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5 Ways To Go Bolder With A Touch Of Black
By: Suzie Paints
People know a lot about black, but that knowledge gets lost when they think of painting. We know that black essentially ‘goes with everything’ and is a slimming color when talking about your wardrobe. We also know that black makes awesome accents and accessories like lamps and jewelry. However, black isn’t even a blip on most people’s radar when they are deciding on paint colors for their homes. Even when I suggest black as an accent wall, trim or just a door, the thought of black brings people up short- almost like I asked them where they keep their purple unicorn and magic fairy dust. When used sparingly and in the right places, black makes quite the difference in your decorating. It can add just the right amount of class and uniqueness to your room while making your guests pause with an approving ‘oh wow’ about how nice your room looks.

Here are five ways our clients have used black paint to spice up their homes; how are you going to use black in your home?


  • The Accent Wall: One of my client’s sons wanted a black bedroom. That much black was too over-the-top for his mom so they compromised. He got a gunmetal-gray bedroom with the door wall painted black so mom couldn’t see the black from outside the room. The black accent wall was just enough to give the room a dynamic look and both people were happy with the bold paint colors.


Black is used here as the background for an accent wall faux finish.
Here's an accent wall using black as the background for a multi-color faux finish.

  • The Trim: Skip the standard dark-stained or white trim by painting your trim gloss black. The gloss sheen shines brighter on black than it does on white and your walls will be more striking trimmed in black. Think of black trim for your room like the black accents of your wardrobe. Especially if you have stronger tones for your wall colors, a nice dash of black on the trim can give you the striking look your room craves.
Even businesses can dress up their areas with fun paint!
The black trim in the lobby of this local business adds a nice zip!

  • The Front Door: Almost nothing can beat the very-sharp and classy look of a high-gloss black front door. The high-gloss sheen helps protect the paint job so it lasts longer and stays looking nice. If black is too bold, remember you probably don’t go in your own front door that often so you won’t have to see it. Make your home stand out and your neighbors jealous with your good taste and bold attitude.
  • The Interior Door: While the high-gloss black front door is my favorite, nothing says you can’t paint an interior door black too. You don’t even have to do both sides in black- one side is fine and can be a great starting place. You can easily pair black trim with a black door to really jazz up a room.
yellow and black door by suzie paints
A 6 panel door can really look cool with painted insets.
  • The Faux Finish: You can go as big or as small as you want with the versatility of faux finishes. You can do a whole wall or room like this movie theater room we did in a day-care or you can use a faux finish as the accent over a plain color like the green faux finish below.
a black faux finished that looks like velvet by suzie paints
This faux finish was designed to look like velvet.
A bright paint color can be toned-down with a black faux finish.
A bright paint color can be toned-down with a black faux finish.
BONUS: Just because we’re talking about going bold with black doesn’t mean you should forget one of black’s primary jobs: to show shadow. Keeping shadowing in mind, go read my article on The Easiest Thing To Overlook for another idea on how to use black.

Yours In Color,
Suzie
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