I must admit, up until a year ago I was not a fan of black. I felt like it was just too harsh and preferred a dark gray over black any day. When we moved into our house we painted everything, EVERYTHING a really great greige (Hopsack by Ralph Lauren) Now, you have to remember that we did all of this before I started Vintage Revivals, before I found the world of DIY, before I had ever tried decorating. I just found this picture browsing our family blog and it made me gasp in horror. This is our house a few months after we moved in. Can you even believe that?!!
If you would have told me then what my house would look like now, I would have called you a liar and asked how the view from the telephone wire was.
But here we are today, with an orange velvet couch, a giant bike painting and now a black wall.
So lets discuss the black.
I have used a super dark gray before in a few rooms (the only one that has been revealed is the $150.00 makeover, the other one is coming very soon…muah hahahaha) The color is called Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams and it is THE BEST dark gray color I have found HANDS DOWN. It is a true gray, not too purpley, bluish, or greenish. Just a straight gray. And that is how I wanted my black to be. Pure black.
The color that I ended up with is Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams. Its the same color of black that I used to case in my entryway and give my windows mascara (aka black trim).
This is what I started with: (also please pay no attention to the giant pixilated box…still working on the tutorial for that one before the reveal.)
This area is not huge, but just because something isn’t ideal in your mind doesn’t mean it needs to be forgotten or brushed over. You can still make it amazing.
I started painting and when I got this far I stepped back and knew that it was love.
I used a satin sheen to hide as much of the orange peel texture of our walls as possible.
Did you know the lower the sheen the more texture is hidden? Its true! Some of you may be wondering why I didn’t use flat if I wanted to hide as much of the texture as possible. For you my friends I have 2 reasons, 1. I didn’t want it to look like a chalkboard wall, cause its not, its just a black wall. And 2. The higher the sheen the better the scrubablity. This is where 95% of our eating happens and you never know when a bottle of ranch dressing is going to explode on your face and the wall behind you (true story that happened to me when I was 10). Satin is the best of both worlds.
The biggest worry that people have when doing something like this is obviously the light issue. If you are painting an area black, wont it be really dark/depressing/Satan worship-y?
I think that if you did that in a room with little to no natural light it for sure can happen. In this area of our house though it is full of natural light (there are 4 windows just in that little alcove) so to answer your burning question, yes those specific walls are darker but its almost like the walls disappear, all you notice are the windows. AND to balance out the dark all of the other walls/ceiling is pure white, so overall its actually brighter than it was when everything was Greige.
So for those of you that are thinking about this (yes, I am talking to you Facebookers) and wondering how I am feeling about it I big huge fat love it. I cant believe I was even a little bit concerned about doing it black! So thanks for pushing me off the proverbial cliff friends!
I have some big plans for that solid wall and the plan is to replace the white blinds with something else, either a roman shade or some earthy matchstick blinds. Which would you choose?
The wall looks great! I also use Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze for a shape-shifter dark grey/black/hints of bronze. I vote for the natural material/matchstick blinds. It will make those black walls look even more amazing. Cheers – CT
1. This is totally rad
2. I have no opinion on blinds but find it awesome that you used satan-worshipy as an adjective! HA!
I think a roman shade would look awesome!
Ooooh I love it! I vote for the earthy matchstick blinds. It’ll give the space some warmth and texture!
I big fat love it, too! I painted my main exit door black last year and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. You’ll love it more and more… if that’s even possible 🙂
I love it too!! Although, I dont think that I would change the white shades… it is kind of like they disappear and just look like open windows next to the black.
Wow, gorgeous. A graphic roman shade would look cool, although I agree with @Megan above, the white blinds disappear and that’s actually pretty cool against that black wall.
How does it look at night? And definitely some type of showstopper window treatments, it’s like a art for that great wall!
Not being judgy or criticial in any way…Love black..We build furniture for a living and paint EVERY SINGLE DAY..We have tried EVERY black paint on the market…Hands down and by customer consent over and over again..The best black paint ….Pure black..Is WALMART standard accent paint and have them mix with nothing but black tint…Period..Cheapest, covers the best and the best price on the market..Put it next to any other black on the market and it will always win blackest of the black hands down no contest!
