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Dark olive paint and glossy black tile can make a compact apartment feel intentional rather than cramped when each material is assigned an architectural job. In Antonio Montilla’s 720-square-foot east London renovation, Bancha olive walls connect every room to the view of Regent’s Canal, while glazed black Marazzi tiles mark boundaries, build furniture and add controlled reflection. White oak, warm brass and low-level lighting keep the dark palette inviting. The result is a practical formula for a moody hotel atmosphere: one continuous color story, reflective surfaces used selectively, built-ins that earn their footprint and light that comes from the walls and floor instead of a ceiling full of downlights.
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The design idea in one sentence
Montilla treated the apartment as a small suite rather than a collection of separate rooms. The same earthy olive note appears across the walls, glossy black tile gives the perimeter and built-ins a graphic outline, white oak supplies warmth, and ambient fixtures create pools of light. Because the home overlooks Regent’s Canal and the water is visible from across the flat, the palette is tied to a real landscape instead of a generic “dark interiors” trend.
Architectural Digest’s March 6, 2024 feature describes the project and the designer’s decisions; it is a single-home tour, not a measured study of how paint or tile affects perceived room size. Use the project as a design precedent and adapt its principles to your own light, layout and budget.
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Why the 720-square-foot apartment feels cohesive
The east London flat is compact, but the rooms are not visually disconnected. Montilla selected the wall color after considering the canal view, which can be seen from essentially every part of the apartment. That repeated relationship gives the olive paint a practical purpose: it acts as a background linking the kitchen, living areas and circulation spaces.
In many small homes, every room is painted a different “safe” neutral and the result is a sequence of visual stops. Here, continuity does the opposite. A deep, earthy color makes the envelope feel deliberate, while changes in tile height, oak joinery and lighting identify functions inside that envelope.
The owner wanted intimate, cozy, dark rooms rather than the airy, light interiors Montilla says clients often request. That preference matters. A dark scheme works best when it reflects how the occupants want to feel in the space, not when darkness is imposed as a styling exercise.
How the olive wall color connects indoors and out
Bancha as a landscape cue
The walls use Farrow & Ball’s Bancha. Montilla linked its earthy green hue to the canal’s vegetation and water. “You see the canal from absolutely every single part of the flat, so [the paint color] was almost like this perfect bonding between the exterior and the indoor space,” he says in the Architectural Digest feature.
This is a useful way to choose a dark paint: start with a fixed view, material or object that will remain visible, then select a color that belongs to it. In a canal-facing apartment that may be green-brown foliage; in another home it could be brick, a garden, or a wooded outlook. The goal is not to match a swatch literally, but to make the interior feel like a continuation of the setting.
What to check before painting a dark olive
- Sample the color on more than one wall, including the wall opposite the main window. Olive shifts noticeably as daylight changes.
- Check the sample beside your flooring, joinery and tile. A green that feels earthy beside oak can look yellow beside warm artificial light.
- Observe the room at morning, afternoon and evening. The project’s east London orientation and canal outlook are specific conditions, not a guarantee for every apartment.
- Decide whether trim, doors and ceilings should blend into the wall color or provide contrast. The feature establishes the olive walls but does not prescribe a universal trim scheme.
Use a durable interior finish appropriate to the room’s traffic and moisture. The source identifies the color, not a specific sheen, coverage rate or paint specification, so those choices should follow the manufacturer’s current technical guidance and your wall condition.
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Glossy black tile as architecture, not decoration
The black tile is the project’s most versatile device. The feature describes glazed rectangular tiles used in several orientations and depths rather than as a single backsplash. Their jobs include protecting surfaces, drawing boundaries and physically shaping furniture.
Perimeter baseboard
Two vertical rows of glossy black tile run around the perimeter as a baseboard. This creates a continuous dark line at floor level and gives the walls a more architectural termination than a standard painted skirting board. In a small flat, that repeated line can help circulation spaces read as one connected route.
Horizontal bands that define zones
In other areas, the tiles run horizontally and rise higher on the wall. Montilla uses this change in height to delineate spaces such as the office and bathroom. The technique separates functions without erecting full-height partitions, preserving the sense of one apartment while making each zone legible.
Three-dimensional built-ins
The tiles project outward to form functional elements, including the kitchen island and a dining bench. The bench incorporates cabinets for storage, so the tile is part of a useful architectural shell rather than a decorative skin applied after construction. “I really like to be able to fulfill the needs of my clients through the architectural shell,” Montilla says.
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For your own project, map the tile’s role before selecting a pattern. Decide whether it is a splash-resistant surface, a visual boundary, a bench surround or a complete built-in finish. Those applications require different substrate details, edge treatments, access panels and installation tolerances. The London feature names Marazzi glossy black glazed tile but does not identify a series, size, grout color or installation method.
Material balance: white oak, texture and warm accents
Glossy black and dark olive could feel severe if every surface were smooth and cool. White oak millwork supplies a lighter, tactile counterpoint in the kitchen cabinets and bedroom headboard. Integrated desks and storage continue the joinery language, helping several functions fit into a limited footprint.
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The apartment also layers in handcrafted pieces: a bespoke timber table by British company Cosywood; a handwoven dining bench commissioned through an Etsy artisan; rattan doors on built-in storage; and burnt-orange velvet curtains made by a seamstress in Montilla’s native Andalucía. A red powder-coated steel and white oak bookshelf was made with his family’s metal company. These details are not interchangeable shopping instructions. Their design lesson is to combine one or two strong warm textures with the dark envelope, rather than adding many unrelated colors.
