You can combine several colors to make black. On paper, combine the primary colors of red, green, and blue. In printing, the colors cyan, magenta, and yellow make black.
18 Best Colors That Go with Black or White
Katie Barton is a home improvement freelance writer. For as long as she can remember, she’s had a passion for making homes beautiful. She specializes in cleaning, organizing, and home improvement projects.
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| Published on Jun 22, 2023
Reviewed by Brianne Bagge
Brianne Bagge Home Improvement Editor
Brianne is someone who takes, not the road less travelled, but a road that is completely her own. And a writer and editor are among her several titles.
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Black and white color combinations are timeless, elegant, and always in style. But what about when used separately? You can pair black or white with other shades to keep a classic look or make a bold statement.
First, we’ll take a look at what colors go with black for a bold and more versatile design. Then, we’ll take a peek at eight tones that make white even brighter and more refreshing. Of course, all of these colors match black and white rooms, too.
Colors That Go With BLACK
1. Turquoise
There’s a lot of versatility when combining turquoise and black. It can come across as soft and welcoming in a vintage-inspired bedroom or as fashion-forward in a contemporary living room with bolder, sharper shades.
2. Red
Full of energy and drama, red and black rooms have a bold presence. An all-black house interior works great in the kitchen, as it gives off a fun and retro vibe. But it works equally as well in the bedroom for a sexier and trendy interior design style.
3. Blush
Feminine but strong, the combination of blush pink and black provides a warm and welcoming essence. The black creates a sharpness around the lighter tone for the perfect amount of contrast.
4. Dandelion
For a striking and unique choice, try a dandelion yellow with your bold blacks. It’s edgy, full of life, and gives off a youthful presence. With a modern black interior door, it’s perfect for a bachelor’s bedroom or home office.
5. Silver
With a futuristic and contemporary appeal, silver and black are a winning combination. Although it wouldn’t work well in a more casual setting, this pair can make a bedroom feel high-end.
6. Lime
Here’s another funky choice offering a clean and classic style. Lime green and black create a bold and surprisingly fun room.
7. Royal
Everyone loves blue, and when paired with black, you’ll create a room full of life and timeless style. Blue goes with black in this glam-style living room. .
8. Fuchsia
Another feminine and strong pairing is fuchsia and black. For a bold statement, pick a bright fushia and flat black. For less contrast, pair your pinks with a charcoal gray.
9. Cream
Instead of timeless black and crisp white, create more subtle spaces by pairing black with cream. This all-black house interior offers a traditional look thanks to the cream floors and accessories.
10. Lavender
Lavender is a luxurious color that matches black. For a glam look, use lavender-colored velvet furniture next to stark black. For a more subdued color scheme, use lavender as the accent.
Colors That Go With WHITE
1. Bubblegum
Bubblegum pink compliments a crisp white with little trouble. It works great for a little girl’s playroom, bedroom, or wherever you need a light and bright, fun style. .
2. Powder Blue
Blue is one of the most popular colors, no matter the shade. It’s relaxing and versatile, and when it comes to a powdery, soft shade, pairing it with white will make it pop. .
3. Charcoal
Brighten up a darker color with crisp white for a neural, edgy space. A charcoal addition is masculine without being dark or drab.
4. Cranberry
Cranberry colors have a distinct presence and bold essence. When paired with white, cranberry really stands out.
5. Mint
Soft and pure without being overly girlish, mint green will relax and widen any room of the house. Use mint in your accents, or paint a kitchen with white cabinets minty green.
6. Chocolate
For a neutral yet stylish choice – pair your white rooms with a silky chocolate brown. It’s traditional yet more unexpected than the classic black option.
7. Navy
Navy blue and white is a classic combo. Even though this duo is often the focus in nautical themes, it works well for any style, lending a crisp and clean look.
8. Mango
Another vibrant and lively choice is mango orange. It’s funky and full of personality, making it a great option for kitchens, breakfast nooks, or play areas. .