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I love a room that has a bold statement!! I love it!! I need to do so much to my house, I have ideas but I just need to jump in!!
https://shoppeenzian.blogspot.com/
Oh I like!! Of course you could pull this off ;). Can’t wait to see what else you are up to.
if you want privacy/light blocking, go with the romans, if you don’t have to worry about that then get the matchsticks! (or bamboo!) I love it!
i have no doubt that in the right space…I would love a black wall! Can’t wait to see what else you do in this area! Way to take a risk!!!
I think you need some softness in this area, so I would go with a roman shade. By the way another good reason to use satin is because black walls get dusty – probably no more than other walls, just show it more – and the satin finish is less sticky to the dust. I have a bathroom that is black and my dining room walls are all black. I LOVE them madly. I’ve had a black bathroom for about 10 years and the dining room for about a year now. The DR wasn’t a huge change because it was a very very very dark eggplant/purple before. The black is so much prettier I couldn’t believe it. Anyway, good luck with your new look!
I’m going to second greenhoneyhive’s comment! I get my black at Walmart too! I LOVE the look you’ve got going on.
LOVE. IT. now i am brainstorming a wall in my house.. love the idea of a roman shade, but those matchstick blinds might go amazingically well with the other woodsy elements you have going on elsewhere. again, you are a freaking genius!
My husband would die over this! Every time I ask him what color I should do something his answer is black! I can’t wait to see how it looks once you decorate the space. Maybe one day I’ll make him happy and say OK when he suggests black!
Are shutters an option? If so that’s my pick. What about outlet/switch covers? Plain jane white or funky? From now on I am pixelating all unnecessary items in my blog photos. 😉 ~ Dee
I’m thinking you could take advantage of things and hang a velvet painting and a black light and really get your retro groove on! No? Not what you were going for? Oh well, looks awesome just the way it is then! 🙂
xo
Charlotte
http://www.ciburbanity.com
Just wanted to say I absolutely love your blog! It’s one of my absolute favorites! I love that your decorating style is not really even a “style” at all, that you can’t put it in a box…you just do what you love. I feel like this is just like me because I love so many different styles that I can’t pick just one when I start to decorate a room. I may start with one vision and it morphs (wow..too much power rangers these days) into something else. I also love just reading how you write like your talking to a friend and I feel like the thoughts in your head and your quirky sayings come right out of my brain! Now that I read this back maybe I’m saying I wish you were my friend…(not trying to be creepy)! Lol!
I don’t know why my log in always puts my old family blog as my account. My blog now is http://www.theprojectpalace.com!
i was wondering if you were going to replace the blinds. i like the bamboo/match stick shades, but just know that people can see you from outside. I also have solid roman shades, but again, when they are up to let light in, people can see you. i ended up hanging white thin curtains over the solid roman shades to let the light in when they are up and to prevent people from seeing us. the bamboo ones are in areas where people can’t really see us from outside anyway. i suppose you could line the bamboo, or make solid roman shades out of something thin that lets light in.
We just hung earthy matchstick blinds this week and we LOVE them! They add great warmth and texture. The black wall looks great and I’m excited to see what you do with the rest of the space.
Mandi, you can’t do something ordinary like Roman shades and matchsticks blinds! You have to make it awesomely Mandi!The rest of your house is so original and unique, you have to use your awesome skills to do something fabulous!!
I super love it, too. I’ve thought about a black wall somewhere in my house, but can’t think of an appropriate room. Whatever shades you pick out, they’ll be Mandilicious!
I love the black wall! Can’t wait to see the rest.
(By the way, I have to tell you though that the voting race between you and the other blog on Apartment Therapy is killing me)
I, too, went with greige for a bit, but decided to go with Witching Hour from Benjamin Moore – a rich, warm black – in my kitchen. I LOVE it! I have matchstick blinds, softened at the edges with saffron-colored drapes. The wood of the blinds is amazing with the black walls! Nice job on your room!
Love the black!!! Thinking matchstick & curtain – layer it up
Paint the door trim a super bright color?! And maybe frost the glass if privacy is an issue, so light will still come in?
You are FEARLESS Mandi! I’m ga-ga over this.
PS. My vote is Roman shades, can’t wait to see some pattern on this blank slate of awesomeness you have created.
Great choice of walls to go black. I love the look and am deciding on where the perfect spot in our house will be for it. And thanks for sharing the paint colors too!
Ooohhh… Can’t wait to see what you do in there. Window treatments (whatever they are) will complete the awesomeness. Great job!