This isn’t a short post, but I felt it was important to share not only the results thus far but also the physical and mental process. I know sometimes the internet allows things to look easy and effortless. We all love a good “before and after” but they often disguise the hard stuff and cloud the work that goes into anything great. If you spent this last weekend struggling with a project in your home – frustrated or uncertain – just know you’re not alone.
It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve given you a dining room update, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working hard on it. Last time I left you with the trim up and lots of prep work to be done. We spent a solid week sanding, filling and caulking, and then it was time to paint. This was the part I was most nervous about.
I wasn’t at all nervous about the color. While our first home was filled with light and bright spaces, the lack of bold rooms was more of a resale thought than a fear of more intense hues. I spent most of my middle school days making every Sims house I ever constructed black and as a high schooler even wanted to paint my room black this was my mom’s one “no” and I opted for cobalt blue.
Picking a sheen was really hard. I had originally wanted flat, but after spending some time around the samples on the walls I knew that would be a terrible choice: it looked dusty so easily and you couldn’t really get it clean. So I went back to Sherwin Williams to get samples in other sheens. Did you know that different sheens of paint require different formulas? That the glossier the paint is, the more the undertone colors shine through? I didn’t either. I’m an extremist and when I was told that flat and matte are the same thing (just different names) I started thinking about the other extreme: a gloss. When I brought the samples home and put them on the walls they all looked completely different – the glossier the paint, the greener it became.
With less than 24 hours before we were having the room sprayed I started to panic. The guys at Sherwin Williams were encouraging me to try an eggshell or satin finish, and to be honest I cringed at the thought. But I took a sample home and gave it a whirl. And it wasn’t bad. It was actually really pretty. They recommended their Solo line, which none of us (painter included) had used before, but it made sense for the space and the color. It’s a latex that is indoor/outdoor and self priming. The self priming allowed us to get by with two coats and the indoor/outdoor means it can stand up to a lot and be wiped down frequently – perfect for a dark-walled dining room with little ones.
Now that I had picked a paint, I had to lock down where it was going. You see, I’d had this kind of hairbrained idea from the get go, but I wasn’t 100% sure about it. I knew how it would look in my head, but sometimes that doesn’t always translate how you think. We were planning a huge black and white mural on the main wall, and I wanted your eye to go right to it when you walked through the front door with no distractions.
In my mind the ceiling had to go dark as well. The room was big enough and the ceilings tall enough. It’s a dining room, if you can’t do something outside the box in there, where can you? Micah thought I was nuts, like he often does, but I prefaced it with “if we do this then we don’t have to tape off the ceiling for spraying…we can just have Ron spray everything and we’re done!” He finally warmed up to the idea by that Saturday morning when Ron arrived to put on the first coat.
Standing outside the plastic we saw the room get darker and darker. It was a bit thrilling and terrifying at the same time, but once the paint haze had lifted and we could pop our heads inside, I knew it was going to turn out exactly how I had envisioned.
Ron came back 48 hours later to give it a second coat and ripping all of the painted plastic off of the floors and windows helped make believers out of everyone else (up to this point it had definitely felt like a black hole!) The color is moody and rich and changes from rich navy to charcoal to black – depending upon the light and time of day.
And the ceiling doesn’t feel heavy at all. I love that there are still all of these beautiful details, but they can now take backstage to the other elements going in the space.
Like the chandelier I had bought when we were going to build. I knew it would be exquisite in here, but it needed some work, and we had to figure out how to secure it. I started off by polishing it and Micah had to fix one of the arms.
The chandelier is French wired, meaning the wiring runs on the outside of the piece, so I had to reattach a lot of the wire.
And then we had to figure out how to get it up in the ceiling and make it stay there. Chandeliers usually weigh 50 lb. or less so most of the hardware for hanging them doesn’t support more than that. This girl weighs around 80 lb. Micah had to go to several stores to find all of the pieces we needed and by the end we stumbled upon Western Chandelier who had everything we needed. They were so helpful, if you’re local check them out!
Micah had to cut into the ceiling to create extra support, so we added this ceiling medallion from The Home Depot to cover up the hole and give some more visual interest.
This thing was a doozy to get up and working, but I love the curves in contrast to the moulding and how the brass pops against the walls.
And the mural is up too! If you’re still reading I’m impressed. I’ll wait to share more on that until later in the week, but I couldn’t leave you without a peek. I’m so happy with how it turned out, and it only confirmed my desire to go dark on the ceiling.
Are you in the midst of a project conundrum? There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Amber Koogler says
Wowzers!!! Paint looks amazing!!!!!!!
Amanda says
You're a genius. I'm so excited to see how you put it all together. Way to be brave!
Amanda says
You're a genius. I'm so excited to see how you put it all together. Way to be brave!
katie gavigan says
Ahhhh, love it all!! So inspired by your risk-taking and trusting your vision. I'm in the process of prepping a bathroom to be painted a moody purple (although not quite this dark), and have been going back and forth about the ceiling. I think you sealed the deal! The paint color is gorgeous, the mural unbelievable and the chandelier stunning. In suspense to see what's next. 🙂
This Woman's Work says
Gorgeous! I really love black rooms, and I know when it's finished it will be amazing!
Mary says
This is So Major! Love it:) Can't wait to see what you do next! #sotalented
Mary says
This is So Major! Love it:) Can't wait to see what you do next! #sotalented
Catherine Bixler says
I'll be honest, I had my doubts about the dark walls and ceiling, but this looks gorgeous! It reminds me of a room you'd see on a tour of an old estate that belonged to some high society people 🙂 I LOVE the chandelier and medallion, and that mural is fabulous. Can't wait to hear more about it!
