Home & Design

The arched window and drapery are both lined in black.

A chest of drawers from Furniture Classics was painted crisp white for use in the bedroom.

A black wall conveys a glamorous sensibility in the master bedroom.

Kjos gutted the master bath to accommodate a larger shower enclosure and small soaking tub.

The double vanity is topped with white quartz. All the bathroom tile is from Mosaic Tile.

In her home office, Sallie Finney Kjos kept the black accents subtle.

High Contrast

Sallie Finney Kjos imbues her home with drama and a touch of glam using a crisp, black-and-white palette

“I  never tire of black and white,” declares designer Sallie Finney Kjos, who recently redecorated her own South Riding, Virginia, townhouse using this dramatic combination throughout. “It’s just classic. You can add other colors and it always works.” In this case, she injected shades of pale pink into the high-contrast décor, imparting feminine flair to the mix.

The townhouse, comprised of an open-plan main floor with an upstairs master suite, is Kjos’s canvas. Each space conveys a different mood—and exemplifies her balanced use of black and white. In the bedroom, a black accent wall forms the backdrop for a tufted, white-velvet headboard and plush pink accents, creating a glamorous touch. The room features crisp, white-painted furniture, white bedding with black accents and a tufted-velvet bench in soft pink.

Kjos also transformed the adjoining master bath. Working within the room’s original footprint, she enlarged the shower enclosure, integrating it with the tub surround to form a seating ledge within the shower. An accent wall of large-format, black-glass tile in a herringbone pattern is a focal point, and marble-look ceramic tile clads the tub surround and floor. The shower niches are framed by black metal strips, and matte-brass fixtures by Brizo introduce a vintage vibe.

Downstairs, the welcoming home office offsets a glass-topped World’s Away desk and furry ottomans from My Chic Home with black accents on silk drapes, furniture and art. Kjos instilled a sense of warmth through pops of pink on pillows and accessories, as well as gold finishes on cabinet hardware and the base of the desk.

Interior Design: Sallie Finney Kjos, ASID, IDS, GreyHunt Interiors, LLC, South Riding, Virginia. Contractor: Juan Guerra, Fairfax, Virginia.

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