A little risk can bring big, bold results
Painting walls black is bold—there’s no doubt about that. But what was once a risky choice is now more popular than ever, thanks to interior paint trends. Although black paint has become more on-trend, it’s still a classic color that can be used in a variety of design styles, from farmhouse to mid-century modern and traditional.
Plus, it looks good on everything from accent walls to trim, ceilings, and doors. If you want to transform your blank or beige walls with a coat or two (or even three) of black paint, the following steps can help prepare you for the process, from selecting shades and sheens to using the right materials.
Before you fill your cart with paint supplies and take a swatch to your local hardware store, it helps to know exactly what area you plan to make your canvas. Painting a black accent wall may require fewer materials than four textured walls in a bigger room.
Making this decision first will help prepare you for the inevitable supply run and make purchasing paint less complicated. Plus, if you want to paint trim or plan to get creative with interior door paint, you may need specific tools tailored to those areas.
Although it may seem easy to pick a true shade of black, it’s best to test a few samples on the area you’ve decided to paint to see what it looks like once it goes up. What may look like solid black on a swatch may actually look more gray or green or blue on the wall, depending on the paint’s undertones.
Test a color before you commit by painting large swatches on your walls and seeing how they look during different times of day.
After you’ve selected a color, it’s time to pick a sheen. This may seem like a small decision, but it can make a difference in the durability of the paint. Your lifestyle is also an important factor in picking a finish—if you have multiple kids or animals, eggshell or satin sheens are more durable options that will be easier to clean or touch up over time.
Highly textured or imperfect walls will be more noticeable with a matte finish, as will scuff marks or scratches. If you’re painting a room or wall that gets less traction, a matte sheen may work for you.
Proper preparation is key when it comes to a professional-looking paint job, and the materials and tools you use will help set you up for success. You may need specific brushes, rollers, and naps, depending on what areas you’re painting.
Painting wall corners and trim will require the use of an angled brush, with a width of about 2 to 3 inches for detail work. A standard roller size is 9 inches, but some come smaller for tighter areas.
Your roller will also require a nap, which slips over the top and helps lay the paint on the wall smoothly. The more textured your wall is, the thicker the nap will need to be to cover every inch. A standard nap size for smooth and semi-smooth walls is 3/8-inch, whereas rougher areas like ceilings require 3/4 to 1-inch naps. This is especially important for painting with a darker color since better coverage will mean fewer coats.
Lighting, whether natural or artificial, can make all the difference between a room that looks dark and dingy as opposed to moody and sophisticated. Black paint absorbs light differently than lighter colors, so adding accent, task, and ambient lighting or a more prominent chandelier can add dimension that makes your paint shine—literally.
You can achieve a bold, moody look by painting an entire room black, but you may need to incorporate a contrasting color to balance it out. A bright white shade on the trim makes your walls stand out without taking away from the statement you’re trying to make. From floor trim to windows and crown molding, white trim looks crisp and clean against a black backdrop that still looks sleek.
Bathrooms and kitchens are less obvious places to use black paint, which makes painting those spaces all the more edgy if that’s the route you decide to take. And nothing brings out the saturated tones of black paint quite like a coordinating fixture.
In this case, the handles, knobs, and plumbing fixtures you select are almost as important as the shade of black you put on the walls. Brass fixtures against dark walls bring a bit of modern glam to the room, while matte black options add a monochromatic element that feels new and futuristic.
It depends on the mood you want to set for your room. Painting your ceiling black creates a bold, unique look that makes a space feel warm and cozy. Black ceilings often look good on ceilings that have unique architectural elements like exposed beams or crown molding. Black ceilings can, however, make a room feel small. Keep this in mind before painting.
You should use either a gray or black primer for a black room. The darker the primer is, the better it will work, so black primer is the best option.
If you’ve never painted a room before or want to paint an area that’s hard to access, your best bet is to hire professional wall painters near you. They’ll have experience to lean on and the necessary tools, like ladders or spray guns, to complete the task safely and efficiently.
The cost to paint a room is $300 and $2,800, depending on the amount of prep required. If you want to paint the ceiling as well as the walls, you can expect to pay an extra $1 to $2.50 per square foot or an extra $1 to $3 to paint your trim.
First, make sure that you tape off all the areas that you don’t want to paint black. It’s harder to paint a light color over black than to touch up any lighter spots you missed. Once you’ve taped it off, make sure that the surface is clean and smooth, and then prime the wall with a tinted primer in gray. This step will help to transition from a lighter color to a darker one.
The color of your paint shouldn’t make it harder to apply, but it can be harder to cover in one coat, depending on the surface. Using a good quality primer that’s tinted gray will help make applying your black paint easier. Even with a primer, you will likely have to use two coats to get a perfect, solid black finish.
Black paint absorbs light, so using black paint will cause your room to look darker overall. In addition to reducing ambient light, black paint can make your space feel smaller because it hides depth and contours. The other major drawback is that black paint is harder to paint over with a lighter color. You’ll need to fully prime your wall with a good quality primer and use at least two coats of paint to get back to a lighter color after it’s been painted black.
