Black - My Accent Color

I have always loved black as my accent color. I don't know, it just makes an ordinary looking piece - richer. I love browns and greens in my decorating, but black is always my accent color. My kitchen table and chairs. the legs on a bench, my little desk, the tv table in my room, picture frames. I could go on and on....I was even thinking of painting my kitchen cabinets black. (The picture of the black bed is not mine, but that is what I was thinking of doing to my bed) Now, I am rethinking this whole black as accent color. When I see rooms like this:




(photos: Better Homes & Gardens)

So light and bright and airy. I look around my house and think, hmmm, it's getting a little dark around here. I may just slowly start incorporating a creamy white into my decorating. I have these red walls in my kitchen, that at first I loved, but now I'm thinking something creamy white, especially when I see that kitchen above. AND slipcovers, okay, I am loving slipcovers. What about covering my kitchen chairs instead of painting them. Maybe a tablecloth on my kitchen table to see how I am liking the lighter colors. What do you think? Stay with the black as my accent color, or go lighter with the creamy whites? I always thought with 3 boys in the house that black and some knicks here and there were fine. Will it work with my sofa and chairs and the darker curtains and rugs or will it be too much of a contrast?