How to Simplify, Clean Up, and Enhance with Black Dye

• Black is a classic in fashion and interior design, adding style, sharpness and uniformity.
• Use black machine washable paint to simplify your clothing and create a basic wardrobe.
• Check out the best hacks for embellishing your home textiles.

Black is a classic and a force in fashion and interior design. It instantly adds sharpness, style, uniformity and character to everything it touches. Black is also the quickest and easiest way to find and embellish a new look. Think your neon green jumpsuit you bought ten years ago is no longer cool? Paint it black. Do you find those different cushions in your living room too chaotic? Paint them black. Don't know how to upgrade your kitchen without having to blow it up? Indeed, black paint is the answer. Read on to discover how you can use this classic colour to revolutionise your fabric world...

From denim jackets and army boots to the iconic little black dress, black is as much a colour as it is a fashion statement. While other colours come and go, black is a colour that never goes out of style... and yet suits everyone and everything. In the age of “slow fashion”, this colour has another advantage: it is the ideal way to declutter, simplify and embellish. Read on to find out how you can create a basic wardrobe with black fabric paint:

Set aside an afternoon to look in the corners of your wardrobe. Look at each item and decide whether you will ever wear it again. Be honest: if you haven't touched it for more than six months, you no longer like the colour, it has faded or you simply don't like it anymore, put it in a pile on the floor.

Focus your attention on the pile on the floor and be selective. These garments fall into one of two categories: throw away or dye. Anything that cannot be dyed can go. Of those garments that can be dyed, decide which items would look cool in black (or are faded and need a makeover); set these aside.

What are you waiting for? Use your enthusiasm and excitement to dye the items you have set aside before they have a chance to creep back into your drawers. Weigh the garments to determine how much dye you need (one DYLON pod Intense Black can dye 600 g of fabric to full intensity), then follow the instructions on the packet or here to create a stunning basic wardrobe!

Interior designers agree – just about any room can benefit from a dash of black. It offers the opportunity to ground and frame all other colours, while adding an elegant tone. Here are the best ways to embellish your living spaces:

• Black details
  The advantage of black machine washable paint is that it can be applied to any colour to instantly create a monochrome, elegant look. Restore decorative elements that have gone out of fashion or that you simply no longer like. For example, colourful cushions that no longer match your interior or curtains that don't match your new sofa. Within a few washes, a chaotic living room can become a cool, state-of-the-art space.
• Embellish vintage items
  Searching for the right colour fabric at markets and second-hand shops is an almost impossible task. Instead, buy several cushion covers (made from natural fibres) without worrying too much about the colour. Dye them with DYLON Intense Black machine wash dye to create a uniform look, while making the most of the cool textures, sizes and shapes of your cushions.
• Kitchen is the new black
  Black is the colour of the modern kitchen, and while it may be a bit too much to ask to repaint your cabinets and retile your walls, you can treat your kitchen textiles – towels, aprons, oven gloves and the like – with black dye to add chic accents.