Why Installing Black Tiles Surprisingly Brighten Up a Room

Interior designer Nicola Harding uses black tiles throughout this charming riverside house, she has used them across three spaces, in various hues. Here, black bejmat tiles from Emery & Cie provide a dramatic backdrop for a handsome 19th-century table and vintage painted stool. The woodwork in Pure & Original’s ‘Aubergine’ and the old factory light is from Matthew Cox.

In the fashion world, black is a colour that's consistently favoured. Black clothing lines the rails of some of the world's chicest wardrobes. It marches down catwalks year in, year out. It is a synonym for sophistication and a French sensibility–but in interiors, black tells a different story.

Inside the house, black is seen as a scary, slightly formidable colour. In contrast with its status as a wardrobe neutral, it takes on an identity as a gothic, grungy hue. It is associated with the bedrooms of hormonal teenagers and dank bathroom corners. But change is on the horizon–and we've spotted black cropping up more and more in a very specific form, with interior designers and tastemakers alike lining the floors of dark spaces with black, shiny tiles.

Thanks to their shiny surface, black tiles reflect the light from the east and west windows and their colour morphs from a deep black to a bright white. Whilst they may look delicate, choosing tiles over marble is down to the practicality of maintenance. They also feel younger and less conventional.

Interior designer Nicola Harding is also partial to using a black, glossy floor tile. In this charming riverside house, she has used them across three spaces, in various hues. Above, in this potentially difficult, narrow room, the reflected light draws the eye into the next room, making it feel more spacious. The floor beyond, in the dining room, has been covered with teal bejmat tiles (the sturdier cousin of zellige tiles). They lend the space a relaxed glamour, and echo the river beyond the windows.

Here at House & Garden, we hear a piece of advice from the experts time and time again: if you have a light-starved space, lean into it and choose a dark paint colour. There's no point fighting what the house is offering. A glossy, black floor tile feels like the perfect choice, then, allowing you to work with the house, whilst helpfully bouncing light around. Sometimes the best results come from the boldest decisions.

This story originally appeared on our sister publication, House & Garden UK.