous tension of light and dark. It is the tension that makes it sexy and powerful.

The effect one achieves with black and gold will always be dramatic. It is not a combination for the blushing flower. If you want impact and glamour, this dynamic duo does it best.