Has anyone painted a room black?

[dbsam]

If yes, can you provide photos?

We are thinking of painting our powder room black, but I am a little nervous about it.

I had planned to wallpaper the room with a really neat black on black wallpaper.  It had a classic retro-ish pattern of mat and gloss.  But, once I realized the paper is over $1000 (for a really small room) the wallpaper was not an option.  I wasn't as nervous about black wallpaper, but the idea of solid black paint...might look odd.  I have never seen a black room - and maybe there is a good reason for that

TIA

[MeepyCat]

I haven't painted a room black, but my experience with dark paint and rooms with water vapor is not good.

Our son's bedroom is painted red - was red when we bought the house.  When we put a humidifier in there, we wound up with visible water drips on the walls - the paint didn't run or anything, but the places where water hit and ran down the walls were very obvious.  They still are.  Years later.  Drips + red are not a great combo - looks like bleeding.  We're going to have to repaint at some point.  A friend had the same thing happen in her red bathroom.

Black is a PITA to repaint.

[dbsam]

MeepyCat,

Thanks,

Yes, repainting is one of my concerns.

Since this is just a powder room with no bath or shower I thought it might be alright.  But you have a point...just splashes from the sink or a neighbor boy peeing erratically might be a problem.  We normally use an eggshell finish but I was thinking of using a satin finish since dark colors can look chalky.  We use Pratt & Lambert paint which is less shiny than paints like Behr so a satin finish w/n/b too shiny but might be cleanable.

The drippy red room sounds sort of scary!

[mumkimum]

Don't have pic's at the moment (and it isn't actually black) but in the past year I painted our dining room a very dark brown (at one point we had a very deep purple bedroom, that we'd painted).  I really like it - but being a dining room, there are 3 other rooms it's open to that are not dark colors and that bring more light into it.  I have white furniture and b/w white framed artwork in there to lighten it too, and picked a satin finish (so it's somewhat reflective, which I prefer with the very deep colors).

Unless you hate the accent wall thing, you could work on it slowly one wall at a time (as opposed to the whole room all at once).  Might give you a sense of what it would be like.  

I wouldn't worry too much about repainting - a good primer would cover it.  You might have to do an additional coat of primer at the most and even better use a self-priming paint on top of that (this is what I did with our deep purple room).

[dbsam]

Thanks mumkimum.

I agree with you about the stain finish for a really dark color.

I just got back from the paint store with swatches.  I decide not to go with pure black but have brought home some really dark warm taupe-ish grays (as well as other colors I am considering).  We have quite a few dark rooms in our house so I am not afraid of dark paint colors...I've just never had a really small windowless room this dark.  But, since it is a powder room...people are not in there too long!  The room is an odd shape with several angles and cut outs so I do not think an accent wall would work in this case. 

The painter comes in the morning, so I need to decide and get back to the paint store today.

[DoubleDouble]

Does the room have windows? How is the lighting? If there isn't too much light, 80% black (dark grey) can appear black, and true black can appear awful. Even with good lighting, 90% black can do the job, you never know. You can get some samples from the paint store and choose the right intensity.

ETA: Ehh, posted before I saw your reply above. Oops.

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by DoubleDouble 

Does the room have windows? How is the lighting? If there isn't too much light, 80% black (dark grey) can appear black, and true black can appear awful. Even with good lighting, 90% black can do the job, you never know. You can get some samples from the paint store and choose the right intensity.

ETA: Ehh, posted before I saw your reply above. Oops.

Although there are no windows, there is quite a bit of light.

I think you are correct about not going 100% black.

I think I just need to get the wallpaper out of my head and go in a different direction with a different color.  Although the wallpaper was solid black, it was the contrast in sheens and the pattern that made it look so rich.  A solid paint color will not have the same effect.

[isisandshiva]

You could always recreate the walpaperish design with stencils and two different finish/shades of black if you had the time or inclination it would give you the look you wanted to go for with less cost.

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by isisandshiva 

You could always recreate the walpaperish design with stencils and two different finish/shades of black if you had the time or inclination it would give you the look you wanted to go for with less cost.

Yes, I thought of that; and years ago I w/h done that.  I have become lazy the past few years (hence the hiring of painters!)

Actually...I did mention it to my husband and he laughed.  We've gone through sponge painting and stenciling in the 80's, rag rolling and glazing in the 90's, etc.  Now we just paint solid colors.

[Caneel]

I had a dark green dining room, so dark that it looked black from certain angles as well as at night when no natural light entered.  We loved it until we go tired of it, then it had to go.  I have a navy blue bathroom (a navy with a strong black undertone) and yes, every splash will show.  Also, you can see the dust sticking to the walls, which drives me nuts.