Maggie | The Spiffy Company says
Looking amazing! This risk sure did pay off! Gorgeous so far!
Erin Sharp says
WOW, I love how it turned out!
Laurie from Laurie Jones Home says
It's so so good!!!
Brittany Cramer says
GWEN! Wow! You are such a visionary, that mural is perfect, and the black walls and ceilings are so rich and dark and so attractive. It makes me want to move out of Cali to afford a house with more rooms, ha! And thank you for sharing what went on behind the scenes, most of the time you never get to see the turmoil people go thru when designing their spaces.
Emily Jasnowski says
It's beautiful! I love it and now want to paint my dining room black! We've got all the original woodwork in the house and one room painted would be perfect….convincing my husband may take a year! So wonderful and inspiring!
Sarah Rojas says
Amazingly gorgeous! Every time I want to paint a room black my husband freaks. I guess I'll just have to stick with painting the Sims houses black.
Albertina M. Cisneros says
WOW, WOW, WOW!! This is a showstopper. It looks so amazing and the mural! I think you made all the reight decisions. I'm so, so impressed. I can't wait for the next update.
Jen says
Applause!!!! Way to go. You took a chance and it paid off BIG! Love the chandy. It was worth the effort.
Beth of designPOST Interiors says
This black room is just confirmation that you are going to rock our socks with every room in the is new house!
Stephanie Confer says
Totally gorgeous!!
Shavonda Gardner says
Gwendlyn. I cant even with you right now. This Absolutely stunnnnnning. Already. No need to go any further. But really keep going because really. Just really. This is the kind of design i live for. The ceiling absolutely HAD to be the same color as the wall. Thank you for sharing this process with us.
angela | the painted house says
All I can say is, WOW! All the work was worth it indeed, girl.
Autumn Beach says
Gah! Gwen! Absolutely GORG!! Everything is SO fabulous. And so YOU. Just love it to pieces.
Heather Freeman says
You are a ROCK STAR, my friend! Honestly I was a little doubtful until I saw the the gorgeous fixture hanging. Such a bold move, but you pulled it off. Can't wait to see how it comes together.
Rachael says
Everything looks stunning! Definitely worth all the hard work. Cannot wait to see the finished space.
aravind joshi says
Very impressive and Stunning one to look, I love it a lot this info.
Independent house builders in vellore
Chrissy says
Thx for the sneak peak! I literally just squealed "I LOVE THIS ROOM!" because it is already amazing.
SarahMascara says
Simply gorgeous. I never doubted it would be anything less than exquisite.
Amanda Schroeder says
I have only been reading your blog since Julia posted your 2015 trends interview a few weeks ago and I am hooked man 🙂 So excited to see how your dining room comes together, I haven't seen anyone else using a mural and I am so surprised how much I love it!
All Things Big and Small says
It looks amazing! I wish I had the ceiling height to do a dark ceiling and dark walls! And the mural looks stunning! Great job!
Jen M says
I am normally a "light and bright" kind of gal, but this is just absolutely stunning! Very chic, classy, and sophisticated. Love it!
Haley says
This looks AMAZING! I'm loving the dark color and your risk taking. I can't wait to hear more about the mural.
Lbelle says
Love this room!
Kirsten Wareham says
My jaw just dropped! Bravooooo
Becky says
This is SO BEAUTIFUL. I've been secretly reading for a while, but I couldn't help responding to this post. I am so envious of that amazing chandelier, those dark walls, and the mural. DYING to see more!!
xo Becky
Sherri says
Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my. Stunning. I loved the chandy when you posted it before. But with the backdrop of that black room along with the mural- well, my dear, you nailed it! Drooling in Orlando.
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says
Stop. It. That mural is everything. And the paint job turned out just right. Perfection. So glad you went ahead with the ceiling. You know I'm always pro ceiling. 🙂
Jessica says
So beautiful!!!! Can't wait to see more!
Sandra Pace says
LOVE… Simply L O V E what you have done!
Summer Hogan says
This really is amazing Gwen! Way to take risks that payoff in a major way!!
Julia Konya says
I so love it! My daughter has been begging me to paint a room black and not just one wall.
Emily A. Clark says
I love it! I love it! I love it!
(PS I love it.)
Curtains Direct2U says
You've got to have vision and be very brave to do something like this and it's obviously paid of. Well done it looks amazing!
CD2U
Bethany DeVore says
So stunning Gwen!
Rachel Rardon says
Bold and beautiful. Everything = yes, yes, yes.
Hena Tayeb says
gorgeous.. it makes such a statement.
mollie's mom says
Fabulous! I painted my then dining room – now library black ( Sherwin William Tricorn) over 12 years ago and I still love it. People go crazy when they see it – saying I love it but could never be brave and do it at home. I knew I could paint over it at any point if it was awful but it is still a favorite. When we changed the room from DR to Library I stayed with the black. I still don't want to change it. I can honestly say that black room has been that color longer than any other room in our home – go figure. going for it was a lasting thing!!
Brandi says
Unbelievably gorgeous! Madly in love!!!
Brandi says
Unbelievably gorgeous! Madly in love!!!
Tricia says
Great vision! I'm a bit of a risk taker when it comes to interiors and there are times when I'm holding my breath for the final reveal. It's such a great feeling when you realize it turned out exactly as you planned. Great job! Thanks for the encouragement at the end of your post. I smiled because we are starting month five of our kitchen remodel.