Mixing Dark Colours in Watercolour
I will admit: it’s very tempting to head straight for black paint when painting dark or shadowed areas in the watercolour. Even if you’re not using it straight from the pan (or tube), it’s tempting to mix it in with another colour to darken it. However, with a bit of colour theory knowledge and practice, it’s actually quite easy to get dark colours without having to use black at all! I’ll show you how in today’s blog post.
When opposites attract, we often say they are “complementing” one another. This is true of complementary colours – opposite colours (i.e. colours that are directly opposite one another on the colour wheel ) often create the best contrast, such as red and green, yellow and purple, or blue and orange. They also create the darkest colours when mixed together, which is one great way to get dark greys and browns without actually having any brown, grey, or black paint. This is why limited palettes work well in watercolour, even if you only have the 3 primary colours of red, yellow, and blue (in this case you can mix all 3 primaries to get a dark colour!). Depending on which 2 complementary colours you mix and the amount you use of each colour, you’ll get a slightly different resulting dark colour. Feel free to experiment with your own paints! I recommend starting with the most neutral of colours, before experimenting with warmer and cooler hues of the same colours. For example, a good neutral red will be primarily red, while its complement will be a mid-green. I like using these two complementary colours for getting a dark, earthy brown. Alternatively, mixing a cool colour with a warm complementary colour also results in a great neutral dark, such as cadmium red (a warm red) and phthalo green (a cool green). Mixing warm and warm, or cool and cool colours will result in a warmer or cooler dark colour respectively. Another match made in heaven would be Burnt Sienna (which is a warm, dark orange) mixed with Ultramarine Blue (a cool blue). This gives a lovely warm blue/grey, depending on the ratio of paints used. Tip: The Burnt Sienna + Ultramarine Blue combo is frequently used among artists from across different media, including acrylic and oil painters! So don’t be afraid to try this mix outside of watercolour.
Alternative Colours
If you’re a bit more hesitant to mix colours (for instance, if you’re painting outdoors), or prefer to use paints as they are, then a good alternative would be to find a ready-made dark paint colour that isn’t necessarily black. One of my favourite colours to use here is Payne’s Grey. Indigo is also fine, though I tend to find it a little too blue. A dark purple, green, or brown also works depending on what you’re painting, though I prefer Payne’s Grey for its warm blue undertones, which makes it work well for shadowed areas. Because of watercolour’s transparent nature, you can layer this paint on top of other colours, which is part of the “glazing technique” – perfect for adding depth via shadows to your painting!
Lastly, if you really want to, you can use black and mix it into the colour you need to get a darker version of it. Some watercolourists don’t prefer this option though, as it’s easy to muddy your colours this way. Black is also a bit of a deadening colour, as it creates somewhat of a “black hole” – which makes sense, as scientifically, the way we see black is because it absorbs all the colours in the light spectrum. To maintain that bright luminosity inherent in watercolour paints, it’s best to avoid black – though it’s ok to use in small mixing quantities. Again, you can experiment with this by mixing different amounts with different colours to see how it affects the resulting colour. Perhaps the best use for this would be if you’re trying to mix a shadow colour for yellow if you’re worried a dark blue on top of a yellow would end up looking too green for your liking.
Hello Darkness
In any case, there are a variety of options to choose from when trying to get dark colours. The best thing to do is play around with the saturation and the mixture ratio of your paints! You’ll start to see what the best colours are for your painting, your subject matter, and your style. If you have time, you can also create a mixing chart or a glazing chart from your palette. This will give you a clearer picture of what colours you can create out of what you have, or maybe even point out what your palette may need. That’s it for now! Have fun experimenting with your paints and trying out new (or old) mixes! What’s your favourite dark colour or mix to use? Do you use the same colours and mixes in other media? Let us know in the comments below!
Nicola Tsoi is a practicing graphic designer and illustrator based in Hong Kong. During her downtime, she likes to watch birds do funny things, search for stories, and bake up a storm. She keeps a pet sourdough starter named Doughy.
- Art Tips ,
- watercolour
