Would You Ever Paint a Bedroom (or other room) Black?
When my eldest daughter heads off to college, it is a good opportunity to update her room with a more sophisticated look. It is painted a pretty green and has all the makings of a young teenage girl’s room. As I consider different paint colors, would you ever paint a bedroom black?
The Before
Why Black?
In addition to green, her favorite color is black. Hmmm. I do need to think this through. Painting her room black is a bold move. But we have light floors (Canadian beechwood) and lots of white trim (baseboards, windows, doors, crown molding)…..to help break up any large expanse of black. So I take the leap!
When you first walk in, there are two arched windows overlooking the front yard. Without altering the window shape, new replacement windows from Marvin are added during the original restoration. They open in two ways~by swinging wide open or tipping into the room for top only ventilation.
These windows face east and get the beautiful morning light with an expansive outdoor view. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the painting process, but here you can see the results.
Making Green and White work
I want to keep her green desk chair and furniture but finding fabric that combined THIS green, black and white is a bit of a challenge.
We’ve never had curtains on these windows. It took some time to figure out how to add curtains without hiding the beautiful window design.
After much pondering, I finally decide to do one big curtain panel. The large drapery pulls across both windows and tucks to one side when not in use. It has a black-out liner so my daughter is finally able to sleep in a fully dark room.
This panel is made by Smith & Noble, using their designer fabric line, Madcap Cottage. I recommend getting a fabric sample and fortunately, this sample did match the black and green perfectly. The pattern is a bit of unconventional but playful and their turnaround time for delivery is less than 2 weeks!
The best location for her bed is in the alcove that has a port hole window. The headboard and wall lamp are from Joss & Main; the duvet cover from West Elm. I made the bed skirt with leftover Waverly fabric I found in the basement. The matching decorative pillow with Madcap Cottage fabric is also made by Smith and Noble.
En Suite Bathroom
Her bathroom needs a facelift too. The original restoration is from 2001 and therefore it’s time for an update. We replace the tile countertop with a Carrera marble slab and repaint the base cabinet semi-gloss black. The wall paint changes from green to a crisp white.
Since posting this we experience a major plumbing leak and use this opportunity to re-tire her bathroom floor with Carrera marble tiles.
Now the ensuite bathroom’s decor flows nicely with the bedroom.
Other Black Room Ideas
The Spruce has a great article about Beautiful Black Room ideas and you can find it here.
Now when my daughter comes home to visit, she enjoys an updated, more sophisticated room. Though it was a big leap of faith to paint this room black, the overall feel is quiet elegance and chic. I am very happy with the results and glad we took the leap.
Desk and chair: Ikea
Door, window, trim color: Van de Cane DEW354 (a Dunn-Edwards paint but created by Sherwin-Williams)
Wall Color: Sherwin-Williams Caviar 6990
Drapery Rod and C-hooks: Smith & Noble
Fabric: Hello Hidcote/Nightfall (17910) by Madcap Cottage
Artwork: Original drawings by my daughter
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Thank you!!
Very pretty!
Cheryl, thank you!
Gorgeous! I love a black room. I recently painted my son’s room black. It is so classic.
Renae, I will have to check out your black room. I am rather surprised how much I love it. Thanks for sharing.
Mary,
WOW! It’s just the best. I wish I had a room that I could transform. I’ll share a link on Sunday, DRA!
Rachel, thank you again so much. I just love this room…I certainly held my breath while painting it though!
Oh I think it looks GREAT!!!!! And those great windows are so beautifully accented now. It is so cool!
My best friend just yesterday told me she’s planning on painting her guest downstairs bathroom black.
She gets nice light in there too.
Michele, I would love to see your friend’s bathroom! I bet that will be dramatic. I am not a bold paint color person so it was a huge stretch for me, but I love the results. Thanks for commenting!
Beautiful choice! The black looks so good, and the updated bathroom is divine!
Barbara, thank you so much! I love it too.
Looks awesome, Mary! My office is painted the same color! I would love the link to your tile floors in the bathroom when you have a chance.
Michele, I really love your office. Yes, I will let you know what tiles we used for her bathroom floor.
I love this, Mary! the black looks stunning and those windows are gorgeous. It truly makes a statement.
Wendy, thank you so much. Her room has so many different window styles and sizes but all the trim help break up the black.
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Ten years ago we decided to move back to our family home. The traditional colonial is 54 years old and I wanted to do something new from the colonial colors so my painter and myself painted the front hall , living room & dining room . Walls are white with all trim and wood paneling black.
Our painter was very skeptical…
We love it and you can change accent colors for the seasons.
Sharon, your trim and wood paneling painting sounds so beautiful. I did that on a home I remodeled once, where I switched the wall color with the trim color. It was such a delightful change. Thanks for sharing as I had forgotten I had done that.
A thousand times, “YES!!!” With that white/cream moulding around arched windows…it looks ahhh-mazing!!! YOU GO GAL!!! franki
Franki, thank you so much! We love it.
I love the upgrade! The black doesn’t even look overwhelming and you’re right about it being balanced by the light and the white trim. It lends a very fresh but grounding look! I love it!
I love what you did to the bathroom also! Wow! What a difference a little paint makes!
Thanks for sharing your daughter’s room! She is sure to enjoy it because I sure would!!
Love it, Mary! A brave move and beautiful result. Suggestion box: Your collection of white doilies, and fancy linens could go nicely under the desk glass. Helpful hint to anyone making a dust ruffle. I have had great success with using simple pleats instead of gathering method. The result is some fullness but not puffy skirt look as with gathers a nice in-between look. Linda