Red and black seem like a distinctly 1980s pair to me. The color combo makes me think of the cover of Michael Jackson's Bad or the Ramone's Rocket to Russia (which actually came out in 1977, but... whatever). Lately, however, red and black have resurfaced in the trendiest of trendy worlds — the boutique hotel scene.
From New York to Glasgow, hotels are laying down red rugs and painting black accent walls. There's a definite appeal to the combo — it's bold, memorable, and has staying power. Hey — decks of cards and checkerboards have been red and black for ages.
What do you think? Is this a trend you'd try at home, or is it best left to Michael Jackson and 80s punk bands?
SHOWN ABOVE
- citizenM Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland
- The Augarten Hotel in Graz, Austria
- The W Hotel in Washington, DC
- Krista and Zak's Philadelphia Art Hotel
- Chelsea Hotel, New York
- ColorTherapy: The Standard Hotel & The Highline, New York
- DanHostel in Copenhagen, Denmark
Photos: We Heart (1-2), Design Hotels, Augarten Art & Design Hotel (3-4), Edward Addeo Photography (5-6), HistoryStuff2 used under Creative Commons License 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (7), Kristen Lubbe (8), Michael Tavani and Mark Chamberlain (9), Gubi (10)
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Ugh! Been there. Done that. Have the red & black t-shirt...
I wouldn't call the three at the center of the lower row "red and black." Of the ones that are, only the W in DC is remotely appealing to me.
... I think more "Chinese" than 1980s, but then again I'm not actually all that knowledgable about periods/trends in decor. Don't have an automatic "ugh" reaction as a result, but I don't really like red... though if you have to have red, it should be with black and white, I guess.
My kitchen is red and black. It's based on Nutella pop art prints I ordered from an artist on Etsy. :).
Also, I think of the 50s more than the 80s when I think of red and black. Though there's something totally 50s about the 80s...
"Though there's something totally 50s about the 80s..."
Maybe it was Reagan.
there is nothing better than just sitting on couch after a hard day's work, so it becomes an essential factor to own a nice comfort leather couch and this web gives you what u need....
www.demirleather.com.au
My room is red, white, and black (and tan walls) and I LOVE it! I think red and black is really sleek looking together. There's something somewhat sophisticated about it..well, when it's done right, anyway.
hope not!
The only red-&-black 195Os that I know of was the one people thought they remembered in the 198Os. The real 5Os--Coca Cola excluded--were less like any of those pictures at the top than they were a box of Jordan Almonds: pink, coral, aqua, mint, buttercup yellow, that whole range, and the designated neutral for the decade was charcoal gray, not black. Black was only the skinny metal legs on Skylark-patterned Formica coffee tables. Anyway, I don't pay any attention to current trends--either following them or reacting against them--but done right, red-&-black can be great.
Offhand, I can think of a great 193Os red lacquer room with sandlasted black Vitrolite murals in the Cloud Club of NY's Chrysler Building, a Streamlined Deco red-black-brass-&-mirror coffee shop in the basement of the Field Building in the Chicago Loop (both unfortunately lost) and, only a mile from my place, the Orange Garden rstaurant, a late Deco landmark with a red enameled-metal front & a black-dadoed interior, all wonderfully intact. It's like an Edward Hopper painting come to life on a busy Chicago street, and as one of the few Chinese restaurants left in town that features Cantonese food, the Orange Garden is my go-to-place. Red-&-black is cool.
I don't tend to think of color combinations as time period specific, as much as they way the color stories are used. Red and black seems like a fairly classic combination, and none of the rooms above seem particularly dated to me. That said, I might have more of an issue if we were discussing salmon pink and hunter green.
Red & Black seems just a bit harsh to me...
...and so reminiscent of the 80's, where everything from coffee makers & stereo systems to Chevrolets were either completely black or had black trim w/ the thin red line. Even that 80's lighting icon, the Tizio lamp, was originally all black w/ a single red switch.
Make the Black a Super-Dark Brown - and the combo becomes so much warmer, richer and timeless.
I like red and small amount of black but adding dark grey taupe and dark brown its very nice.
I really hate this, to each his own though.
I like the ones where red and black are accents against white and natural wood. The others I'm not a fan of.
Just PLEASE please don't revive the Spanish colonial style to go with it! UGH!! I don't think I could live through THAT a second time!!!!!
"Just PLEASE please don't revive the Spanish colonial style to go with it!"
Four words:
Mediterranean Pecan Television Consoles.
oh man. i really hope that red and black is not coming back.
My high school colors. Go, Reading Rockets! On the other hand: no. Harsh and ugly.
It shouldn't
I don't remember much of the 80s (was only 6 when they ended), but red/black/white has long been one of my favorite color combos. It's my kitchen color scheme.
Color combinations, as mentioned above, are not always time-period specific. Trends in styles have so much more to do with patterns, textures, what accent colors you're using, and the style of furniture placed in the room.