DECOR Combination gives sophisticated look

Accessories and coordinating patterns should be added to the mix.
By ROSEMARY SADEZ FRIEDMANN
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Why is it that when black and tan are used in conjunction, the look is smashing? There is something very sophisticated, classy, rich about that combination.
Take a sofa that is all light tan in color, add pillows that are black mixed with tan -- it doesn't matter what the pattern is, be it plaid, paisley, geometric, floral -- and the combination will lift that sofa up in design caliber.
Let's do a bedroom in black and tan. A bedspread that is black with tan is very attractive to both male and female tastes. Granted, the motif has a masculine quality to it, but it still is very pleasing to the female eye as well. Couple that bedspread with a white washed, aspen or any light colored wood for the bedroom set, and the bedroom will be picture perfect.
The floor of this room can be either light-colored wood with some rugs in strategic places for stepping on, on cool mornings, or it can be light tan carpet. Here, the plusher the carpet, the better. There is even a carpet available that is all cotton. All cotton carpeting is a bit more pampering to the feet than the normal nylon or wool carpet. Granted, the 100 percent cotton carpet will soil easier than the nylon or wool, but by keeping this carpet in the bare-feet-only bedroom it likely will be easier to maintain than if it were used in other, more traffic oriented areas of the house.
This bedroom should have neutral, cream colored walls and woodwork and neutral, cream-colored window treatments, and -- wait -- the rod on which the curtains are attached can be a black decorator rod. Or, another choice would be a cornice upholstered in the bedspread material but only if the ceiling is high enough to carry the heavier black color. A chair in the same or coordinating pattern to the bedspread is needed.
Finishing touches
Let's finish this room off with special accessories. Pick lamps that accent the bedspread pattern. Pictures on the walls should do the same. If family pictures are the more prized, then opt for frames that match the wood of the furniture and matte the pictures in black. But if art is the accessory of choice, it would be wise to choose it in the black and tan colors used in the room instead of adding other colors.
Clean, sophisticated, classy -- that's the look you will get with black and tan. It works whether the decor is traditional or contemporary. It is like the basic black dress; it just fits in always.