[jes h]

We painted our condo a very dark goldenrod/tan sort of color.  When we repainted, we tried that Behr primer+paint.  BAD IDEA.  It was like painting with pudding and still took 3-4 coats in some places.  In retrospect, it would have been easier to do a good primer and then a paint.

I think the drip marks happen with any color, though.  My son's room has a bright yellow wall, and the drips all show.  Our bathroom is a darkish tan (like a very dark beige), and it also shows all the drips where condensation gathers and drips; then collects in the lint dust from the towels.  That one drives me nuts.

I do love dark-dark bathrooms; especially if they are smallish and dark with a brilliant light and reflective fixtures. Something about the small space and intense colors/light just works for me.

[dbsam]

Thanks for the replies.  We ended up painting it red.  I typically do not care for red walls, but our flooring is a strange ugly color that really limits our wall choices.

Anyway, we always use Pratt and Lambert paint with an eggshell finish...it is not too shiny (much less shiny than the Behr eggshell finish).  Well, I decided to go with a satin finish since it is such a small room and I thought a little sheen might be nice and practical.  It is much more shiny than I expected.  I am considering calling the painter and having him repaint with the same color but in an eggshell finish.  I have to decide today because my husband is impatient and would like to put the fixtures back into the room.

This was my worst color choice week ever.  I also repainted the dining room and the master bath and I dislike both of the colors I chose.  I know what I wanted in my head...but the swatches I chose did not turn out like I hoped.  (I didn't have the time to go back and forth to the paint store and didn't want to waste the $$ on sample quarts.)

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by jes h 

I do love dark-dark bathrooms; especially if they are smallish and dark with a brilliant light and reflective fixtures. Something about the small space and intense colors/light just works for me.

yes, this is what I imagined when I was considering the black wallpaper. 

[Three~Little~Birds]

Probably a little late replying, but I just wanted to add that I just painted my powder room dark grey (Benjamin Moore Metropols Grey) and I love it! It does have a slight red undertone so perhaps it would work with your flooring also...

[mamarhu]

Just a conversational reply - too late, and doesn't really apply anyway...

In my old house, my Mom's bedroom was high gloss absolute black. So black and glossy that we used black fingernail polish to touch up scratches! A huge room, 18x18, and very high (white) ceilings. Big windows, lots of doors and closets and trim in white. Her furniture was all white wicker. Royal purple drapes over whits lace curtains, and a patchwork quilt in shades of purple. The look was incredible! I wish we had saved pictures.

In the same house, my bedroom was burgandy, the kitchen was deep salmon, the living room was dark taupe, and on and on. I miss that house! Current house is rented, and all washed out pastels. Boring.
 

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by Three~Little~Birds 

Probably a little late replying, but I just wanted to add that I just painted my powder room dark grey (Benjamin Moore Metropols Grey) and I love it! It does have a slight red undertone so perhaps it would work with your flooring also...

I'm going to look up that color...not sure how long we will keep the red.

thx

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by mamarhu 

In my old house, my Mom's bedroom was high gloss absolute black. So black and glossy that we used black fingernail polish to touch up scratches! A huge room, 18x18, and very high (white) ceilings. Big windows, lots of doors and closets and trim in white. Her furniture was all white wicker. Royal purple drapes over whits lace curtains, and a patchwork quilt in shades of purple. The look was incredible! I wish we had saved pictures.

Wow...sounds dramatic!     I wish you had a photo too; I would love to see it.

I like dark walls and have quite a few dark rooms; but they are more of the taupe-ish shades.  Our trim and doors are also white.  Our master bedroom is a color I call - 'clay mud'.  The main living area is a taupe that gets a lot of compliments - it took many trips back to the paint store to get the shade I wanted.  I typically have the paint store add a little of this and a little of that until I get a shade I like.  But this time I just went with a ready-made colors.   When the children were little, their bedroom was a deep gold.  (Now they pick their own colors.)

Last week, besides the red powder room, I had the master bath and dining room painted light shades to break up all the darkness.  I have a large painting that needs to be stretched and hung in the dining room - I thought the lighter walls would showcase the painting better than dark walls.

[hildare]

too late to help but what about painting the room black then using a stencil to put white designs on?  that sounds close to what you were seeking.

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by hildare 

too late to help but what about painting the room black then using a stencil to put white designs on?  that sounds close to what you were seeking.

I thought about painting the room black eggshell finish and then stenciling over in black satin finish.  But I have too many projects going on and not enough energy so I let it drop. (Lately I tend to start projects and not finish; one of the reasons we hired out the painting.)  I still might do it one day.

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by dbsam 

I thought about painting the room black eggshell finish and then stenciling over in black satin finish.  But I have too many projects going on and not enough energy so I let it drop. (Lately I tend to start projects and not finish; one of the reasons we hired out the painting.)  I still might do it one day.

In a design mag I saw a dark green mate that had high gloss stripes in the same color, it looked great.