Black Rooms

About ten years ago I decided to paint my tiny, windowless powder room black. 

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but let's just say it was soon covered in wallpaper!  Following Jenna Lyons' much-talked-about black master suite,

however, black rooms have been on the rise. 

I've loved seeing black rooms online and in magazines over the past few years. 

But cold I live in one? 

 I'm talking about my Living Room or my Bedroom.  Although I doubt it,

I would love to work with a client who wanted a black room! 

Really, don't you find all of the rooms in these photos to be exciting, dramatic, and chic?!?  And, given enough white or light ceilings, floorings, artwork, etc., the blacks are balanced out and no longer seems overwhelming.  

Speaking of light vs. dark, my clients invariably fall into one category or the other regarding light: either they require lots of it in their homes or it's not somethng that occurrs to them.

 

There is no "right" or "wrong" category, only personal preference.  And although I fall into the former, I still enjoy using dark, dramatic colors in my own home. 

I will say that they are normally only in a hallway or bath,

but still I enjoy them a great deal.

And if I could transfer every bit of Mario Buatta's "View from the Top"

Living Room in Architectural Digest (pic no. 1; link below)

I would do it to my own Living Room in a heartbeat!

So, if you are a light worshipper like me,

don't be unwilling to take a chance with some dramatic color.

Black might not be your starting point, but...hey, you might be surprised!

It's likely you pick the same colors over and over (everyone does!), especially when it comes to your clothes.  You know what you like and what looks good on you. 

This is a great place to start experimenting with color!  (On that note, I cannot recommend the color blog "Colour Me Happy" highly enough.)

recommended black paint colors: 
"Knight's Armor" by Olympic Interior Latex, 
"Deep Space," "Black Satin," and "Black" by Benjamin Moore Paints,  
"Off Black" by Farrow and Ball Paints, 
"French Bulldog Black" by Martha Stewart Colors

Now what better "home accessory" for your black room?!?

PHOTOS: 1. Mario Buatta, "View from the Top," Architectural Digest, (paint color is dark eggplant, not black),  2. Kasey McCarty,  3. Melanie Elston,  4. unknown,  5. Alessandra Branca,  6. Caldwell Flake, 
7. unknown,  8. Studio Annetta,   9. Ethan Feirstein and Ari Heckman, Lonny Magazine,  10. Belle Vivir,  11.  Paint color: "Off Black" by Farrow and Ball Paints, Homes and Gardens Magazine,  12. Rob Southern, in House Beautiful,  13. Puppy, White and Wander

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