Dining Room Feature Walls: Our Bold Black Accent Paint

In our last One Room Challenge update, we had just finished painting the Living and Dining Rooms in Simply White. Well, all except two walls, that is.

A friend had suggested that I could add interest to the space and better define the Dining Room by painting two walls as feature walls.

I liked that idea.

She also suggested I might try black.

That idea scared me to death.

Although I knew it fit the Modern Industrial Farmhouse concept, I worried it might look like a strange checkerboard…

Still, I’ve learned over the years that you really can’t tell whether you like something until you try it.

Decor is a risk. I decided to go for it.

After all, paint color is something that can be fairly easily changed if it doesn’t turn out as expected.

Like white, black comes in many shades.

I went with one a friend highly recommended, since it seemed bold yet warm.

Iron Mountain, by Benjamin Moore.

(When choosing any paint color, it is extremely important to test the swatches in the actual space you’ll be painting. This color may look much lighter in a large, brightly lit room.)

We knew we would either love it or hate it.

The verdict? (Drum roll, please?)

We LOVE it!!

It seems counterintuitive to put a dark color in a dark space, but in this case, the dark walls are nicely balanced by the light from all the Simply White walls.

Adding long white curtain panels around the window also brightens the space and somehow makes the chandelier above the table stand out even more.

To recap where we started (before):

And here is where we are after new paint!

Yea!…one more thing checked off our to-do list, and one more step closer to this place feeling like home.

(PS. I’m hiding that wall in the after picture because it’s the big surprise for tomorrow!;))

1. Change out the light fixtures. (One done, one to go.)
2. Paint out the bizarre brown racing stripe around the perimeter of the room’s ceiling.
3. Paint out the dreadfully dark builder’s beige.
4. Add some feature walls of interest in the Dining Room.
5. Figure out storage solutions.
6. Redesign the entryway closet so it functions better and has a little style.
7. Hang up art
8. Find lighting solutions that brighten the room during the day and night.
9. Start shopping for a new couch and new chairs? (This may just be a dream…)
10. New rug?

One Room Challenge Series:

Part 1/ Part 2