How to Use Black Paint in Your Design
We are so excited to talk to you today about our favorite neutral, black. Have you been noticing this trend for a little while now? Remember when everything was gray? Now we are seeing a lot of high contrast interiors with warm wood tones. Are you loving it? We sure are. We love how it can freshen up a space and be both timeless and modern.
Black as a Neutral
What are neutrals? Neutrals are colors that don’t make it on the color wheel, sometimes known as earth tones.
The four common neutrals are black, white, gray, and brown. All common interior design trends. We like incorporating both gray tones and brown tones in our timeless interiors. That way our spaces are always on-trend.
Neutrals are used in two ways — as a dramatic background accent or as a soft neutral.
Sources: Stylizimo, Liz Powell Design
undertones
Beware that many neutrals have undertones. If you have had to choose a white paint, you know all about undertones. Black is no different. If you look at black paint swatches next to each other you will start to see that black definitely has other colors in it. Typically greens or blues. So just like all paints, make sure you test it in your space with your different lighting situations.
Source for all: Liz Powell Design, #ModernisMyNewJam project
Sherwin-Williams: Tricorn Black (door + bathroom)
Benjamin Moore: Wrought Iron (bunk bed room)
If you’re looking for a true black paint, with almost no undertone, we recommend Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black. This is one of our favorites for modern, high-contrast interiors. This is often our go-to for interior and exterior doors.
Source: Liz Powell Design
Sherwin-Williams: Tricorn Black (interior doors)
Benjamin Moore: Chantilly Lace (white paint)
moods
Black can be used to create many moods in your interior space. You could go with masculine, feminine, romantic, classic, sophisticated, timeless, and modern. Like a little black dress, it’s a great foundation piece that you can dress up or down.
How do you want people to feel in your space? What kind of experience do you want them to have?
Sources: Growing Spaces, Tatiana Shishkina, Mike Baker
Sources: Entrance Makleri, Rebekah Murphy, Karr Bick
Large and Small Spaces
Painting your space black will not shrink the room. What??? Haven’t we been told that dark colors will shrink our spaces? When you paint your walls black, the corners basically disappear. Making the space feel more expansive. Black paint or dark walls tend to recede. So by placing a brighter object in front of the dark wall, the object will pop and appear closer.
Enhances the Colors and Shapes
Similar to why we use black eyeliner to accentuate our eye color and shape, black paint helps accentuate architectural details. Who doesn’t love a beautiful black interior/exterior door? The light plays off of the extruded surfaces creating highlights and shadows. Giving your plain wall more dimension and therefore more visual interest.
Often we like to use black picture frames to draw the eye to our favorite pieces of art. You can unify, for example. Take a collection of art that isn’t cohesive. Put them all in black frames and now you have a cohesive art collection.
Sources: Anonymous, Anonymous, Janet Lee
grounding
Black gives the eye a place to rest. Can ground a room. If you use black in a big way, it can really draw the eye to that space. If you think about our eyes at the center we have a black pupil. In nature, we see black or dark colors at the center of a flower. We are naturally drawn to black.
Source: Architectural Digest
moves your eye through the space
You can control how people experience your space. You can direct their eye by intentionally using black accessories, paint, or finishes. Where do you want people to look first?
The movement of our eye through a space is not random. Our attention is grabbed by specific elements. Elements that are prominently emphasized. So decide what’s important to you. Black can be a tool to help you emphasize the things that matter most.
Look at the photos above. Where does your eye go first? Where does it go next? These moments of black can be intentionally placed throughout a room. You are creating a composition and an experience for you and all those who will inhabit your space. Think of it as an opportunity to create a livable, interactive installation.
Where to Use Black Paint
Black is such a great neutral and can be used in any way you can think of, here’s our list of spaces and places: Bathroom, small powder rooms, exercise rooms, ceilings, kitchens, office, interior doors, exterior doors, large space, small space, ceilings, walls, accessories, cabinetry, offices, the exterior of your home, finishes, back of bookshelves, gallery walls, etc. Did I miss one? As you can see there are so many options.
It’s an excellent choice and one of our favorite neutrals!
Source: House Seven Design
Check out our favorite black paints below:
|With love, Liz
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