The client did not want timber floors. Instead, the apartment uses ceramic tile made to imitate timber. Montilla describes the selected tile as high quality and tactile, and says longevity mattered to the client. A wood-look ceramic floor therefore supports the oak joinery without pretending to be the same material. When choosing a floor for a dark scheme, assess slip resistance, texture, cleaning requirements and replacement availability alongside appearance.
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Lighting is the element that prevents the olive-and-black scheme from becoming visually flat. Montilla specified wall-mounted statement fixtures and solid brass recessed lights in the floor and tiled benches, with no ceiling cans. “For me, the lighting is so important, I cannot have lighting in the ceiling. Everything needs to come from the floor, except a couple of fittings in key areas. I wanted to create a very ambient atmosphere.”
Why low-level light works here
Light near the floor catches the gloss of the black tile and reveals the texture of the ceramic surfaces without flooding every wall. Wall fixtures create a human-height glow, while brass introduces a warm metallic note against the dark materials. The approach resembles hotel lighting because it layers several modest sources instead of relying on one bright, uniform ceiling grid.
A practical lighting plan
- List the tasks first: cooking, desk work, dressing, reading and circulation each need usable light.
- Place general ambient sources on walls or at low level, then add focused task fixtures where shadows would interfere with work.
- Use dimming so the same room can shift from practical brightness to evening atmosphere.
- Coordinate electrical boxes, tile cuts and access for any recessed floor or bench fittings before the tile is installed.
- Choose lamp color and beam spread after testing the olive paint and black glaze together; the source describes the concept but does not specify lamp temperatures or output.
In the bathroom, Montilla describes a large mirror hidden behind tile to create an infinity effect in the tiny room. “We really wanted it to look very luxury and for it to have quite a lot of reflection,” he says. A concealed mirror can enlarge the visual field, but it requires careful waterproofing, ventilation and access planning; those construction details are not provided in the feature.
How the bedroom fits four functions
The bedroom is designed to handle sleeping, working from home, wardrobe storage and a small sitting area. Integrated desks and storage keep those functions within the room’s architectural shell instead of scattering freestanding furniture through the apartment.
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That arrangement offers a useful planning sequence for other small homes:
- Reserve the clearest wall for the bed and headboard joinery.
- Place the desk where daylight is useful but the screen will not reflect a nearby glossy surface.
- Use built-in wardrobe volume to reduce visual clutter and protect circulation around the bed.
- Keep the sitting area compact and distinct through a change in light, textile or tile boundary rather than a bulky divider.
The project demonstrates that a dark room can contain multiple activities when storage and lighting are designed at the same time as the color scheme. It does not establish a universal furniture layout; window position, door swings and ventilation will determine what is possible in another bedroom.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Applying the project’s choices to your own apartment
| Decision | Effect in the London flat | Questions to answer in your space |
|---|---|---|
| Dark olive wall color | Links rooms to the canal view and creates a deep, intimate envelope. | What exterior view, flooring or material should the color relate to, and how does it change through the day? |
| Glossy black tile | Acts as baseboard, zone marker and cladding for the island and dining bench. | Is the tile protecting a wet area, defining a boundary or forming a built-in? What edges and access panels are required? |
| White oak millwork | Adds warmth in cabinets, the headboard, desks and storage. | Which functions can be combined in one joinery run, and how will the wood be protected from moisture and wear? |
| Low-level and wall lighting | Creates ambient pools and highlights reflective surfaces without ceiling cans. | Where are task lights needed, and can wiring and maintenance access be resolved before tiling? |
| Warm textiles and artisan pieces | Introduces softness, color and hand-made character. | Which one or two textures will balance the dark shell without competing with it? |
The axes above are design interpretations of the documented apartment, not performance measurements. The feature does not compare this scheme with a light, matte alternative or report energy use, resale effect or measured changes in perceived room size.
Common mistakes when copying a moody hotel look
Painting dark without a light strategy
Dark walls absorb more visual attention, so a single central fixture can leave corners dull and make tasks uncomfortable. Plan wall, task and accent sources before committing to the paint.
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Using gloss everywhere
Reflection is powerful in small rooms, but too many shiny planes create glare and highlight every uneven substrate. Concentrate gloss on intentional bands, splash zones or furniture faces, and use softer textures elsewhere.
Treating tile as a surface-only purchase
If tile will wrap a bench or island, its thickness, corners and service access affect the joinery. Draw the built-in and tile assembly together rather than adding tile after the cabinet design is fixed.
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Ignoring maintenance
Black gloss shows water marks, fingerprints and lippage. Confirm cleaning instructions, grout maintenance and replacement stock before installation. The feature praises longevity and tactile quality but does not provide a maintenance schedule.
Copying the color without the context
Bancha was selected in response to a canal view and a client who specifically wanted dark, intimate rooms. A color that feels grounded in that setting may feel heavy in a windowless room or clash with cool gray finishes. Sample and evaluate the whole material palette first.
What this apartment teaches about small-space design
The strongest lesson is not “paint everything dark.” It is to make every finish perform more than one job. Olive paint establishes continuity and a relationship to the view. Tile protects surfaces, marks zones and forms storage-bearing furniture. Oak organizes several functions. Lighting supplies atmosphere while revealing texture. When a small apartment is planned this way, the boutique-hotel feeling comes from coordination rather than expensive decoration.
Montilla’s description of the client captures the intended mood: “He really loves spaces that are very intimate, very cozy, and very dark.” That preference guides the decisions, while the canal, the 720-square-foot plan and the need for a home office provide the constraints. Your version should begin with the same questions—how you want the rooms to feel, what must fit and what view or material can unify them—before selecting a paint color or tile.
The complete project description appears in Architectural Digest’s March 6, 2024 feature by Morgan Goldberg, with photography by Aitor Santome.
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